working private duty .

This forum is for questions about filing your income tax return with TurboTax. We cannot advise you about pay rates for your profession.

Regarding federal income tax: A private-duty nurse working in the patient's home is generally considered a household employee, not an independent contractor or self-employed. Your employer is the person you are caring for instead of the agency. If the patient pays you $2,800 or more in 2025 she must pay Social Security and Medicare taxes, and she can withhold your share of the Social Security and Medicare taxes from your pay, just like any other employer that you work for. She must also give you a W-2 at the end of the year. You would enter the W-2 in your tax return, the same as a W-2 from any other employer. You would not pay self-employment tax. The amount of tax that you would pay would be the same as if you earned the same amount at any other job where you get a W-2.

Since you do not have to pay any additional tax as a household employee, it seems to me that a fair hourly rate would be the same amount that the agency would pay you for the same work. But that's just my opinion. I'm not an authority on compensation for nurses, and there may be other considerations that I am not aware of. As I said earlier, we can help you with your tax return, but we cannot advise you about your pay.

Q.  If I switch from an agency employee to a private contractor, how much more do I need to get paid to account for taxes?

A. The simple answer is 7.65% to account for the fact that you will now be paying for the employer share of social security and Medicare tax, in the form of self employment tax (SET). 

Another reply brought up the issue of whether you are an independent contractor or a household employee. It depends on more details. The bottom line: you and the client need to agree on how you will be treated, for tax purposes.  I'm of the opinion that a nurse would more likely be an independent contractor,  than a nanny or maid.  

Reference:

https://blog.taxact.com/are-you-a-household-employee/#:~:text=At%20a%20glance%3A,certain%20taxes%20from%20their%20wages.

The reference that Hal_Al gave says the following.

"Here are some typical examples of household employees: ...
• Health aides and private nurses"

IRS Publication 926 (2025), Household Employer's Tax Guide, page 3, says the following.

"Some examples of workers who do household work are: ...
• Private nurses"