Hi, I have a question about reimbursement for driving. I recently asked my nanny to start driving our son to his weekly occupational therapy session. When she asked me to compensate her for the driving, I thought, of course, that makes sense. I get reimbursed for using my own car at work. So I offered to reimburse her $0.51/mile, which is the ongoing rate set by the IRS. She got really offended by what is translated to be $5/week increase (about 10 miles roundtrip). She said that her mother-in-law got a $60 compensation for having the responsibility to drive the kids around during the week. I just want to know what is fair. Because this wasn't part of the job description when we first interviewed her, does it mean we have to give her a salary increase to have to drive my son to one therapy session a week?
Monday
Fair Reimbursement for Driving Expenses?
Hi, I have a question about reimbursement for driving. I recently asked my nanny to start driving our son to his weekly occupational therapy session. When she asked me to compensate her for the driving, I thought, of course, that makes sense. I get reimbursed for using my own car at work. So I offered to reimburse her $0.51/mile, which is the ongoing rate set by the IRS. She got really offended by what is translated to be $5/week increase (about 10 miles roundtrip). She said that her mother-in-law got a $60 compensation for having the responsibility to drive the kids around during the week. I just want to know what is fair. Because this wasn't part of the job description when we first interviewed her, does it mean we have to give her a salary increase to have to drive my son to one therapy session a week?
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$60 a week is greed on her part. If it's just $5/week because it's one session and you're paying the IRS rate, then she should be happy that you're willing to compensate at all.
I think $60 is too much, but $5 is too low.
I would also add something in for wear and
tear too. Perhaps $15 total for the trip.
Kidsitter - the 51cents/mile includes wear and tear, not many (if any) cars cost 50cents a mile in gas. But something like $10 or 15 a week would be reasonable.
Jeez - IRS mileage rate takes wear and tear into account. You are paying the standard rate that I would guess the majority of nannies earn for driving charges places.
A 10 mile round trip uses how much gas? Unless your nanny drives a tank, she's MAYBE using 1/3 - 1 gallons per trip. If the cost of gas in your area is over $5.10 per gallow, you MIGHT consider offering $7.50 per trip, but seriously, I wouldn't even go there.
Ask your nanny just how much driving her MIL does each week. Either your nanny is BS'ing you, or her MIL drives multiple kids multiple places and covers about 120 miles per week.
Unless you are convinced your nanny walks on water and you would never ever ever be able to replace her, don't give in to her on this, or you'll be paying her money to drive herself to and from work each day soon!
The rate includes everything.
Fixed expenses: insurance,
depreciation or lease payments, license and registration fees.
Variable expenses: gasoline (and the taxes on gasoline), oil, wear and tear on the tires and even the cost of routine maintenance and repairs.
Gas is already included! That's why the rate jumped during 2008 when gas prices rose.
Anyway, living in NYC I haven't dealt with this much. I think she is being greedy and it's a bad sign. However, ask other moms in your area if they have dealt with it. In many areas, legal driving nannies are harder to find and do command a premium so perhaps that is her frame of reference.
Finally, if she is using your car to transport your child for her job, she likely needs extra or different car insurance which may cost her more - and that you should expect to pay.
nycmom, I completely forgot about the business rider/additional insurance nanny will need!! OP, that should be something you pay for her. If that isn't an option, then you'll need to insure her to drive your car instead.
All the fuss for $5.00? My boss recently asked me to find someone to drive the housekeeper home because her car broke down. My daughter agreed to do it (with her two year old in the car and she's 7 months pregnant). The trip to my bosses house was 25 miles for her to pick her up. It was another 50 to get the housekeeper home and then she had to drive herself back home 25 miles. My boss handed me a ten dollar bill!!! She clearly had no concept, so I squeezed $30 more from her and I don't think it was still enough. The IRS doesn't take into consideration the hassle of carting people around like a taxi service.
$60 for one trip is outrageous but $5 for the convenience of not having to do the driving yourself isn't enough. Pay for the gas and then some for the hassle.
On a side note, I no longer wait for my boss to give me gas money because I do alot of driving for her and I hate to keep asking...since I do the bookkeeping, I simply write myself a check for what I think is reasonable.
I think the Nanny should get the $60 because the Nanny thinks she should get $60. That's her price. Pay her, or get someone else to take the child.
The nanny didn't sign up to transport the kid. This is a whole new deal. And no one is going to show up for $5 to take a child anywhere.
