Food expense

[Balanced]

Is $8 per day a reasonable rate to claim for food expense?

[5 Little Monkeys]

Sorry dumb question...is that $8 per day total or $8/day/child?

I buy all my daycare groceries separately and if it's $8 per day total, than it is very close to what I pay for my yearly dc groceries. Mine for 4 children works out to roughly $8-$9/day if I broke it down that way.

[Balanced]

Oh yes, sorry, I meant $8/day/child.

[2cuteboys]

I'm in AB and feed the kids quite well. Lots of fresh fruits and veggies, mix of organic and non-organic depending on the type (I use the ewg dirty dozen and clean 15 as a reference of which to buy). I started the year planning to claim $7/day/child, but after doing the calculations I've found it's over $8, so when I do taxes I'll change it then.

I think it's reasonable based on what I buy, but I'd still have all my receipts handy in case you do get audited. My accountant seemed to have no problems when I mentioned doing $8.

[mickyc]

I claim 50% of my total grocery bills for the end of the year.

[sandylynn]

$8.00/day/child? That's $40.00 a day!....if you look after 5 children...$200.00 /week....hmmmm...that might invite an audit!..

[bright sparks]

I claim $8 a day per child. My accountant has told me that if you claim over $10 per day per child then you will be flagged for auditing. I have no issue besides the hassle of it to be audited as I have proof to back it up. As long as you can back up your expense then go for it. You claim as much as it costs. I feed my guys organic food and nothing processed so it is expensive to feed them. My grocery bill for them and my family is about $1500 a month but that's what it costs. I buy organic whole grains in bulk which saves me a fortune over the year and serve copious amounts of fruit which especially this time of year is pricey. All veggies are fresh, never canned or frozen and my guys are all great eaters so no mouse sized portions. Lunch is $4 per child and each snack is $2 that's not that much money at all when I make a lasagne, serve fresh fruit and home made baked goods for snack time. On top of that the organic and abf expense. Think about it!

[5 Little Monkeys]

I was thinking the same sandylynn. I just totaled up my groceries for dc and it was just over $2200 for the year for 4 kids. If I did $8/day that would be around $8000. While I would love to claim that much, it wouldn't be honest for me. I give the kids well balanced meals and snacks and they don't go hungry either lol. (I have to say that I have small eaters and sometimes loose receipts or end up buying dc groceries on my bills which I don't claim but it isn't like I'm missing $6000 in receipts lol)

I don't think I could afford to do daycare if my grocery bill was almost $650 a month just for daycare.

However, if you have the receipts to prove that the daycare is using that much per day than all will be fine and an audit won't be an issue if you do get audited.

edited....OMG, $1500 a month in groceries....I'm speechless LOL. Makes me not want to have kids of my own hahaha

[Crayola kiddies]

I was thinking the same sandylynn. I just totaled up my groceries for dc and it was just over $2200 for the year for 4 kids. If I did $8/day that would be around $8000. While I would love to claim that much, it wouldn't be honest for me. I give the kids well balanced meals and snacks and they don't go hungry either lol. (I have to say that I have small eaters and sometimes loose receipts or end up buying dc groceries on my bills which I don't claim but it isn't like I'm missing $6000 in receipts lol)

I don't think I could afford to do daycare if my grocery bill was almost $650 a month just for daycare.

However, if you have the receipts to prove that the daycare is using that much per day than all will be fine and an audit won't be an issue if you do get audited.

edited....OMG, $1500 a month in groceries....I'm speechless LOL. Makes me not want to have kids of my own hahaha

I have 5 daycare kids and three of my own five children living at home and my grocery bill is in excess of $200/week most weeks its closer to $300 ..... Last year I claimed $6000 in groceries at tax time .... That includes paper products( toilet paper, Kleenex ect) and cleaners.

[bright sparks]

I was thinking the same sandylynn. I just totaled up my groceries for dc and it was just over $2200 for the year for 4 kids. If I did $8/day that would be around $8000. While I would love to claim that much, it wouldn't be honest for me. I give the kids well balanced meals and snacks and they don't go hungry either lol. (I have to say that I have small eaters and sometimes loose receipts or end up buying dc groceries on my bills which I don't claim but it isn't like I'm missing $6000 in receipts lol)

I don't think I could afford to do daycare if my grocery bill was almost $650 a month just for daycare.

However, if you have the receipts to prove that the daycare is using that much per day than all will be fine and an audit won't be an issue if you do get audited.

edited....OMG, $1500 a month in groceries....I'm speechless LOL. Makes me not want to have kids of my own hahaha

I appreciate that my grocery bill per month is high, but I feed 5 daycare kids and a family of 4 on that budget. I'd be really interested to hear how and what you are feeding those daycare kids on little more than $2 a day?? Meaning no disrespect to each and everyone's personal preference on their food choices, I serve absolutely no processed foods. No fishy crackers for snacks, only fresh fruit and veggies, homemade hummus and veggie dips and I make all my own baked goods. All meat is fresh never frozen as are my veggies. I serve zero refined carbs and also offer gluten free grains as part of a regular weekly meal. I serve a wide variety of healthy foods based on my own values and principles of healthy eating. And where ever possible everything is abf or organic. In the summer I grow a selection of veggies, with my dck's so I don't have to buy as much from the grocery store thus saving me money. Farmers Market produce may well be local and appear a better option but on average majority of produce is still sprayed. These are not values that others need to share with me but are ultimately why I charge more and why so many of my clients choose me. High quality nutritious foods are not cheap. Cheap food comes at a compromise in my opinion and is not something I can do even for my daycare kids. As for couponing, there are no coupons in Ontario, Canada for food which is not processed. Maybe on an extremely rare occasion you will find something for maple leaf foods but that will likely be a processed meat. I also do not follow Canada's food guide as contrary to belief, it is not healthy. Well balanced can still be a variety of mediocre foods. Now each to their own I say as everyone puts higher values on different things, but this is where I put mine.
A parent who is not concerned with the quality of the food their child is fed, but simply that they are offered a variety of foods through out the day and don't go hungry would not be best spending their money on my daycare, where as other parents who prioritize this are more likely to be turned off by a meal plan including highly processed foods and packaged stuff. Each to their own.

Going back to the original topic though, if you spend it claim it. A reasonable amount should not be something you think about but simply the honest cost regardless of what food you actually supply.