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Daycare and Taxes>Food Expenses????
Sumshine 08:04 AM 03-09-2017
I am sure this has been asked before and I have tried searching but I've yet to find any answer that I understand.

I participate in the food program. I assume I claim my reimbursement as taxable income. I've been doing a monthly Income and Expense report while keeping track of my hours worked, bills paid, etc. On that I have been adding my reimbursement as income.

So how does it all work? What about the meals I served but don't get reimbursed for? How does that get factored in when tax time rolls around for this year?

My biggest question that I'm not seeming to find an answer to is should I be saving my daycare specific grocery receipts? Can I even write any of that off if I'm participating in the food program?

I am not a numbers gal and the explanations I am finding are so confusing to me! Any help is greatly appreciated!
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TomCopeland 08:45 AM 03-09-2017
Originally Posted by Sumshine:
I am sure this has been asked before and I have tried searching but I've yet to find any answer that I understand.

I participate in the food program. I assume I claim my reimbursement as taxable income. I've been doing a monthly Income and Expense report while keeping track of my hours worked, bills paid, etc. On that I have been adding my reimbursement as income.

So how does it all work? What about the meals I served but don't get reimbursed for? How does that get factored in when tax time rolls around for this year?

My biggest question that I'm not seeming to find an answer to is should I be saving my daycare specific grocery receipts? Can I even write any of that off if I'm participating in the food program?

I am not a numbers gal and the explanations I am finding are so confusing to me! Any help is greatly appreciated!
Yes, you must claim as income the reimbursements you receive from the Food Program. The exception is that reimbursements for your own children are not income.

You can deduct as a business expense all the meals and snacks you serve that are reimbursed, as well as all the meals and snacks you are not reimbursed. The maximum is one breakfast, one lunch, one supper and three snacks per day, per child.

You have two ways you can claim food expenses. You can use the standard meal allowance method and deduct $1.32 per breakfast, $2.48 for lunch and supper and $.74 for snacks. Using this method you don't need any food receipts. The second method is to save all business and personal food receipts and deduct the business food. My book Family Child Care Record Keeping Guide has a long chapter on deducting food expenses. My blog (www.tomcopelandblog.com) has many articles on this as well.
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Sumshine 10:09 AM 03-09-2017
Originally Posted by TomCopeland:
Yes, you must claim as income the reimbursements you receive from the Food Program. The exception is that reimbursements for your own children are not income.

You can deduct as a business expense all the meals and snacks you serve that are reimbursed, as well as all the meals and snacks you are not reimbursed. The maximum is one breakfast, one lunch, one supper and three snacks per day, per child.

You have two ways you can claim food expenses. You can use the standard meal allowance method and deduct $1.32 per breakfast, $2.48 for lunch and supper and $.74 for snacks. Using this method you don't need any food receipts. The second method is to save all business and personal food receipts and deduct the business food. My book Family Child Care Record Keeping Guide has a long chapter on deducting food expenses. My blog (www.tomcopelandblog.com) has many articles on this as well.
That makes sense! Thank you!
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