The form household employers attach to their personal tax return (Form 1040) to report employment taxes for household workers — the household version of the payroll tax returns businesses file. Most services on this page either prepare it for you to file or file it as part of their service.

The Federal Unemployment Tax Act tax — a small federal tax employers pay (employees don't) that funds unemployment benefits. It applies once you pay a household employee $1,000 or more in a calendar quarter. Most states also charge their own separate state unemployment tax.

Why should I trust a comparison written by one of the companies in it?

Deciding that is exactly why every price here links to the competitor's own pricing page — you can check each claim in about a minute. We also put our own weaknesses in writing above: several services are cheaper than us, and the full-service companies file your taxes for you, which we don't do. If we were rigging this page, that paragraph wouldn't be on it.

What's the cheapest way to do this legally?

Of the services we verified, NannyKeeper has the lowest entry price ($10/month billed monthly, less annually), and both it and KinPayroll have free tiers for tracking payments before you commit. The trade-off at the low end is that you file the taxes yourself. The cheapest service that files for you was Nest Payroll at $42/month when we checked.

Which services file my taxes for me?

Based on each company's own site: Care.com HomePay, Poppins Payroll, GTM, SurePayroll, and Nest Payroll all register you, remit the money, and file the returns. NannyKeeper and KinPayroll are software: they calculate the taxes and prepare the forms, and you file them yourself.

Honest comparison

The best household payroll services, compared honestly

If you pay someone to work in a home — a caregiver for your parent, a nanny, a housekeeper — the IRS may treat that person as a household employee: someone whose work you control, which makes the household their employer, with real tax responsibilities. The services below all exist to handle those responsibilities so you don't have to learn payroll law.

Full disclosure before anything else: this page is written by KinPayroll, and KinPayroll is in the list. We haven't rigged the outcome — several services below are cheaper than us, and most of them do something important that we don't do yet (file your taxes for you — we say exactly where). Every price was checked on that company's own pricing page on August 15, 2026, and each entry links to the page we checked.

First: are you sure you're an employer at all?

Before paying for any of these services, it's worth two minutes to check whether the rules even apply to you. These two free tools don't require an account and don't collect your information:

Is my caregiver a 1099 contractor or a W-2 employee? →

A short set of questions about who controls the work — the thing the IRS actually looks at.

What would the taxes actually cost? →

Estimates the employment taxes on what you pay, so you can see the real number before choosing anything.

How to choose — three questions that decide it

1. Do you want the service to file taxes for you, or prepare forms you file yourself?

This is the biggest split in this market. Full-service companies (HomePay, Poppins, GTM, SurePayroll, Nest) register you with tax agencies, send the government its money on schedule, and file the returns — you do almost nothing. Software services (NannyKeeper, KinPayroll) calculate everything and prepare the forms, but you submit them with your own tax return. Full service costs more and removes the most work; software costs less and keeps you in the loop. Neither is wrong — but know which one you're buying.

2. How unusual is your situation?

Most of these services are built around one picture: a parent employing a nanny. If your situation matches, almost any of them will serve you well. If it doesn't — for example, you're an adult child arranging care where your parent is legally the employer, or you hold power of attorney — ask each service directly how they handle it before signing up. It's the question most likely to expose a bad fit.

3. What does your state require?

Federal rules are the same everywhere, but most states add their own unemployment tax, and many add state income-tax withholding. Ask any service you're considering exactly which of your state's obligations it covers — and which ones remain yours. (This is where KinPayroll is weakest today; our entry below spells it out.)

At a glance

Prices checked August 15, 2026 on each provider's own pricing page — every entry below links to the page we checked. Prices change; confirm with the provider.

Service	Price	Files taxes for you?	Best for
NannyKeeper	from $10/mo	No — you file	The lowest price, if you're comfortable filing yourself
Nest Payroll	$42/mo	Yes	Full service at the lowest full-service price
SurePayroll	$45/mo	Yes	Full service from a big-company platform
Poppins Payroll	$49/mo	Yes	Simplest full-service option
Care.com HomePay	$59–$75/mo	Yes	The biggest brand, with everything handled
GTM Payroll	from $70/mo	Yes	Employee benefits and HR, not just payroll
KinPayroll	$35/mo	No — you file	Senior care — paying a parent's caregiver

The services, one by one

NannyKeeper

from $10/mo

Starter is $10/month billed monthly (about $8/month billed annually) for one employee. Plus is $18/month (up to five employees). A free tier tracks payments forever without running payroll.

Where it stands out: The cheapest real payroll service on this page, and the free payment-tracking tier is genuinely free. Calculates federal and state taxes in all 50 states, generates pay stubs, W-2s, and Schedule H, and the Plus plan can run payroll automatically each pay period.

Keep in mind: It's software, not a done-for-you service: its pricing page describes tax calculations, reminders, and form generation — not filing or paying tax agencies on your behalf. Built nanny-first, so senior-care situations (a parent as the legal employer, power of attorney) aren't its focus.

Pricing checked August 15, 2026 on their site →

Nest Payroll

$42/mo

$42/month for one employee, $49/month for two, $69/month for up to six. 14-day free trial. Year-end forms are included while you're a subscriber; a one-time $149 fee applies only if you cancel before they're processed in January.

Where it stands out: The least expensive service on this page that actually files and pays your taxes for you — tax account registration, quarterly filings, tax payments, W-2s, and Schedule H are all listed as included. Also handles back-filing if you've been paying cash, which several services won't touch.

