Monthly grocery budge for daycare only

[MsBell]

apparently when we shop it has to be on a separate bill because they said a family of 7 doesn't eat equivalent to 5 children who only get one weekly meal and snacks. If kids don't watch TV then we shouldn't be claiming cable as it has nothing do with your daycare. Hmmm?

I am not a family of 7, I am a family of 3 , just me and two kids, my son buys most of his lunches throught school, and every other weekend my kids arent here, and most weeknights we are eating small meals on the go because my kids are in activities...SO my actual daycare groceries is MORE then my families meals, so in my situation 50% is less then I should claim....Im getting ripped off! lol

[5 Little Monkeys]

I use my whole house for daycare not just half. I'm so glad I don't file taxes my self as all of this is way over my head. Lol

You would use the formula than I think it usually works out to 18-25% for most people if I remember correctly

[mickyc]

In your case MsBell it would probably benefit you to buy your daycare groceries separately. We too are a family of 3.

Crayolamom- I also claim my half of my tv bill. I think it's all about claiming what is allowed. It sounds as though you think that's the wrong thing to do. Personally I prefer to pay less tax.

[5 Little Monkeys]

apparently when we shop it has to be on a separate bill because they said a family of 7 doesn't eat equivalent to 5 children who only get one weekly meal and snacks. If kids don't watch TV then we shouldn't be claiming cable as it has nothing do with your daycare. Hmmm?

If this is for me, I never said they don't watch tv, just that I am allowed to claim half of the bill but they don't watch it half of the time. I also claim my internet, hydro and water at 50% but they don't use that stuff half the time either.....it's just the allowable, legal number I'm allowed to claim due to the way I have my business set up Businesses get perks, this just happens to be a few of them for hdc's

[crayolamom]

Nope that wasn't for you since you didn't say they didn't watch TV so I don't know why you think it would be? It's for MsBell considering she's the one who said that she claims TV and no one watches TV.

I don't think the purpose of us doing taxes is to claim everything under the sun because technically that would be tax fraud. I would love to claim %50 percent of my grocery bill but when revenue Canada asks me if my DCK eat breakfast,lunch,dinn er with unlimited snack 7 days a week and I say no and they say well how is it that you are claiming 50/50?

The point wasn't how many people you have in your family (that was just a comment revenue Canada used) it was more of if your DCK kids aren't given meals that you would eat regularly at home then it's not 50/50.

I prefer to pay no taxes but that doesn't mean that it's legal.

[5 Little Monkeys]

That's why I said if...I wasn't sure. I missed msbell's comment

Claiming things that are allowable and legal is exactly the reason for taxes!! I don't believe anyone is claiming tax fraud IMO. I would suggest talking to your accountant, they should be able to help you the best.

How is your business set up? Do you do the formula or do you have half your home dedicated to dc space ONLY? (Meaning that during non dc hours, you don't use the space for personal reasons) This will determine what percentage you get to use

[MsBell]

Actually crayolamom, Most of the kids that I watch rarely eat a real breakfast before arriving to day care, and only have dinner at home before they go to bed, so the MAJORITY of their food is coming from me.

Regardless, I have a professional do my taxes every year, she has a lot of knowledge with home daycare rules and regulations, and that is one of the reasons I went her 10 years ago, and continue to use her services. I am very confident with her abilities to do my taxes correctly, saving me as much money as she can while also following the law. I can assure you, that I pay plenty of taxes even with whatever little bit I manage to save from claiming what I am allowed to claim (even if you think I should not be)

I will agree to disagree with you over this issue
I also just wanted to add, even if something is "notlegal", it does not make it criminal, in fact it may not even make it wrong.

[playfelt]

There are specific formulas and ways to figure out what percentage of everything to claim. It is based on hours and days of care. For meals you have two options. You can either plan a sample menu and cost it out and then multiply by the number of kids being fed or you can use your entire grocery bill and figure out a typical week based on how many meals and snacks are served. The ratio I was told to use is one adult meal = 2 daycare meals and 2 snacks = one meal. So if you have a daycare child eating one meal and 2 snacks that = 2 meals a day x 5 kids for 5 days is 50 meals equivalents. Then do the same for your family. If they eat the meal at home or you pack a lunch you count it. If they buy out or don't eat a meal like no breakfast or eating brunch and dinner on the weekend then you count accordingly. That then gives you the ratio to use in claiming what percentage of your total grocery bill.

For things like internet, hydro, heat, etc. they are considered available to the daycare during daycare hours so they are put into the business use of home calculation which is spelled out in the using your home for daycare booklet that is on the revenue Canada website.

[playfelt]

Groceries is a specific item that is included in the supplies section on the first page of the T2125. It does not go into the business use of home percentages at all. Supplies are everything from pens and paper, toilet paper, wipes, soap, glue, batteries, food, party supplies, etc. Business use of home percentage is for household bills like utilities, mortgage interest, property tax, etc. Not understanding why people seem to be using the same percentage for food as they are for heat and water. That makes no sense at all.

[Lee-Bee]

Groceries is a specific item that is included in the supplies section on the first page of the T2125. It does not go into the business use of home percentages at all. Supplies are everything from pens and paper, toilet paper, wipes, soap, glue, batteries, food, party supplies, etc. Business use of home percentage is for household bills like utilities, mortgage interest, property tax, etc. Not understanding why people seem to be using the same percentage for food as they are for heat and water. That makes no sense at all.

I have it right here in writing as a 3rd option for calculating daycare food expenses as provided by the daycare accountant the Tax workshop offered at the CCPRN last year. Not saying it is officially legit but it was offered by an accountant in the CCPRN office as the way to do it.