We have employed this nanny for 2 years now. The first year she was strictly watching our 2 children. This past August she also started taking my 4 year old to preschool which is 4 miles away & also picks him up. She works 2-3 days a week for 10 hours. Getting to the bottom line. Today she asked my husband if we would buy her a set of tires for her vehicle. We do pay her an hourly rate of $10 hour plus gas money which is an extra $20 a week. I feel that it is not our responsibility to pay for a new set of tires. I'm looking for other opinions on this.
If it were me and my kids. I would look at her tires, if it's a safety issue than I would either
a) let her us my car
b) get her tires of my selection
my kids safety is more important than money. If it wasn't a safety issue than I would probably treat it as a bonus/ or loan depending on how I felt about her service. But I would want her to be able to make it to my house to watch my kids and make it home safe.
Well how much are they? And is she driving YOUR children around in her vehicle?
I wouldn't want my kids being driven around on a bald set of tires (dangerous!) and since you're only paying her $10/hr and $20/week for gas maybe you could do that as a bonus.
I have given my housekeeper a few *extras* over the years, not out of obligation, but to show that I appreciate her hard work and loyalty.
Of course this all depends on how much you (and your kids) love her and depend on her after two years.
I would either buy her tires or provide her with a vehicle to drive your children around in (preferable). I have never heard of a nanny using her own car to chauffeur kids around.
If the school is 4 miles away, that's 16 miles per day. (8 miles round trip, twice a day). If she drives 3 days a week, that's 48 miles a week, and IRS allows 55 cents per mile. Wouldn't hurt to spring for tires, since you are underpaying her on mileage.
I honestly think $10.00 an hour is very inexpensive to watch 2 children plus take a child to and from preschool. From my understanding the going rate for before/after pick up is $50 weekly. I am not sure about paying for her tires, but I think you might want to consider paying her more $. She might not be able to afford the extra money to buy the tires and might be incurring more wear and tear for the extra miles she is driving. I also understand some statements being made that employers do not pay for new tires to drive to work, however if a job required driving usually the company would provide a company car and pay for any maintenance the car needed or reimburse the employee somehow for having to use their own car for work related purposes. I am not sure how she is being compensated, but you might want to ask an accountant if buying the tires could be tax deductible.
The going rate in the Dallas area for nannies is about $15-18 per hour. Your nanny is severly underpaid, and you are very lucky that she is willing to work for that rate. We pay ours $16 per hour to take care of our five-year-old and 20-month-old. Our nanny uses our minivan to drive the kids to preschool and all their extra activities. We made a choice when we hired her that we'd feel better and it'd be easier for her to drive our vehicle. I am not sure that the wear and tear of the nanny's vehicle is an expected part of the employment. The tax deductions opinions are useful; however, it probably does not help your nanny right now to find the cash on hand to buy the tires. I'd also worry whether it is safe for her to transport your children in her vehicle if she thinks she needs new tires. I'd buy her tires or find her another vehicle to use just for my own peace of mind.
I think I will go in Monday and ask my employer for a set of tires and see how that goes. :p
If you didn't get how that answered your question the answer is no!
According to the IRS it is .55 per mile. So lets go with three days, 8 miles a day, 24 miles total. That would be 13.20 so you need to stop giving her so much gas money. :)
Nope, you do not owe her a set of tires. Virtually NO employer would ever purchase tires for their employee to get to work. Ask if she needs to be pre-paid to help her buy her own tires, otherwise you're not helping.
No. Most employers don't pay for tires.
No, you don't owe her tires. But this past August when she started driving your son to preschool, she should have negotiated for extra money if she thought she wasn't getting enough.
I have been a nanny for 3 years and took my boss' daughter to and from school and all her activities. He paid me a set amount a week plus a set gas allowance per month ($150/month: school was 10 miles away one way and she was involved in 4 after school activities). Since I was using my car he told me if any major repairs were needed, he would pay half since I was putting wear/tear on my car and paying my own insurance. I did have a flat tire one day and he ended up paying for the whole tire and I had another major issue with my car and he did pay half. I thought that was kind and it made me feel good about who I was working for. I think if you offered to pay half of her tires that would be fair. It would show that you value her (and your children's safety) and are grateful she has a car to drive your children around in.
According to the Arlington Life Shelter a person must make $14 an hour to afford to live in an apartment in Arlington. So it sounds to me like she can just basically not be able to afford tires.
Because she drives your child every day, I think you probably ought to buy the tires. Shop around for the best deal (maybe Costco if you're a member?) Your child's safety depends on her having tires that aren't bald.
When Christmas comes around, tell her that she has already gotten her bonus. (Don't tell her before that.)
Dawn
Well ten dollars an hour is really cheap child care. I often pay $12-15 an hour for just one child. You might consider giving her a raise if she is a really good nanny that you would like to keep around. I also would consider buying her new tires for her car. She is driving your children around in her car. I often see nannies driving the family car to take kids places. Usually because the family care is safe, has their car sears etc. But, if that is not an option then I would buy the tires.
10 an hour? That's dirt cheap. Pay her the tires. I was a nanny. Wear and tear on your car is a lot. If you don't like it let her use YOUR car.
Dawn...that's sneaky and NOT COOL! If you want to include it as a bonus tell her! Can you can say Dishonest?!
$10/hr isn't much for a nanny, even with the extra gas money. Pay for her tires or let her drive your vehicle. I'm surprised she works for that little to begin with!
If she is consistently taking your children to various places like a park, museum, zoo etc, then maybe I would consider buying her tires. Since she is not driving your children very far, then I would not buy tires.
Jo W is correct, you can show her the IRS website. The .55 per mile includes gas and wear & tear on the vehicle. The $20 you give her for the gas on the vehicle is plenty
Nope, her wear and tear on her car is something she can right off on her taxes. Her tax person can tell her other things she can do too. Since you pay her for gasoline mileage is not something she can write off. I worked for an agency where I transported several individuals with Developmental Disabilities. I was paid mileage. I drove my MIL's truck. My agency would not give me a copy of my mileage without writing across it that I had been reimbursed for my mileage. My MIL's accountant had wanted the paper for other purposes.
I think that if you have someone that does your taxes for you or helps you manage your money you might ask them about employment benefits like this. It would not be more than a couple hundred bucks. You might even offer to go half with her.
I think though it might set a precedence where if the car broke down she would expect you to fix it, all sorts of things. I might consider buying an old beater for her to drive while on the clock to keep this from being a future issue.
Hi R.,
I own North Tx Sitters based out of Keller but services NE Tarrant. We send out sitters for date nights, weekend sittings, week days etc... I do have some girls that do that nanny roll as well. I personally nanny 2-3 days a week.
I have ran a daycare with 300 kids and 45 employees and have over 15 years experience. I have researched many many hours on prices. A typical BABYSITTER makes $12-16 an hour while a nanny makes $15-20 an hour.
As these other moms are stating you are not paying her enough $10 and as Jennifer M stated I am surprised she is stating. I have 16 families in Southlake that pay an avg of 18 an hour for their sitters not nannies and they tip on top of that.
If I were you I would be happy to pay for her tires if that all she is asking.
To maybe avoid her asking in the future i would pay her the normal nanny rate for two children which is $17 an hour (15 first kid $2 per kid per hour after) and then she should not have the need to ask for tires for the future.
Also everyday she takes your children in her car she risks accidents which could go on her insurance which could be upped.
Southlake and Colleyville are the highest paid employer cities in tarrant county for nannies and sitters. I would take that into consideration as well.
HTH
