How Do You Figure The Hours After Work That You Work

[Country Kids]

I always pretty much just claim on hour in the evenings as my cleaning time but I know its more then that. I'm not sure though what they would consider family cleaning and childcare cleaning.

Here's an example-cleaning my kitchen. I may clean my kitchen while I'm making dinner and then reclean after dinner because I have to have it to daycare standards for the next day. Would that all be considered for childcare or would they want a breakdown for family?

What if your kids help you do the cleaning? Would you count their hours under you or just what portion you actually clean.

I could easily do 3+ hours a night but not sure if the IRS would believe that, then all the cleaning that is done on the weekends.

[TomCopeland]

Perhaps the most important record keeping task for a family child care provider is to track all the hours you are working in your home when day care children are not present.

There are no specific rules about what hours you can count for cleaning. In general, count hours spent on cleaning activities that you wouldn't be doing if you weren't in business. Time spent cleaning right before the children arrive in the morning to get ready for them, and right after the children leave to put your house back in order for your family would count. If you cleaned your kitchen and bathrooms for 1 hour on Saturday, only count the time associated with cleaning that is related to your business.

If your own children are cleaning for your business after the children are gone, you can count this time. But if you and your own child are cleaning for 1 hour, you count 1 hour, not 2 hours.

You can count as many cleaning hours as you are doing for your business. There is no upper limit. Keep careful records of your cleaning time for at least 2 months each year and use the average for these two months.

[Blackcat31]

Originally Posted by TomCopeland

Perhaps the most important record keeping task for a family child care provider is to track all the hours you are working in your home when day care children are not present.

There are no specific rules about what hours you can count for cleaning. In general, count hours spent on cleaning activities that you wouldn't be doing if you weren't in business. Time spent cleaning right before the children arrive in the morning to get ready for them, and right after the children leave to put your house back in order for your family would count. If you cleaned your kitchen and bathrooms for 1 hour on Saturday, only count the time associated with cleaning that is related to your business.

If your own children are cleaning for your business after the children are gone, you can count this time. But if you and your own child are cleaning for 1 hour, you count 1 hour, not 2 hours.

You can count as many cleaning hours as you are doing for your business. There is no upper limit. Keep careful records of your cleaning time for at least 2 months each year and use the average for these two months.

I don't understand how we claim these extra hours. Is there a dollar value applied to them or is it part of the time-space percentage thing? Which in my case then wouldn't work since I have a 100% completely separate child care house and don't do time space percentage. Should I be for extra hours I do work outside of the time I am at daycare?

[TomCopeland]

Since you are doing child care in a building you don't live in, my answer is completely different!

You are entitled to claim 100% of all the cost associated with the building you do child care in. Therefore, your business use % of your home is 100%. You don't calculate your time-space % the way providers do who work out of their home. So, you don't need to keep track of the hours you work.

If you did work out of your home, these cleaning hours would be added to the hours you worked with children present to help calculate your time-space %.

[Blackcat31]

Originally Posted by TomCopeland

Since you are doing child care in a building you don't live in, my answer is completely different!

You are entitled to claim 100% of all the cost associated with the building you do child care in. Therefore, your business use % of your home is 100%. You don't calculate your time-space % the way providers do who work out of their home. So, you don't need to keep track of the hours you work.

If you did work out of your home, these cleaning hours would be added to the hours you worked with children present to help calculate your time-space %.

Thank you!

[biglou]

Tom,

Would the 100% rule still apply if my DC in operating out of a dedicated apartment in my 2-family private home?

Big Lou

[TomCopeland]

Originally Posted by biglou

Tom,

Would the 100% rule still apply if my DC in operating out of a dedicated apartment in my 2-family private home?

Big Lou

You can deduct 100% of the costs associated with the dedicated apartment.