Food Program & Standard Meal Deductions

[TSDaycare]

I am on the food program-get reimbursed each month-so this is claimed as income and taxed? So on the standard meal deduction I can claim EVERY meal I serve? Or just the meals that aren't reimbursed by the food program?

[marniewon]

Yes, what you get from the food program is counted as income. You can claim all meals you serve, whether they were reimbursed through the food program or not. You can look up the standard meal allowance on irs.gov.

[TomCopeland]

I've written a recent blog post "How to Claim Food Expenses" at http://www.tomcopelandblog.com/2011/...-expenses.html
See another blog post of mine "Are CACFP Reimbursements Taxable Income?" at http://www.tomcopelandblog.com/2011/...le-income.html

Yes, you can claim every meal and snack you serve even if it's not nutritious.

[LaLa1923]

Originally Posted by TomCopeland

I've written a recent blog post "How to Claim Food Expenses" at http://www.tomcopelandblog.com/2011/...-expenses.html
See another blog post of mine "Are CACFP Reimbursements Taxable Income?" at http://www.tomcopelandblog.com/2011/...le-income.html

Yes, you can claim every meal and snack you serve even if it's not nutritious.

"What's most important, however, is to keep a daily record of all meals and snacks that are not reimbursed by the Food Program. You don't need to keep a menu. These non-reimbursed meals and snacks do not have to be nutritious. If you serve a popsicle in the afternoon, it's a snack! I'm not advocating that you serve junk food, but if you do, it's deductible. Do your best to record these non-reimbursable meals and snacks because it adds up: One non-reimbursed snack a day is worth $171 a year per child!'


I thought you said that we could count the food program as income and then use the standard deduction for meals and snacks? Not just the "non-reinbursable" correct?

[TomCopeland]

Originally Posted by LaLa1923

"What's most important, however, is to keep a daily record of all meals and snacks that are not reimbursed by the Food Program. You don't need to keep a menu. These non-reimbursed meals and snacks do not have to be nutritious. If you serve a popsicle in the afternoon, it's a snack! I'm not advocating that you serve junk food, but if you do, it's deductible. Do your best to record these non-reimbursable meals and snacks because it adds up: One non-reimbursed snack a day is worth $171 a year per child!'


I thought you said that we could count the food program as income and then use the standard deduction for meals and snacks? Not just the "non-reinbursable" correct?

Reimbursements from the Food Program are taxable income. There is an exception: reimbursements from the Food Program for your own children are not taxable income. Food eaten by your own children (or you at home) are never a business deduction. If you use the standard meal allowance you can deduct all the meals and snacks you are reimbursed by the Food Program (except those for your own children) and other non-reimbursed meals and snacks as well. The total number of meals and snacks per child in a day cannot be more than 1 breakfast, 1 lunch, 1 supper and 3 snacks.

[Building Blocks]

Is there a tax form we can fill out to have ready when we bring our taxes to be done?

[EntropyControlSpecialist]

Originally Posted by TomCopeland

Reimbursements from the Food Program are taxable income. There is an exception: reimbursements from the Food Program for your own children are not taxable income. Food eaten by your own children (or you at home) are never a business deduction. If you use the standard meal allowance you can deduct all the meals and snacks you are reimbursed by the Food Program (except those for your own children) and other non-reimbursed meals and snacks as well. The total number of meals and snacks per child in a day cannot be more than 1 breakfast, 1 lunch, 1 supper and 3 snacks.

I have a very hard time understanding taxes.

So, we should save our receipts for daycare food (EVEN IF WE ARE REIMBURSED THROUGH THE FOOD PROGRAM) to use as a business deduction if we have no children eating the food? Or, if we are reimbursed then we cannot use it as a deduction?

[TomCopeland]

Originally Posted by EntropyControlSpecialist

I have a very hard time understanding taxes.

So, we should save our receipts for daycare food (EVEN IF WE ARE REIMBURSED THROUGH THE FOOD PROGRAM) to use as a business deduction if we have no children eating the food? Or, if we are reimbursed then we cannot use it as a deduction?

