Do I have to give my nanny paid holidays, vacation or sick days?
Updated November 6, 2026 · For 2026 · General information, not tax or legal advice
What the law requires
- Paid vacation and paid holidays: no federal requirement, and no state requires them for household employees. They are a matter of contract.
- Paid sick leave: required in a growing list of states and cities, and most of those laws cover domestic workers. Accrual is usually 1 hour for every 30 or 40 hours worked, capped at 40 to 56 hours a year. Your state guide says whether it applies and the accrual rule.
- Domestic worker bills of rights in states such as New York, California, Illinois, Massachusetts, Oregon and others add rest days, written agreements or notice requirements.
What is customary
The nanny market has its own norms, and offering less than these makes hiring hard:
- Two weeks paid vacation, commonly one week picked by the family and one by the nanny, with notice periods in the contract.
- Paid federal holidays, typically New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas; many families add the day after Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve.
- Paid sick days, three to five a year, even where not mandated.
- Guaranteed hours, so the family's own vacations do not cut the nanny's pay (see guaranteed hours).
Write it down
Put the holiday list, the vacation amount, the accrual or grant date, whether unused time carries over or is paid out, and the notice rules in the work agreement. Vague PTO terms are the second most common source of nanny disputes after overtime.
In payroll
Paid time off is wages: it is taxed, counted on the W-2 and shown on the pay stub. Where sick leave is mandated, the stub or a separate notice usually has to show the balance.
CareTab tracks PTO and sick balances per employee, pays holidays from a template you can edit, and shows balances on every stub.
Frequently asked
Is paid sick leave required for nannies?
In many states, yes. Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Vermont, Washington and several cities require paid sick leave that covers household employees, typically 1 hour per 30 or 40 worked.
How much vacation is normal for a nanny?
Two weeks paid vacation is the common baseline, often with one week chosen by the family and one by the nanny, plus major federal holidays.
Are holiday and PTO hours taxable?
Yes. Paid time off is wages, subject to the same taxes and reported on the W-2.
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