HomePay Review: Is It the Right Nanny Payroll Solution for You?
Charlette has over 10 years of experience in accounting and finance and 2 years of partnering with HR leaders on freelance projects. She uses this extensive experience to answer your questions about payroll.
Robie has more than five years of content writing experience and specializes in writing about payroll and human resources software for small businesses.
This article is part of a larger series on Payroll Services.
What We Recommend HomePay For
HomePay is one of our top-recommended nanny payroll services primarily because of its nanny-specific expertise and full-service pay processing features. Its reps manage the payroll process for you versus just giving you the tools and training to do it. If you’re a new household employer, the provider will even set up your tax accounts—making it easier for you to get started.
Although it’s less affordable than doing payroll yourself, using HomePay gives you access to payroll tax experts who stay abreast of changing regulations and can save you money in the long run—plus it has no registration and setup fees.
In short, HomePay is best for:
- Families needing help hiring household employees: HomePay’s partnership with Care.com, a service many families use to find nannies and caregivers, provides you with tools to find and hire household employees. Combining it with HomePay’s nanny payroll services helps streamline processes since you don’t have to use separate solutions to hire and pay workers.
- Household employers needing a hands-off nanny payroll solution: If you are always busy with work, HomePay can take care of your household employees’ payroll for you. It handles all aspects of payroll, tax, and basic HR with ease. In case you need expert advice, its team is available through live phone, email, and chat—plus, support is unlimited. They will even represent you when dealing with tax agencies.
- Household employers wanting a mobile-friendly solution: Apart from email reminders about payroll and tax schedules, HomePay has a portal where you can manage payroll on mobile. You can even change the nanny’s hours and rates quickly from any device when using your HomePay account.
When HomePay Would Not Be a Good Fit
- Employers needing payroll software with multiple integrations: HomePay has limited integration capabilities with other software. If you have existing third-party software you need to sync with your payroll system, we recommend Paychex, which integrates with accounting, time tracking, and other software.
- Employers wanting to provide employee benefits to household staff: While HomePay has an insurance partner for workers’ compensation plans, it doesn’t have partner brokers for other benefits options you can offer to household employees. If providing health insurance is important to you, consider SurePayroll. It comes with full-service nanny payroll and access to benefits plans.
HomePay Overview
| PROS | CONS |
|---|---|
| No registration and setup fees | More expensive than competitors |
| Experts on staff for advising on compliance issues | Year-end tax preparation costs extra |
| Sets up federal and state tax accounts for new household employers | No in-house printing of paper checks |
| Receives all state tax notices directly and provides support for tax audits | Limited integrations |
HomePay Pricing
Since Our Last Update:
HomePay has changed its monthly fee from $59 to $75, although it still charges the same year-end tax report cost of $100.
HomePay’s payroll service costs $75 per month. This covers one employee and includes pay and tax processing, direct deposits, paid time off (PTO) tracking, and quarterly tax filing and remittance. However, preparation of year-end tax reports costs extra ($100).
The provider also offers a tax service guarantee, which covers all penalties if its representative makes a tax filing mistake. It even has a “happiness guarantee” for new clients, allowing you to request a refund if its nanny payroll solution doesn’t meet your expectations during your first six months.
HomePay Features
Since Our Last Update:
We go into more detail on HomePay’s payroll and tax filing tools, including the HR support that it offers.
Paying household employees can be challenging and stressful given the complexities of calculating salaries and handling nanny taxes. With HomePay, you’re assured that your nanny, caregiver, and other household workers are paid correctly and taxes are filed accurately and on time.
Payroll Processing
HomePay handles and automates payroll processing for any pay schedule. With its mobile-friendly online payroll manager solution, you can view your employees’ compensation details, modify work hours and gross wages, and preview paystubs. It also sends email notifications with reminders about upcoming payroll deadlines, including details about the gross and net salaries for the pay period and a link to your online HomePay account.
If you need assistance with payroll changes, you can contact its team of HR and payroll specialists for help. Its payroll rep will correct the payroll and even reconcile any differences in the next pay run. Once payroll has been approved and processed, HomePay pays your household employee via direct deposits. If you prefer to check payments, you have to manually prepare these because HomePay doesn’t have check printing capabilities.
Payroll Tax Management
With HomePay, you don’t have to worry about managing payroll taxes for your nanny and household staff. It automatically calculates, withholds, remits, and files quarterly state and federal payroll taxes. For an extra $100 fee, it also prepares year-end tax reports, including Schedule H, 1040, W-2, and W-3 forms.
Aside from payroll tax filings, HomePay helps set up your state and federal tax accounts if you’re a new household employer. It even manages your tax correspondence and official notices. HomePay also provides support in case you get audited by the IRS.
Online Payroll Records
Managing paper forms to ensure that everything is complete and readily available can be a nightmare. HomePay takes the stress out of handling payroll and tax-related documents as it provides online access to paystubs and tax records. It also generates and sends tax returns to your HomePay account, so you can view these before state and federal tax filing deadlines. Best of all, you get lifetime access to your online tax forms and pay records.
HR Features
HomePay handles online onboarding for your new employees and files new hire reports for you. It also monitors your staff’s PTO accruals, including reimbursements. Similar to your online HomePay account, your employees can access all payroll information, like pay stubs and other payroll data, via a self-service portal.
Partnership With Care.com
HomePay’s partnership with Care.com allows you to access online recruiting tools. While Care.com doesn’t employ the workers directly, it has an extensive network to help you find and hire nannies, senior caregivers, and other household staff that you need.
Customer Support
HomePay has a team of tax and labor law experts you can consult with (via phone) five days a week—from Mondays to Thursdays, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Central time and Fridays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central time. Apart from phone support, you also get unlimited assistance via chat and email.
HomePay Ease of Use
- Easy to set up and use
- Email reminders for payroll deadlines
- Online access to payroll and tax forms
- Advance notification of quarterly payments
- Online guides and resources (tax calculator and state tax requirements)
- Tax setup and audit support
- Reliable HR and payroll experts
HomePay is very easy to set up and use, and its self-service portal is easy to navigate for both employers and employees. HR and payroll experts are just a phone call away, which brings comfort to household employers who do not know much about tax and labor laws. Its advanced notifications for payroll and quarterly tax payments also make it easier for users to comply earlier than the deadlines.
What Users Think About HomePay
There aren’t a lot of up-to-date HomePay reviews online as of this writing. Customers who left feedback on its Facebook page said they like its efficient payroll services and helpful support team. However, a few said that it can be a bit pricey.
Top HomePay Alternatives
 |  |  |
Best for: Employers looking for affordable nanny payroll and tax services | Best for: Household employers looking for full-service nanny payroll and benefits | Best for: Employers hiring temporary household workers |
Recurring fees: $49.99 per month | Recurring fees: $35 per month | Recurring fees: $6.25 per paycheck for weekly payroll |
Payroll tax filing fees: None | Payroll tax filing fees: Quarterly and year-end tax filings cost extra; call Paychex for quote | Payroll tax filing fees: $80 for quarterly taxes and $150 for year-end taxes |
If you’ve narrowed your list down to a few providers but still need help deciding which the best payroll software for you is, follow our step-by-step guide on how to choose the right payroll solution.
Bottom Line
HomePay is a complete payroll, tax, and HR tool that caters specifically to household employers. Although pricier than some payroll providers, it’s a fairly reasonably priced solution that takes the burden of processing payroll off the employer. Apart from tax payment and filing services, it coordinates with state and federal agencies and manages correspondences on your behalf. If you want a fully outsourced nanny payroll software, HomePay is a good option. Sign up for an online account today.
