By Alexis Gallati, Guest Writer

As part of a dual-income household, my physician husband and I quickly found out we needed additional help running our home and assisting with our four children (yes, four kids under the age of 13!). From laundry to sports practices and even grocery shopping, we needed to focus on our businesses and quality time with our kids.

For many physicians and other high-income professionals, hiring a nanny or family assistant is a practical way to keep the household running and to maintain some level of work-life balance. But once you hire a household employee, you don’t just become a parent with help; in the eyes of the IRS, you become an employer. That means you need to deal with what’s commonly referred to as the “nanny tax.”

It might be tempting to avoid nanny taxes altogether and hope the IRS won’t come knocking. However,