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Daycare and Taxes>What Happens if You Have More Kids Then You are Licensed For?
amethyst 12:45 PM 08-25-2010
I'm in NJ and can only legally have 5 unrelated children in a licensed center, however someone told me "unofficially" that you can get away with having more if the center is not licensed. I have plenty of space for probably up to 20 kids and could make sooo much more money. It's really hard to make anything with just five kids, plus I couldn't afford to have anyone help me.
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Crystal 01:18 PM 08-25-2010
Typically if you get caught, you pay a hefty fine, then have to shut down until you get lisensed.

Are you saying you have room for 20 kids in your house, cuz that's crazy....and way to many for one or even two providers to care for adequately and safely. AND, if you got caught THAT far over capacity, you'd probably be in BIG trouble.
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amethyst 01:25 PM 08-25-2010
We own a multi-family home and I was thinking it would be great if we could use the first floor apartment (which is very large) for a daycare. Then I'd be able to hire people to work with me, too.
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Crystal 01:29 PM 08-25-2010
That would be cool if you can swing it. I would, however, get licensed.
What you are considering is a center, not a family child care, and the penalties are probably even stiffer, as you typically have higher standards of regulations for things pertaining to health/safety, fire clearance, insurance, employees, background checks, etc. You don't want to get caught doing that, because you'll have fines from all regulatory agencies.

What State/County are you in....I'll see if I can find you some specifics.
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amethyst 01:37 PM 08-25-2010
I'm in NJ, but I don't think I can get it licensed as a center because its a residential street. 5 kids is just not enough for me to make a good living.
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Crystal 01:57 PM 08-25-2010
You can sometimes get what is called a conditional use permit to use a residential home as a center. You would need to check with county zoning to find out if that's possible. Have you tried that?
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Abigail 02:11 PM 08-25-2010
Other things you can do is make sure you are in the appropriate rate range. If you're full and feel that you are not making enough and are below average rates, then bring your rates up $1/day per child. Families will pay for quality care for their children and if you offer that and you're full, maybe it's time to review your rates.

Another aspect, this is just from a financial point of view...look into what all your expenses are including daycare costs, but actual costs of living. If you have all the lights on in the house all day, turn them off when not in use. If you run the sprinkler on all day everyday, run it every other day for a few hours. If you drive around a lot using excessive gas and choosing to go out during rush hour to use even more gas, write out a plan of where you are going and run many errands on one outing. I have tons of ideas that people just "overlook" for costs. Just keep your receipts for everything and write it down for the month. Maybe just rent alone is 50% of your income, then you will know that you should only be spending 30% on rent/house payments and that could be your big issue.

If you choose to get licensed, they ask you what your expected income and expenses are to make sure you would make it. Someone at your licensing agency should be able to help you when you take a child care course. They don't approach it as "I want to be a millionaire" aspect, but they approach it "Is childcare the right job for you" aspect. Get what I mean?

You can also choose to have a weekend job or offer over-night care or weekend childcare if you want to be completely surrounded by children 24/7. I would NOT recommend you go over your limit, even if it's just temporary. The rules are their for a reason.
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TomCopeland 02:17 PM 08-25-2010
Whether you run a family child care home or a child care center you want to make sure you are always in compliance with your state's child care licensing rules. If you are in violation of state licensing rules these are the risks you take:
1) If a child is injured you are much more liable for money damages.
2) You won't be able to get business liability insurance if you aren't licensed
3) If you care for more than 6 children in your home and are not licensed you can't claim any of your house expenses (property tax, mortgage interest, utilities, house insurance, house repairs, and home depreciation)
4) You won't be able to participate on the Food Program

Sometimes providers decide to operate their business out of their home while exempt from state child care regulations. In other words, they are not required to be licensed but are not illegal. In this case you still may not be able to get business liability insurance, but you won't lose the ability to deduct all your house expenses, and you may be able to participate on the Food Program (depends on your state).
Tom Copeland
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ninosqueridos 07:15 PM 08-25-2010
In NJ, there is no such thing as a "licensed" family child care home. Licenses are for centers only, for 6+ kids only, and that comes with a whole host of rules and regulations. Contact your town on whether you can do a house-turned-center in YOUR neighborhood. Good luck!

For a family child care home, you can become registered to have up to 5 children....but registration is VOLUNTARY.
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ninosqueridos 07:16 PM 08-25-2010
If you are not registered, you can still get home daycare liability insurance because registration is not required in NJ.
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