To start a babysitting business, decide exactly what care you offer and where, get pediatric CPR and First Aid training, write a rate card and a few policies, line up references, tell the people who already know you, and record every payment from the first sit for taxes. None of it needs money up front beyond a training course. Here is the checklist, in order.
Write down, before the first inquiry arrives: the youngest age you take (infants need different skills from school-age kids), the most children you will watch at once, the days and hours you are free, how far you will travel, and whether you do date nights, after-school care, overnight sits or regular weekly work. These are your limits. Every inquiry gets measured against them, and it is easier to say a kind no when the rule was set in advance.
Pediatric CPR and First Aid is the first thing many parents ask about. The American Red Cross and the American Heart Association both run courses, and many libraries, hospitals and community centers offer babysitting courses for teenagers. Keep the certificate and its date: certifications expire. If you will drive children, check your car insurance covers it and that you have the right car seats.
There is no single national rule. Child care licensing is set by each state and usually covers care in your own home or a center rather than occasional sits in the family's home, but the line differs from place to place, and some cities want a general business license from anyone selling a service. Ask your city or county clerk and your state's child care licensing office. If you are under 18, talk it over with a parent too.
A rate card is more than an hourly number: what each extra child adds, a late-night rate, holidays, a minimum booking and a cancellation fee. How much to charge for babysitting walks through each line with worked examples. Write down a few policies as well and send them with every quote: how and when you are paid, what happens when a child is sick, cancellations, screen time and food rules you will follow, and who to call in an emergency.
New families want to hear from someone who has left children with you. Ask people who have seen you with kids (families you have sat for, a church nursery or school leader, a teacher), ask each one separately whether they will take calls and whether their words may go on your website, and keep their answers. Babysitting references has the wording.
Most sitters start with people who already know them: neighbors, church, school, friends with young children, and local groups such as Nextdoor or a school parents' list. A short message they can forward, and a simple one-page website with your rates and an inquiry form, turn a mention into a booking. After every sit that went well, ask for a referral.
Babysitting money is taxable in the US, cash included, and once your profit for the year reaches $400 you also owe self-employment tax (if one family sets your hours and how you work, like a nanny, you may be their household employee instead; see babysitting taxes). Record each sit, each payment, the miles you drive between sits and what you spend on supplies or training. For their child care credit, families need your taxpayer ID; for a sole proprietor that is your Social Security number (IRS Form W-10 instructions), given on Form W-10. Babysitting taxes, explained has the 2026 figures and due dates.
The free app does steps 4 to 7 for you. The Babysitting Business Kit scores each inquiry against your limits and drafts the reply, quotes sits from your rate card, warns before a double-booking, tracks who has paid, sets money aside for taxes, drafts reference requests and keeps the consent answers, and builds your one-page website. It runs in your browser with no account, and you can add it to your phone's home screen.
Usually not a child care license for occasional sits in the family's own home, but the rules are set by your state, county and city, not nationally. Child care licensing generally covers care in your own home or a center, and some towns want a general business license from anyone selling a service. Ask your city or county clerk and your state's child care licensing office before you start.
Pediatric CPR and First Aid is the training parents ask about first. The American Red Cross and the American Heart Association both run courses, and many communities offer babysitting courses for teenagers. Keep the certificate date, because certifications expire and families notice.
Yes. In the US babysitting income is taxable whether you are paid in cash, by app or by check. Once your profit for the year reaches $400 you also owe self-employment tax and file Schedule C and Schedule SE. If one family sets your hours and how you work, like a nanny, you may be their household employee instead (IRS Publication 926). Record every payment from the first sit, and set money aside as you go.
Most start with people who already know them: neighbors, church, school, friends with young children. Tell them you are taking bookings, give them a short message they can forward, ask every happy family for a referral and a reference, and put up a simple website with your rates and an inquiry form so a forwarded link has somewhere to land.