South Carolina Household Employer Guide 2026
Your household employee — a nanny, caregiver, housekeeper, or anyone who works in your South Carolina home — is a W-2 employee. South Carolina is moderately simple for household payroll: employer-paid UI filings, optional state income-tax withholding by agreement, no local income tax, no statewide paid leave, and workers' comp generally not required for small household employers.
Start Payroll Free →When the rules apply
South Carolina household employers mainly need to watch the federal payroll thresholds and the $1,000 quarterly South Carolina 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 SC DEW 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.
South Carolina state taxes — quarterly UI filings
Each quarter, Nest files the UCE-101 wage report with SC DEW. South Carolina UI is employer-paid and is not withheld from your employee.
Set up payroll in 5 minutes.
Nest handles South Carolina payroll calculations, paystubs, quarterly SC DEW filings, and year-end Schedule H — all for $42/mo.
Setup checklist (before they start)
South Carolina Workers' Compensation Insurance — voluntary for most households
South Carolina generally excludes employers with fewer than 4 employees from mandatory workers' compensation coverage. Most household employers are below that threshold and are not required to carry workers' comp for a household employee.
Voluntary coverage is still worth considering. Workers' comp can protect you if your employee is injured on the job and gives the employee a predictable benefits path without a lawsuit.
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 + Form SC W-4
The federal W-4 determines federal income tax withholding if you and your employee agree to withhold it. South Carolina uses Form SC W-4 for state withholding.
South Carolina New Hire Reporting
Report new hires to the South Carolina New Hire Reporting Program within 20 days of the start date. You can file online at the link above. Federal law requires this; SC penalty for failure is up to $25 per missed report.
Required Employment Posters
Even with a single household employee, the following workplace posters are required (or equivalent notification, since your home isn't a typical workplace):
- Federal posters: FLSA, FMLA, EEO, USERRA, Polygraph Protection
- South Carolina required workplace posters (SC Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation — required posters)
- South Carolina 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
South Carolina 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
South Carolina follows the federal minimum wage of $7.25/hr — the state has no separate minimum wage statute. There are no local city or county minimum wages in South Carolina. In practice, household-employer market rates are well above this; nanny pay in Charleston, Columbia, Greenville, and Mount Pleasant 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 South Carolina 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, South Carolina 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.
South Carolina does not have a specific statute mandating pay frequency for household employers; most pay weekly, biweekly, or semi-monthly per agreement. Most household payroll arrangements pay weekly or biweekly to keep cash flow predictable for both sides.
Mileage Reimbursement
South Carolina 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
South Carolina does not have a specific statute requiring itemized paystubs, but you should provide them anyway for clear recordkeeping. Each paystub should show: gross wages, hours worked, deductions (federal income tax, FICA, SC PIT), net pay, and pay period dates.
Time off & leave
Paid Sick Leave — none required statewide
South Carolina does not have a statewide paid sick leave law, and no city in South Carolina 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
South Carolina does not require paid vacation. If you offer it, document the policy in writing — under South Carolina 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, South Carolina generally requires final wages to be paid within 48 hours of separation or by the next regular payday, whichever is sooner, provided the next payday is less than 30 days away.
At separation, give your employee a final paystub and a copy of any timekeeping records you've maintained. Pay out unused vacation only if your written policy provides for payout.
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 UCE-101 filings with SC DEW once registration applies
- Form WH-1606 annual reconciliation with the SC Department of Revenue when South Carolina withholding 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. South Carolina rules change. Verify current rates and rules at SC Department of Revenue and SC Department of Employment and Workforce, or consult a tax advisor.