Nanny Agency Jobs How-to / checklist

Prepare for tax season by collecting your employee wage documents, matching them to your records and following up on missing or incorrect forms. Keep a separate checklist for each employer. A tidy folder helps you or a tax preparer spot a problem before filing; it does not determine your tax bill or settle how a job should have been classified.

For wages earned during 2026, the annual return is generally prepared in the 2027 filing season. Check the IRS's current year-specific instructions when that season arrives. This guide does not project future deadlines, apply an earlier year's household-employment threshold or tell you which deductions and credits you personally qualify for.

Build an employer-by-employer inventory

Write down every employer you worked for during the tax year, including short placements and jobs that ended months ago. Record employment dates, the payroll service if known, the contact for document questions and where the year-end form is expected to arrive. If you moved, confirm your mailing address through a trusted channel before forms are issued.

Create a separate row for each employment relationship rather than one combined “nanny income” total. Two families may use the same payroll service without being the same employer. Conversely, changing payroll providers during one job is a reason to clarify which documents to expect, not a reason to invent a second employer.

Keep the distinction between your employer and a placement agency clear. An agency that introduced you may not issue your wage statement. Start with the person or service responsible for your payroll and ask who is handling the year-end document.

Collect the documents without guessing the result

The IRS preparation checklist includes wage statements, identity documents, a prior return if available and other relevant income and health-coverage documents. Use it to prepare for help; the fact that a document appears on a checklist does not mean every item applies to you.

Original working folder checklist:

  • Employee income: Each Form W-2 received, any corrected Form W-2c and the final or year-to-date pay statements available for comparison.
  • Supporting work records: Employment dates, payroll contact details and a list of unresolved pay or form questions.
  • Other tax documents: Forms from other income sources and applicable health-insurance documents, kept separately from employer records.
  • Preparation materials: Your prior return, identity information and anything your chosen preparer requests through a secure process.
  • Status: Mark each item expected, received, checked or awaiting correction. Keep the original document when a replacement arrives.

Reimbursement records can help explain payments that appear in your bank account. Keep them available without assuming that every deposit is taxable wages or that every expense reduces taxable income. Ask the payroll provider or preparer to explain the reporting treatment of a specific payment.

Check the form against your records

Check that the form identifies you and the employer you expected, and that it covers the correct tax year. Compare its reported wage and withholding figures with your year-end payroll records. A difference is a question to investigate, not proof that you should rewrite the form yourself.

Do not compare only the W-2 wage total with the amount deposited into your bank account. Net pay reflects deductions and may sit beside other payments. If totals differ, ask payroll for a reconciliation that shows which amounts belong in the relevant boxes and why.

Fictional example: Casey worked for one family from January through May and another from June onward. Casey receives the second family's W-2 but cannot find the first. The checklist reads: “Employer A: missing, address confirmed, requested February 4. Employer B: received, one withholding question sent.” Casey keeps the questions separate rather than assuming the available W-2 includes both jobs.

Use the official missing or incorrect form route

The IRS's current general missing or incorrect W-2 guidance says to contact the employer if the form has not arrived by the end of January. If you have contacted the employer and still do not have it by the end of February, call the IRS at 800-829-1040. For an incorrect form, first request a correction; the same guidance gives IRS contact or Taxpayer Assistance Center steps if it remains uncorrected by the end of February.

These are the general steps published when this guide was checked, not confirmed 2027 filing-season deadlines. Recheck the IRS guidance and the applicable year's dates before acting. Prepare your identity and contact information, employment dates and the employer's contact details for the official IRS channel. Keep sensitive numbers out of ordinary email follow-ups. The IRS guidance explains Form 4852 as a substitute when needed and describes correcting a return filed with wrong information. Read the current instructions or get qualified help before using that route.

Adaptable request: “I am organizing my documents for tax year [year]. I have not received [form], or I noticed [specific issue]. Please confirm when it will be available or explain the correction process. My employment dates were [dates]. Please tell me how to provide any sensitive information securely.”

Prepare a focused handoff to a preparer

Give the preparer the actual documents plus a short unresolved-items list. Identify a missing form, a corrected form received after an earlier version, or a payment you cannot reconcile. Do not silently fill gaps with estimates and present them as confirmed figures.

If you received an unexpected 1099 for work you understood to be employment, flag that separately. The label on one document is not a substitute for reviewing the working relationship. Keep the annual document task focused: collect what exists, identify what is missing and obtain appropriate guidance for the question that remains.

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