If you use the standard meal method to claim food expenses, you don't need to save any food receipts. You are always entitled to use this method even if you aren't on the Food Program. So, whether or not you are on the Food Program will make no difference in how much you claim in food expenses. If you are on the Food Program you can count the meals and snacks you get reimbursed as part of your food deduction. So, get reimbursed for breakfast, claim in as a food deduction. Serve an afternoon snack that is not reimbursed by the Food Program? Claim it as a food deduction.

[Abigail]

So the standard meal allowance for taxes we can use 1 breakfast, 1 lunch, 1 supper, and up to 3 snacks a day per child IF they were in attendance and served those? Being on the food program pretty much just gives us their own rules and income so we can forget about whether we were paid for all the meals we claimed because we can claim up to the 3 meals and 3 snacks a day per child like you said if I understand. So is their a chart that is easy to track these? I know all year I've done a morning snack that I can't claim so I have B, S, L, S each day for all the kids. So I just have to go back to my attendance records for the year and handwrite down how many, but for next year I would like an actual chart. Do you have recommendations on how to do that? Also, if I have an infant in care and I feed them 5-6 bottles a day does that mean I would claim a breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, and snack since it's over the hours of 7-5?

[TomCopeland]

Originally Posted by Abigail

So the standard meal allowance for taxes we can use 1 breakfast, 1 lunch, 1 supper, and up to 3 snacks a day per child IF they were in attendance and served those? Being on the food program pretty much just gives us their own rules and income so we can forget about whether we were paid for all the meals we claimed because we can claim up to the 3 meals and 3 snacks a day per child like you said if I understand. So is their a chart that is easy to track these? I know all year I've done a morning snack that I can't claim so I have B, S, L, S each day for all the kids. So I just have to go back to my attendance records for the year and handwrite down how many, but for next year I would like an actual chart. Do you have recommendations on how to do that? Also, if I have an infant in care and I feed them 5-6 bottles a day does that mean I would claim a breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, and snack since it's over the hours of 7-5?

You can only deduct meals and snacks that you actually serve. Up to a maximum of 6 per day per child. You can use the Minute Menu software to keep track or there is a chart created by Redleaf Press (on their Calendar Keeper). Or you can mark these extra servings on your copy of the Food Program monthly claim form. Yes, claim your infant meals/snacks the way you listed them.

[momofboys]

What are the standard deductions for breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner. I have kept records of how many of each I have served but does anyone have the numbers hansdy so I can calculate this? Thank you!!!!

[Blackcat31]

Originally Posted by momofboys

What are the standard deductions for breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner. I have kept records of how many of each I have served but does anyone have the numbers hansdy so I can calculate this? Thank you!!!!

http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/care/Pro...ents/Table.pdf

Effective from July 1, 2012 - June 30, 2013

Breakfast
Tier 1 $1.27
Tier 2 $ .46

Lunch/Supper
Tier 1 $2.38
Tier 2 $1.44

Snack
Tier 1 $ .71
Tier 2 $ .19

Hawaii and Alaska are different as well as centers.

HTH

[TomCopeland]

Originally Posted by Blackcat31

http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/care/Pro...ents/Table.pdf

Effective from July 1, 2012 - June 30, 2013

Breakfast
Tier 1 $1.27
Tier 2 $ .46

Lunch/Supper
Tier 1 $2.38
Tier 2 $1.44

Snack
Tier 1 $ .71
Tier 2 $ .19

Hawaii and Alaska are different as well as centers.

HTH

The numbers above are what providers currently receive from the Food Program, not what you can deduct as a food expense. Under the standard meal allowance rule for 2013 you can deduct $1.27 for breakfast, $2.38 for lunch/supper and $.71 for a snack. For 2012 you can deduct $1.24 breakfast, $2.32 lunch/supper and $.69 snack. Alaska and Hawaii are higher.

[Blackcat31]

Originally Posted by TomCopeland

The numbers above are what providers currently receive from the Food Program, not what you can deduct as a food expense. Under the standard meal allowance rule for 2013 you can deduct $1.27 for breakfast, $2.38 for lunch/supper and $.71 for a snack. For 2012 you can deduct $1.24 breakfast, $2.32 lunch/supper and $.69 snack. Alaska and Hawaii are higher.

Hmm, thanks for clarifying that.

