What's the deal with household payroll? Isn't it just normal payroll?
It's actually different. When you employ a household worker — nanny, eldercare aide, housekeeper, gardener, tutor, or anyone else — the IRS treats it as real employment, but you file the taxes on YOUR personal return (Schedule H), once a year, not quarterly like a business. Generic payroll software either doesn't handle this or forces you through the business path and overcharges. We built around the household case specifically.
What can I actually do today?
Set up your household, invite your employee, track their hours, generate pay stubs with estimated taxes, keep all their records for 3+ years, and prepare your Schedule H worksheet so you (or your accountant) can file. You'll still write their checks the way you do today — but you'll have the paperwork done right.
When can you actually handle the whole thing?
That's the next thing we ship. Real withholding, real tax filing, real money movement through licensed payroll rails. We're not shipping it until it's right (and reviewed by an attorney who knows household payroll). You'll get one email when it goes live.
I employ different kinds of household workers — does this work for all of them?
Yes for any worker you put on the books — nanny, eldercare aide, housekeeper, gardener, tutor, handyman, doula. The shape of household payroll is the same regardless of what they do; it's a Schedule-H filing on your personal return. If you have a mix of on-the-books and informal arrangements, we just give you correct records for the on-the-books help without lecturing you about the rest.
How much does it cost me?
Nothing right now, while we're in beta. When the full-payroll version ships, it's $79/month per household — flat, no per-employee add-ons that quietly grow your bill.
My employee works for two of us. Will the other family see anything?
No, and this is actually built into the database, not just the screen. Your employee can see all their hours and pay across every family they work for, in their own private view. None of you ever see each other.
I work for two families. Do they see each other's data?
No. Each family sees only the hours and pay you logged for them. Your unified earnings view — every family, every paycheck, your YTD — is yours alone. The families never see each other and never see your other employers' names.
Can I move my employee's existing records into this?
That's on our short list. Right now we treat the day you sign up as day one. CSV import is coming.
