I have a babysitter for my son (11y/o) to babysit on a per need basis after school while i am at work. Hourly wage. No formal contract. Can I tax deduct her?

You generally cannot deduct the cost of a babysitter for your son as a tax deduction. 

 

However, you may be eligible for the Child and Dependent Care Credit if you meet certain criteria:

1. Qualifying Child: Your son must be under 13 years old.
2. Work-Related Expenses: The care must be necessary for you (and your spouse, if filing jointly) to work or look for work.
3. Provider Information: You must provide the babysitter's name, address, and Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) on your tax return.

Steps to Claim the Credit in TurboTax:

1. If you're not in your return already, sign in to TurboTax.
2. Select Deductions & Credits from the side menu.
3. On the Your tax breaks screen, locate You and Your Family, and choose Start or Revisit next to Dependent Care Credit.
4. On the Did you pay for child and dependent care? screen, select Yes, answer the questions on the next screen, and continue.
5. At the Whose care did you pay for? screen, select either:
   • The Choose a name dropdown, then select a dependent's name, and select Continue, or
6. On the How much did you pay for [your dependent's] care in 2024? screen, enter the total amount of expenses and select Continue.
7. On the Here's what we have so far screen, review the info and select either Add Expenses for Another, or Done.
8. On the screen Let's get some info about your care provider, provide the requested information, and select Continue when complete.

Additional Tax Implications:

If your babysitter is considered a household employee, you may be responsible for paying certain payroll taxes:

Social Security and Medicare Taxes (FICA):

• You must withhold and pay FICA taxes if you pay your babysitter $2,700 or more in 2025
• The combined rate is 15.3%, split equally between employer and employee.

Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA):

• You must pay FUTA if you pay $1,000 or more in any calendar quarter
• The FUTA rate is 6% on the first $7,000 of wages, though state cred

Steps to Comply:

1. Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the IRS.
2. File Schedule H with your annual tax return to report household employment taxes
3. Provide a W-2 Form to your babysitter and file it with the Social Security Administration

For more detailed guidance, you can refer to the IRS Household Employer's Tax Guide (Publication 926) the TurboTax Guide to Nanny Taxes

 

If you paid someone to take care of your child so that you could work, you can enter the amount you paid for the childcare credit.   You will need the SSN or Tax ID of the babysitter.    When the babysitter prepares their tax return, they need to enter the amount that you paid---the income the babysitter reports must match the amount that you claim.  The sitter will be paying self-employment tax for Social Security and Medicare.   Hopefully you already had an understanding with the sitter that you would do this so that the tax they owe will not come as a shock.   The fact that you are asking while preparing your tax return if you can claim the expense does make it seem questionable whether the sitter expects this but you have the right to use the tax credit.

 

https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/taxation/child-dependent-care-credit/L8h8A5Klg_US_en_US?uid=m5yifys1

 

Federal>Deductions and Credits>You and Your Family>Child and Dependent Care Credit

 

https://www.irs.gov/help/ita/am-i-eligible-to-claim-the-child-and-dependent-care-credit