I agree that the fifty-one cents per mile takes into account add'l wear and tear on the vehicle. I think the reason her mother-in-law made sixty dollars is because your nanny was factoring in her service fee as well. As long as you are still paying your nanny hourly in addition to the IRS mileage rate,that is okay. However, to keep her happy and make up for this new job duty, I would spring and pay her a little extra. It would be the right thing to do and the amount is up to you. Perhaps $20/trip. I do not have a problem w/driving around my charges, but some nannies are very anxious doing this and wouldn't be happy if such a duty was asked of them AFTER they accepted a job.
Good Luck.
I think that the IRS rate makes total sense. If I only had to drive 5 miles each way somewhere once a week I don't think I would even really ask about reimbursement bc it is such a small thing.
If you plan on having her drive anywhere else besides those trips and don't want to start mileage logs, I would recommend just making it an even $15 or $20 extra per week for some light driving.
This post inspired me to finally ask my MB for reimbursement for gas money. I called her just a little while ago (had to find out my hours for tomorrow anyway) and asked her if I could start being reimbursed for gas. I explained the standard rate of 51 cents a mile (she asked where I got that figure from) and that all of the running around I do (to school, to the kids' gym classes, etc.) really adds up. She was very quiet and then said she'd have to talk to her husband about it. I'm thinking if they say no I might put in my 2 weeks notice. I've been with them for 2 years (and got no raise this year) and have put up with a lot of crap, and I'm tired of it. I would be fine with $5 for 10 miles a week. I probably wouldn't have even asked for gas money for 10 miles, but I'm a pushover (obviously!). I think it's insane that the nanny is asking for $60!?!
I personally find it a little ridiculous your nanny wants to be compensated at all. It is just such a small amount of driving, I immediately thought "who cares?" But gas is pretty expensive now, so I guess I can see her point. But $60 is just plain greed. I say stick to the $5 and that's it. I don't know why some of the previous posters are suggesting $10 or even $20 increase in salary, it doesn't make any sense. If your nanny really can't handle it, it is time to find a new nanny because she is way too immature.
Tell her to choose between 51 cents per mile or walking the 10 miles round trip for no additional pay. Ha, just kidding.
I could see going to $10 in recognition of the fact that this wasn't in her original job description. But I honestly wouldn't go beyond that.
Hey guys...I live in CA and we are currently paying $4.25/gallon of gas so even if I were driving once a week, even for five miles, I would still ask for some type of compensation. It's just fair. Experts forecast we may be paying $5.00/gallon this summmer, so no way would I drive anyone around for free. As a parent, if I needed someone to drive my child anywhere, I would offer to pay not just gas, but mileage and a fee for the actual driving service as well. Shoot, taxis here in my town run $2.70/mile. Imagine if this mother used a taxi to shuttle her kid.
OP, maybe this is a good time to re-examine your contract during a sit down meeting with your nanny.
You can add the driving reimbursement info to the contract, and even spell out that as the job changes and evolves you will continue to add to the contract as needed.
I do think your nanny sounds kind of...high maintenance. Of course, you may live somewhere where driving is not a normal duty for a nanny, but still!
I just payed $4.67 for a gallon of gas here in Chicago I say you pay her more than 5 bucks.
Nap town nanny please keep us posted on what MB says
i say she deserves more than $5 but $60 is too much. I would go between $10-$15. I do think if nannies are using their car (and gas) to do job related things during the day (obviously not including to and from work) then they should be reimbursed for it because those trips would not have been taken otherwise.
The answer is simple: Your nanny is being paid her salary/hourly rate for the time spent taking your child to OT already. She is now just using the time in a different manner by taking your chid to OT.
$.51 is the IRS rate for driving reimbursement, whether you are a nanny, an attorney or a FBI agent and whether you drive a Honda, a Lexus or a SUV. This rate covers all auto related costs when a personal auto is used for work related purposes and is clearly set forth on the IRS website.
Your nanny's greed is inexcusable. Don't give in, you will hate yourself later. There is no "hassle" involved in driving a child once a week to an appt. during time your nanny has already agreed to spend as your child's nanny. If your nanny is this opportunistic and rigid, you really should look elsewhere ASAP, plenty of others are reading the want ads at this minute.
One of my children required visits to OT, PT and ST 4 days a week for several years. My main nanny and all of the "fill-ins" drove him there without question or complaint and although I offered the mileage reimbursement (for a 40mile round trip) none would accept because they felt it was too snall an amount to worry about. I always felt this said a lot about them and would reimburse them in other ways such as gift cards, tickets, etc. Later on, we had a sitter who kept track of every quarter mile, even when it was to drive to her house to pick up something she had forgotten, and this attitude was reflected in her generally miserly, selfish performance and in my miserly, selfish severance pay to her.
