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Daycare and Taxes>Meal Counts
Unregistered 11:32 AM 06-15-2017
From a tax perspective. DCG 1 has a parent that is a teacher. She has switched to half day as her mom only teaches morning summer school. I only have a day rate so she will still be paying the full rate for June and July. Summer school does not run here the entire month of August but mom is a coach for a Fall sport. More than likely DCG will only be here from 9-12 in August and not every day. If I end up not charging mom at all (I know this may sound stupid but it's >3 hours and DCM is my best friend) if I don't charge her can I still count her in my meal counts as she will more than likely be here during AM snack and lunch or can I not count her as far as taxes are concerned. I do not participate in the food program, many in my area don't and honestly advise against it. I had a rep come out once but wasn't feeling it so my question is just from a tax standpoint.
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Unregistered 07:27 AM 06-16-2017
Anyone know?
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TomCopeland 07:49 AM 06-16-2017
Originally Posted by Unregistered:
From a tax perspective. DCG 1 has a parent that is a teacher. She has switched to half day as her mom only teaches morning summer school. I only have a day rate so she will still be paying the full rate for June and July. Summer school does not run here the entire month of August but mom is a coach for a Fall sport. More than likely DCG will only be here from 9-12 in August and not every day. If I end up not charging mom at all (I know this may sound stupid but it's >3 hours and DCM is my best friend) if I don't charge her can I still count her in my meal counts as she will more than likely be here during AM snack and lunch or can I not count her as far as taxes are concerned. I do not participate in the food program, many in my area don't and honestly advise against it. I had a rep come out once but wasn't feeling it so my question is just from a tax standpoint.
You can deduct meals (and other expenses) for caring for a child whose parent is not paying you only if this is part of a business relationship. In other words, she is an ongoing client and you are offering some free care in the summer because you will be paid on a regular basis starting in September. Since, you say this parent is your best friend, then you could look at this as part of a personal, not business relationship and therefore not deduct any expenses. Would you offer the same deal to other parents who are not your "friends"? If so, you could treat this as a business relationship. If not, it's a personal relationship.

You, and the other providers in your area who are not on the Food Program are making a big mistake. You are giving up about $560 or $1,170 per year per child. Even after paying taxes on this, you are still ahead financially.
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