You don’t have to issue a Form 1099-MISC to a babysitter no matter how much you pay the sitter. Here are the rules:
IF THE SITTER WORKS IN YOUR HOME:
If you hire a sitter 18 or older to care for your kids in your home and you control how and when she does her job, then you must treat the sitter as an employee and issue Form I-9 and W-4 when you hire her. You must also withhold FICA taxes each pay period, but you’re not required to withhold federal income taxes. You must issue the sitter a W-2 at year end and file employment tax returns quarterly (i.e. Form 941) and pay the employer’s share of the FICA taxes.
IF THE SITTER WORKS OUT OF HER HOME:
The sitter must report what you pay her on Schedule C where she can also deduct expenses related to her service.You do not have to issue Form 1099-MISC because you are not paying the sitter the COURSE OF YOUR TRADE OF BUSINESS. In other words, if you own, say a pizza restaurant and hire an unincorporated window washer (an independent contractor) and pay $600 or more to the window washer, then you would issue Form 1099-MISC because you paid for the service in course of your trade or business.
To get the Child Care credit, you need the sitter’s name, address, social security number (or Federal Tax ID, if she has one), and the amount you paid her for the year. You get the credit on Form 2441.
In any event, you don’t have to issue Form 1099-MISC.