I am a nanny & several things were NOT covered here like the autos interior & carpetting is adversely affected by children kicking seats, spilling drinks or food picking at tears in upholstery. ETC. Supervising while driving is difficult at best.Heaven Forbid in the case of an accident the nanny could be sued & if she is carrying an inadequate bodily injury could lose assets so $60 mmmmmay be a drop in the bucket !
I think the kid could go the "whole" 10 miles without eating or drinking anything in the car so, that really shouldn't be a consideration.
If the kid messes up the car in any way I would definitely expect the parents to pay for that.
I say give her $10-$20 and tell her it's only going to cost her like $5/week in gas and to get over it!
OR, give her your car to use.
I hope you wrote in the contract that she's expected to drive your child to and from OT otherwise you're in violation and she doesn't have to take him for a MEASLEY 5 dollars a week. Sorry but coverage per gallon is if she just drove but I suspect you actually expect her to also find a parking, take him inside, sign him in or whatever and stay until he eiter goes in or comes out, get him into the car and out at your home right? Or does she drive by the place and toss him out the window? If someone told me they would pay me 5 bucks to drive someone somewhere I'd ask who would be taking him down. If OP wasn't going to be there or she was and wants the ride then she can use her own car. Common sense people.
I agree
I'm a full time, college educated nanny within the Atlanta metro area. I asked my boss about compensation on driving her kids to their multiple activities throughout the week and pickups from school and she said she pay the standard rate also. After all week of driving and etc, I received a check for $11.00. Miles within a 5 mile radius isn't included in her calculations. The IRS doesn't take into,considerations gas I don't think. After driving your OWN kids around all week, really do you think $11.00 would maintain that? No! So I'm looking for another position. Simply put! I will place It in future contracts. This position just so happen to come available.
I'm a full time, college educated nanny within the Atlanta metro area. I asked my boss about compensation on driving her kids to their multiple activities throughout the week and pickups from school and she said she pay the standard rate also. After all week of driving and etc, I received a check for $11.00. Miles within a 5 mile radius isn't included in her calculations. The IRS doesn't take into,considerations gas I don't think. After driving your OWN kids around all week, really do you think $11.00 would maintain that? No! So I'm looking for another position. Simply put! I will place It in future contracts. This position just so happen to come available.
I agree
I encounter this all the time and I've been a nanny for years. Unfortunately the situation seems to be more prevalent over the years. First off, the family should be providing the car, not the nanny. There would be no issues if this were the case. In the past I had always been given a car to drive the kids. Government reimbursement for car use only takes into account mileage. That would cover your gas and mileage put on the car and accounts for wear and tear of driving ONLY. Wear and tear for additional miles only. For example, I have to drive out of state for work, my mileage would be reimbursed and account for gas tolls and wear and tear of driving there. That is all.
Here's what it doesn't account for. I paid for a new car, it is mine and I own it. I paid for a four seats. Due to cars seats, I no longer have that luxury and I am paying to provide the family with a car now. I am not reimbursed for wear and tear of car seats, nicks scratches and the mess of kids being in the car. Any parent is well aware of what kids can do to a car and it shouldn't be explained. Mileage reimbursement is not for your car being a taxi cab service for children. Now I charge my car as a taxi to parents. It may be wrong, but the fact is I don't want to use my car. For years, none of the families I ever had would ever ask to use my car for their kids. I always used theirs. I'm not insured to use my car as a work vehicle, that's another expense not covered. I also cant let some maintenance go until I have it because I have kids in my car and now its a liability. Companies also reimburse people for car expense not just mileage. Mileage is the minimum, Like minimum wage. I'm also taking the risk if someone hits me with your kids in it, for insurance reasons. I'd really welcome parents opinion as to why they think its fair for your employee/nanny to have to ruin the interior of their car and its their responsibility. Depending on who's family it was, it could be 2 miles (in which case mileage couldn't even cover the mess). to ware I have driven all day and put 400 miles a week on. (I've had 3 kids who were in travel teams, appointment etc) Why on earth would I put that on my car? Would you? If the table were turned would you want this in your car for your job? Now I would think driving is an additional responsibility and worth more even more if there are not using their own car. But can any parents honestly say its fair and they'd do this for someone else for a mileage rate that is not for transporting people?
Well isn't she getting hourly too and these appts. Sounds like they are during her shift to me.
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