Are wages paid to household employees deductible from personal income taxes?

I hired a nanny to watch my son in 2007. I understand she is considered my employee and that I have to pay employer taxes on wages paid to her (and I have done so). My understanding is that wages paid to employees are (in general for most business) deductible expenses. But I haven't seen a clear answer to this anywhere in the household employee context. Should I deduct the wages I paid to the nanny from my personal income taxes? It makes sense to me that I would, but I don't want to inadvertantly underreport my income. Thanks. I hired a nanny to watch my son in 2007. I understand she is considered my employee and that I have to pay employer taxes on wages paid to her (and I have done so). My understanding is that wages paid to employees are (in general for most business) deductible expenses. But I haven't seen a clear answer to this anywhere in the household employee context. Should I deduct the wages I paid to the nanny from my personal income taxes? It makes sense to me that I would, but I don't want to inadvertantly underreport my income. Thanks. EDIT: I understand I hired childcare, but I also hired an employee. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the childcare credit would be available if I just placed my child in a daycare (in which case I would NOT have hired an employee, and would NOT pay the various employer taxes.) It seems that if I'm bearing the burden of being classified as an employer (paying the taxes), I ought also to be entitled to the benefits (deducting wages). What am I missing?

Public Comments

1. You paid for childcare. There is a form 2441 for claiming a credit for childcare. This a credit to reduce your tax. You do not get any other deductions.
2. What you did was pay for childcare. It can be claimed on form 2441 - childcare credit. You do NOT deduct the entire wages from your household income. A business owner can deduct wages - but your life is personal, not a business. A business is a money-making venture. If you were conducting a home-based business, and the person you hired to work in your home was part of generating income for that business, that would be a different story. But childcare for your children is not an income-producing venture, therefore you don't deduct the expense of childcare from your wages. (raising children is an income-REDUCING venture. But a satisfying one, and a worthy one) You take the childcare credit instead, because it pertains to childcare, not income-production.