I just got the link e-mailed to me by my sponsor so I figured that is what pp'er was asking about.

[daycare]

Originally Posted by Blackcat31

Hmm, thanks for clarifying that.

I just got the link e-mailed to me by my sponsor so I figured that is what pp'er was asking about.

So I use mmk and I am on the food program.

I can only claim 3 meals and one snack. Where do I put the other snacks at in MMK so that I can claim ALL of the food that I served?

[TomCopeland]

Originally Posted by daycare

So I use mmk and I am on the food program.

I can only claim 3 meals and one snack. Where do I put the other snacks at in MMK so that I can claim ALL of the food that I served?

Track the snacks in the same place you enter all other meals and snacks. Minute Menu allows you to track up to six servings a day, per child.

[MarinaVanessa]

Originally Posted by daycare

So I use mmk and I am on the food program.

I can only claim 3 meals and one snack. Where do I put the other snacks at in MMK so that I can claim ALL of the food that I served?

If you are on the food program you should be keeping track of all of the meals that you are serving to the daycare kids regardless of whether or not the food program will reimburse you for them all.

For instance, if you serve breakfast at 7am, morning snack at 9am, lunch at 11:30am, afternoon snack at 3pm and dinner at 5pm and you have a child that attends from 7am to 5:30pm and you feed him all of the above meals you should be keeping track of all of those meals in your food program paperwork. Your food program will then take those meal counts and reimburse you for 4 of them (usually the most larger/expensive ones). In some cases the food program will only count dinner if it's past a certain hour like past 6pm or 7pm so they will reimburse you for breakfast, lunch and 2 snacks but then you can claim all of the meals on your taxes later and also claim dinner.

Then at the end of year you will have all of your meal count claims and can claim all of the meals that you served on your taxes. The food program shouldn't hassle you for counting them all on your food claims, they'll simply only reimburse you for 4 meals.

[daycare]

Originally Posted by MarinaVanessa

If you are on the food program you should be keeping track of all of the meals that you are serving to the daycare kids regardless of whether or not the food program will reimburse you for them all.

For instance, if you serve breakfast at 7am, morning snack at 9am, lunch at 11:30am, afternoon snack at 3pm and dinner at 5pm and you have a child that attends from 7am to 5:30pm and you feed him all of the above meals you should be keeping track of all of those meals in your food program paperwork. Your food program will then take those meal counts and reimburse you for 4 of them (usually the most larger/expensive ones). In some cases the food program will only count dinner if it's past a certain hour like past 6pm or 7pm so they will reimburse you for breakfast, lunch and 2 snacks but then you can claim all of the meals on your taxes later and also claim dinner.

Then at the end of year you will have all of your meal count claims and can claim all of the meals that you served on your taxes. The food program shouldn't hassle you for counting them all on your food claims, they'll simply only reimburse you for 4 meals.

ok so when I have done just what you said in the past, I am told that the child is disallowed the meals because I can't claim more than xyz amount.......

I think I should call and ask my food program.....

[MarinaVanessa]

Originally Posted by daycare

ok so when I have done just what you said in the past, I am told that the child is disallowed the meals because I can't claim more than xyz amount.......

I think I should call and ask my food program.....

That's a good idea. When I did it although my food rep kept telling me that some meals weren't counted because they only reimbursed for a specific number per day per child I kept marking my meals on MMK just as I had served them and left it up to the food program to pay me for the meals that I was entitled to be reimbursed for. I always double checked when I got the payment but I never had any problems about being reimbursed correctly. If your food program is being a stickler about it then you can keep track of your meals by using forms or a ledger or something like that.

Here's one example of something that you can use to keep track
dpi.wi.gov/files/forms/doc/pod1455.doc

You can always use it as a sample and create your own version of it in excel or something similar. For now you can go back and check your attendance records to determine which meals your DCK's were present for and recreate your meals counts based on the hours that they were in daycare. You'd have to go day by day but at least you can also claim the extra meals you served that the food program didn't cover.

[Alexandra]

Where exactly do you deduct it on your taxes?

[TomCopeland]

Originally Posted by Alexandra

Where exactly do you deduct it on your taxes?

Claim food expenses on Schedule C, line 28 Other (shown on the back of the form).


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