No Income, Can Expenses Be Claimed

[elum]

Last year we provided Daycare service for our Daughter by watching our 2 preschool grandchildren. We did not recieve any compensation or ask for any while for caring for them and at that time we did not have any other children in the our Daycare.
Question is, even if we did not receive any income, can we still claim expenses incurred for the days we care for them. We did care for them 5 days a week.

[Michael]

That is a question for Tom Copeland. In my opinion, as a business you can claim a loss for up to two years. You may find your answer here: http://www.daycare.com/forum/tags.php?tag=tom+copeland

[elum]

How do I get this question to Tom Copeland?

[TomCopeland]

The question is - are you in the business of trying to make a profit caring for children? If not, you can't claim any expenses. You aren't trying to make money caring for your grandchildren. If you were advertising for other clients and would charge for your services, but were unable to find any clients - then you would be in the business of trying to make a profit and you could claim business expenses.

[magsgma]

Originally Posted by elum

Last year we provided Daycare service for our Daughter by watching our 2 preschool grandchildren. We did not recieve any compensation or ask for any while for caring for them and at that time we did not have any other children in the our Daycare.
Question is, even if we did not receive any income, can we still claim expenses incurred for the days we care for them. We did care for them 5 days a week.

I thought that you could not count your grandchildren as a daycare expense?
I have been caring for my grand daughter for 5 years. I have never added her costs to my expenses. Am I incorrect?

[TomCopeland]

Caring for grandchildren may or may not be considered a business expense. If you are being paid to care for your grandchildren (not just a token amount) then this is a business activity and you can claim business expenses associated with this care. Only count expenses for the hours you are being paid. If you are not being paid then this is a personal activity and no expenses are deductible for this care.