Keep in mind: Paychecks go out through Venmo or Cash App integration, Zelle, or paper check rather than a traditional in-app direct deposit. A small company — that means personal support, but less brand infrastructure than a Care.com or Paychex operation.

Pricing checked August 15, 2026 on their site →

SurePayroll

$45/mo

$45/month including one employee. At the time we checked, a promotion made alternating months free during the first year. Owned by Paychex; the former NannyChex service is now part of SurePayroll.

Where it stands out: Files and deposits federal and state taxes automatically, includes free two-day direct deposit, and produces a signature-ready Schedule H. Being part of Paychex means mature mobile apps and the kind of infrastructure small companies can't match.

Keep in mind: Household payroll is a side business here — the company's main product is small-business payroll. Support and product decisions follow the bigger business, and the household plan's price has historically moved with promotions, so confirm the current number.

Pricing checked August 15, 2026 on their site →

Poppins Payroll

$49/mo

One plan: $49/month, plus $10/month per additional employee. First calendar month free, no setup fees. If you cancel mid-year, final quarterly filings are $49 and year-end documents are $110.

Where it stands out: One plan, one price, everything included — registration, quarterly filings, year-end W-2 and Schedule H, direct deposit at no extra charge, and no contract. The setup is deliberately simple, and its support team is a frequent reason people recommend it.

Keep in mind: Built nanny-first like most of this market (senior care is a page on the site, not the product's center). The advertised price assumes you stay through year-end — leaving mid-year adds the final-filing fees noted above.

Pricing checked August 15, 2026 on their site →

Care.com HomePay

$59–$75/mo

Essentials is $59/month; Plus is $75/month with a first-month-free offer. Both tiers include registration, quarterly filings on your behalf, year-end forms, and automated payroll with direct deposit.

Where it stands out: The best-known name in household payroll, run by Breedlove & Associates as part of Care.com. Everything is done for you — registration, filings, remittance, year-end forms — with phone support, a published six-month happiness guarantee, and a guarantee that returns are filed accurately and on time. If you want to hand the whole problem to a large company, this is the default answer.

Keep in mind: The most expensive mainstream option on this page — roughly double KinPayroll and six times NannyKeeper's starter price. Like the others, it's built nanny-first; senior-care arrangements are supported but not the specialty.

Pricing checked August 15, 2026 on their site →

GTM Payroll

from $70/mo

EasyPay starts at $70/month with the first employee included ($20/month per additional employee). An HR tier is $132/month and a benefits tier is $232/month — both with 12-month minimums and a $75 setup fee.

Where it stands out: The only service on this page that goes past payroll into real employee benefits: its top tier adds health insurance, dental and vision, and retirement-plan enrollment for your caregiver, plus HR consulting and a published guarantee that covers penalties from filing errors they cause. If you're building a long-term employment relationship with benefits, GTM is in a category of one here.

Keep in mind: Priced accordingly — the entry plan alone is double several competitors, the upper tiers carry 12-month minimums, and insurance policies cost extra on top. Overkill if all you need is payroll and tax forms.

Pricing checked August 15, 2026 on their site →

KinPayroll

$35/mo

Premium is $35/month (or $350/year) — you run payroll yourself in a few clicks. Concierge is $129/month for done-with-you service. A free tier tracks payments until you're ready. Flat prices; no per-employee or per-transfer fees.

Where it stands out: The only service on this page built around senior care rather than nannies: it models the arrangement where an adult child manages payroll but the parent is legally the employer, handles power-of-attorney situations carefully, and organizes the year's wages into a medical-deduction packet. Covers the federal household-employment taxes (Social Security, Medicare, and FUTA — the federal unemployment tax), prepares the W-2 and Schedule H, and pays your caregiver by direct deposit.

Keep in mind: Two honest gaps, plainly: first, our tax engine covers federal taxes only today — state income-tax withholding and state unemployment tax are not calculated, and most states have at least one of them, so you (or your accountant) must handle your state's side separately. Second, we don't file or remit taxes to the government on your behalf — we prepare the forms and you file them with your own return. Every full-service company above does that filing for you. If you want zero state homework and zero filing, choose one of them.

See our pricing →

Names you may see in older lists

NannyChex

No longer a separate company — its website now redirects to a “NannyChex is now SurePayroll” page. If an older article recommends NannyChex, the SurePayroll entry above is the current version of that recommendation.

Savvy Nanny Payroll

We could not find a live website or pricing page — the domains we found were dead or listed for sale. It appears to no longer operate; if you're an existing customer, contact them directly.

Gusto

A well-known small-business payroll company, but we could not find a current household-employer product on its site. Household employment is filed on different forms than business payroll (Schedule H with your personal return, rather than business filings), so a business payroll service is usually the wrong tool for a family — confirm directly with Gusto before using it for a household employee.

Common questions

Someone who works in or around a home and whose work the household controls — what gets done, when, and how. Caregivers, nannies, and housekeepers you hire directly usually qualify. Workers sent and managed by an agency are usually the agency's employees, not yours. If you're not sure, our free classifier at /caregiver-1099-or-w2 walks through the questions the IRS actually asks.

Prices were checked on August 15, 2026, on each provider's own pricing page (linked in each entry). Prices and promotions change — confirm the current number with the provider before signing up. This page is general information, not tax or legal advice; your situation may differ, so confirm specifics with a qualified tax professional.

Paying a parent's caregiver? That's the one we're built for.

Start free, see where you stand, and only pay when you're ready to run payroll. If a full-service company fits you better, the honest answer is above.

Start free

Free accountNo credit cardCancel anytime