If you’re thinking about hiring a butler, know that you’re not crazy. It’s easy to suppose that butlery is a rare and antiquated profession, but that’s anything but the case. There are several thousand butlers working in the U.S. as well as millions around the world. What has changed, especially in the developed world, is the nature of butling. Rather than sticking to bottle service and kitchen staff management, the modern-day butler has morphed into something of a jack-of-all-trades. Need a nanny, personal assistant, valet/driver, bodyguard, and chef? You can hire a butler who can take on all these tasks and others. He or she can also manage other household staff. In fact, many households will use multiple workers in their home for special events and isolated needs, while maintaining only one full-time worker—the butler.
Butler Wages and Salary Expectations
The cost to hire a butler is also a lot different today and not just because of inflation. There is an enormous range of both job demands and butler wages. According to Glassdoor, the average salary is around $35k/year. According to Payscale, it’s $56k/year with a range between $30k-$85k. According to the International Butler Academy, a typical salary can be anywhere between $50k-$150k/year. Dig a little deeper and you can begin to understand how much you should expect to offer in butler wages to recruit the kind of household worker who can meet your needs.
Hourly butler wages are not that different than a lot of professionals and frequently land in a range between $15-$25/hour. Thus, if you hire a butler for specific services and time windows throughout the week, the costs can be quite manageable and a plausible solution even for households that aren’t uber-wealthy. On the other hand, if you hire an experienced and highly-skilled live-in butler, or an estate butler who oversees multiple residences, then you might very well end up paying six figures for a commensurate professional. Plus, in addition to a higher hourly wage, this type of employee is also likely to command certain perks that may include paid time off, room and board, and/or insurance and retirement benefits.
Get Software Support when You Hire a Butler
When you hire a butler, it’s not just the salary costs you need to plan for. It’s also the paperwork. In most cases, a butler will count as a household employee, and you will be considered the employer. This means, if you don’t already have one, you’ll need to get an employer identification number (EIN). It means you’ll need an I-9, W-2, W-4, Sch H Form 1040, and other employer-related filing requirements. You’ll also have to start accounting for and withholding the relevant payroll and income taxes.
This is what Advanced Micro Solutions (AMS) does better than anyone. Our software solutions make it easy and reliable to file your household employment forms. With a powerful set of data management features, our Forms Filer platform already offers the support you need to prepare W-2 and 1099 forms with secure data, versatile file importing, and reliable information printing. Better yet, this platform creates an easy way to build a personalized software solution. Looking for simple form support for your Sch H 1040 filings? Our Forms Filer Plus is a low-cost answer. AMS Payroll, meanwhile, is a better way to get payroll processing and paycheck calculations on a weekly, quarterly, and annual basis. Other modules make it possible to e-file and/or print out blank filing forms. Download our free demo or talk to Sales and Information at (800) 536-1099 to discover how AMS can solve your household employment filing requirements. You can buy our accounting software products online at any time.
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