An au pair is a household employee for tax purposes, but the tax bill looks nothing like it does for a typical nanny or housekeeper. The IRS treats au pair stipends as household employment wages, yet because most au pairs enter the country on J-1 cultural exchange visas as nonresident aliens, they are exempt from Social Security and Medicare taxes for the duration of the program. That exemption is what makes au pair household employee taxes different from ordinary household payroll: federal income tax is the main concern, and FICA usually stays off the table.
Why an Au Pair Counts as a Household Employee
The IRS classifies someone as a household employee when they perform work in or around a private residence and the person paying them controls both what work gets done and how it gets done. Full-time or part-time doesn’t matter. Hourly, daily, or weekly pay doesn’t matter either. If the family sets the schedule and directs the duties, the worker is an employee.
Au pairs fit that definition without much argument. The host family provides room and board, pays a weekly stipend, assigns childcare duties, and sets the daily schedule. The IRS states that au pair wages are “essentially in the nature of household employment,” regardless of the cultural exchange purpose behind the J-1 visa. The U.S. Department of Labor reached the same conclusion in 1994, confirming that the stipend qualifies as wages because an employer-employee relationship exists between the au pair and the host family.
The J-1 Visa FICA Exemption
Here is where au pair taxes diverge from ordinary household employment. Under federal law, services performed by a nonresident alien temporarily present in the United States on a J-1 visa are excluded from Social Security and Medicare taxes, as long as the work is authorized and carried out for the purpose the visa was issued.
The IRS classifies au pairs as “teachers or trainees” for this exemption. A J-1 au pair generally cannot count days of U.S. presence toward the substantial presence test for the first two calendar years, so they remain nonresident aliens throughout the program and qualify for the FICA exemption the entire time. In practical terms, the host family does not withhold or pay Social Security and Medicare taxes on the weekly stipend.
When FICA Rules Do Apply
The exemption is tied to nonresident alien status. If an au pair extends the program long enough to become a resident alien for tax purposes, or changes visa status, the FICA exemption ends. From that point on, standard household employee rules take over.
For 2026, if cash wages reach $3,000 or more in a calendar year, the host family must withhold and pay Social Security and Medicare taxes. The combined rate is 15.3% of wages, split evenly at 7.65% for the employer and 7.65% for the employee. Social Security tax applies to wages up to $184,500. Medicare tax has no cap.
Federal unemployment tax follows its own threshold. FUTA applies if a family pays cash wages totaling $1,000 or more in any calendar quarter to household employees. The rate is 6.0% on the first $7,000 of wages per employee, though credits for state unemployment taxes paid can reduce the effective federal rate to as low as 0.6%.
Federal Income Tax on Au Pair Wages
Even with the FICA exemption, au pair wages are subject to federal income tax. Au pairs must file a U.S. tax return to report their earnings, and most file Form 1040-NR as nonresident aliens. Because nonresident aliens generally cannot claim the standard deduction, most au pairs owe income tax on the stipend.
Host families are not required to withhold federal income tax from au pair wages. The IRS recommends one of two approaches. The au pair can make quarterly estimated tax payments using Form 1040-ES(NR), or the au pair can ask the host family to voluntarily withhold income tax by submitting a Form W-4. If both sides agree to withholding, the family reports and pays over the withheld tax on Schedule H.
Reporting: EIN, W-2, and Schedule H
Any host family that has tax obligations for an au pair needs an Employer Identification Number from the IRS. The family must also provide the au pair with a Form W-2 by January 31 of the following year, showing wages paid and any taxes withheld.
Household employment taxes are reported on Schedule H, attached to the family’s Form 1040 at the usual April 15 deadline. Families who otherwise wouldn’t need to file a return still have to file Schedule H on its own if they have household employment tax obligations for the year.
Recordkeeping the Host Family Must Do
Federal law requires household employers to keep payroll records for each employee. For au pairs, that means tracking the employee’s full name, Social Security number, address, total hours worked each week, total cash wages paid each week, and any amounts claimed for room and board. Records must be kept for at least three years.
Because au pairs live in the home, additional requirements apply. The family must keep a copy of any written employment agreement and maintain a record of the exact number of hours worked. No particular format is required. The family can ask the au pair to track hours and submit the log, but the legal responsibility for accurate records stays with the host family.