New Hampshire Household Employer Guide 2026
Your household employee — a nanny, caregiver, housekeeper, or anyone who works in your New Hampshire home — is a W-2 employee. New Hampshire is one of the simplest household-payroll states: no wage income tax, no state paid leave, no statewide paid sick leave, and no local income tax. The main state-specific items are NH Employment Security unemployment filings and required workers' compensation coverage.
Start Payroll Free →When the rules apply
New Hampshire household employers mainly need to watch the federal payroll thresholds and the $1,000 quarterly New Hampshire unemployment threshold:
How Nest Payroll handles this
Each pay period, you pay your employee the net amount directly — through Venmo, Cash App, Zelle, your banking app, or by check. Nest generates the pay stub, calculates payroll taxes, and registers you with NH Employment Security once the $1,000 quarterly threshold applies.
Federal taxes — quarterly EFTPS payments
At the end of each federal quarter, Nest debits your bank account for federal taxes owed and remits them to the IRS via EFTPS. At year-end, Schedule H on your Form 1040 reconciles those household payroll taxes.
New Hampshire state taxes — quarterly UI filings
Each quarter, Nest files the quarterly Tax and Wage Report with NH Employment Security. New Hampshire UI is employer-paid and is not withheld from your employee.
Set up payroll in 5 minutes.
Nest handles New Hampshire payroll calculations, paystubs, quarterly NHES filings, and year-end Schedule H — all for $42/mo.
Setup checklist (before they start)
New Hampshire Workers' Compensation Insurance — required
New Hampshire generally requires workers' compensation coverage for any employer with one or more employees, including domestic workers in private homes. There is no broad household-employer exemption.
Purchase a household-employer workers' comp policy through a private insurer doing business in New Hampshire before the employee starts. A commercial insurance broker can help assign the correct domestic-service class code and estimate annual payroll.
Form I-9 (Employment Eligibility)
Have your employee complete the Form I-9 at hire to verify they're authorized to work in the United States. You don't submit this anywhere — keep it filed in case of audit.
Federal W-4 (no state W-4 needed)
The federal W-4 determines how much federal income tax to withhold from each paycheck. New Hampshire has no state income tax, so there is no state withholding certificate.
New Hampshire New Hire Reporting
Report new hires to the New Hampshire New Hires Program within 20 days of the start date. You can file online at the link above. Federal law requires this; NH penalty for failure is up to $25 per missed report.
Required Employment Posters
Even with a single household employee, NH requires the following workplace posters (or equivalent notification, since your home isn't a typical workplace):
- Federal posters: FLSA, FMLA, EEO, USERRA, Polygraph Protection
- NH Minimum Wage poster (NH Department of Labor — required posters)
- NH Workers' Compensation poster
- NH Unemployment Insurance poster
For a household setting, a single binder kept in a common area satisfies the posting obligation in most cases.
Written Work Agreement
New Hampshire does not require a written employment agreement, but it's strongly recommended. A clear written agreement reduces misunderstandings and protects both parties when situations come up that you didn't anticipate.
Use our free nanny contract template as a starting point — it covers compensation, hours, duties, vacation, sick time, confidentiality, and at-will employment language.
Pay & compensation
Minimum Wage — federal floor of $7.25/hr
New Hampshire follows the federal minimum wage of $7.25/hr (RSA 279:21). There are no local city or county minimum wages in New Hampshire. In practice, household-employer market rates are generally well above this; nanny pay in Manchester, Nashua, Concord, and Portsmouth typically ranges from $15–$22/hr depending on experience and responsibilities.
Overtime — 1.5× regular pay over 40hr/week
Federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) overtime rules apply: live-out household employees get 1.5× their regular hourly rate for any hours over 40 in a workweek. Live-in household employees are exempt from federal OT (FLSA exemption for live-in domestic workers), and New Hampshire has no state OT requirement that overrides this.
| Worker type | OT trigger | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Live-out (most nannies, housekeepers, caregivers) | Over 40 hr/week | 1.5× regular |
| Live-in | FLSA-exempt — no OT required | 1.0× regular |
"No Tax on Overtime" Deduction (2025–2028)
The federal overtime deduction may let household employees deduct the premium portion of qualifying overtime pay on their personal tax return. This is a federal income-tax rule; it does not change how you calculate overtime, FICA, federal withholding, or payroll records.
Pay Frequency
Household employees are usually treated as non-exempt hourly workers under FLSA rules — even when you've agreed to pay a "salary," federal FLSA treats it as a wage covering a fixed number of hours per week, with overtime owed on hours past 40.
Under RSA 275:43, New Hampshire employers must pay wages at least weekly by default; biweekly is permitted with NH Department of Labor approval. Most household payroll arrangements pay weekly or biweekly to keep cash flow predictable for both sides.
Mileage Reimbursement
New Hampshire does not have a state-mandated mileage reimbursement rate for private employers. If your employee uses their own car for work-related driving (errands, school pickup, doctor's appointments for the children), reimburse at the federal IRS standard mileage rate — $0.70/mile for 2026. Reimbursements at or below the federal rate are not taxable wages.
Paystub Requirements
New Hampshire requires itemized paystubs under RSA 275:49. Each paystub must show: gross wages, hours worked, all deductions (federal income tax, FICA), net pay, and pay period dates.
Time off & leave
Paid Sick Leave — none required statewide
New Hampshire does not have a statewide paid sick leave law, and no city in NH has enacted a local paid sick leave ordinance. Sick time is offered at the employer's discretion.
If you choose to offer sick leave, common household-employer practice is 5–10 days/year, usable for the employee's own illness or to care for an immediate family member.
Vacation & PTO
New Hampshire does not require paid vacation. If you offer it, document the policy in writing — under New Hampshire law, vacation pay is enforceable to the extent your written policy states it will be paid out at separation. A clear policy with a written cap (or "no payout at separation" provision) protects you.
Upon departure
When the working relationship ends — whether the employee resigns or you terminate — New Hampshire’s final pay rule (RSA 275:44) requires final wages to be paid by the next regular payday following separation.
At separation, give your employee a final paystub and a copy of any timekeeping records you've maintained. If you've offered vacation as part of your written policy, pay out the earned-but-unused portion (pro-rated through the last day worked, at the final rate of pay) per your policy.
Year-end forms
Your responsibilities
- Hand the W-2 to your household employee by January 31 — Nest produces this; you deliver it
- Attach Schedule H to your Form 1040 by April 15 — Nest produces a signature-ready version
What Nest handles for you
- Quarterly federal tax payments to the IRS via EFTPS
- W-3 + Copy A of W-2 filed with the Social Security Administration
- Quarterly Tax and Wage Reports with NH Employment Security once registration applies
Bonuses, vacation payouts, and other supplemental wages. Nest uses the aggregate method for federal income tax withholding: bonuses, PTO payouts, and other supplemental wage payments are combined with regular wages and withheld at the worker's regular W-4 rate — not the flat 22% federal supplemental rate. For most household workers, this produces a slightly larger net check than the flat method would.
Tax breaks for household employers
Two federal tax breaks may help offset your nanny payroll costs:
For nannies caring for school-aged kids, families often use the DCFSA first (better tax savings for most), then claim the credit on any expenses above the FSA limit. Note: you cannot claim the same expenses under both — but you can split them.
Resources & free tools
The information on this page is general in nature and not tax, legal, or financial advice. New Hampshire rules change. Verify current rates and rules at NH Department of Revenue Administration and NH Employment Security, or consult a tax advisor.