Hi there. I’m going to be opening up a home daycare after my mat leave ends, and I was curious to get some opinions and information. I’ve been reading forums and Facebook group discussions, and think I may be missing something. Now I hope I don’t offend anyone or come off in the wrong way, I genuinely just want to have a better understanding. I keep seeing people complain about the amount of money they’re making. I know that the going rate in our area is about $35 a day. So if you’re having 5 kids at 35 per day, and 3 before and after schools at about $15 a day, that’s $53,300 per year! Or let’s say you have a child of your own included in there, that would bring you down to about $44,200. I know everyone’s situation ranges, of course. But the common response is “after expenses, it’s next to nothing!” But excuse me if I’m wrong, some expenses are just a luxury of being able to claim...ie; mortgage interest, hydro, water, internet, cable, etc. All things that you’d be paying for regardless if you ran a daycare. And no one forces you to claim those things. You could claim $0 in expenses if you wanted to. You just wouldn’t benefit at tax time.

My main question is though, for someone running a home daycare that is planning on having another child eventually, is it worth it to pay into EI? Because as I’ve been told, the maternity leave benefit amount is calculated as 55% of your income AFTER expenses. However...could you not just NOT claim any expenses the year prior to planning on becoming pregnant, that way your income on paper is at its highest, and your maternity leave benefit amount would be based off of that? Please help!