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  1. #21
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    Thanks Rachel....question.. ..when you were audited....was it just for the one year or did they go back to other years?

  2. #22
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    sandylynn- do you use an accountant? If not I suggest you get one. You are likely missing out on a lot of things you could claim and you could have a disaster on your hands for not having receipts.

    I also use my basement space as 100% daycare. This past year we did a full reno on the basement so my daycare was in my upstairs space for quite a few months. Technically daycare consumed majority of my house during this time. The most I can claim for though is 50%. I can though claim all of my reno costs so hopefully have lots to transfer over to next year. My accountant suggested doing all my groceries together and just claiming 50%. It works out to approx. $5 per child per day. It works out better for me anyways. I keep all receipts for everything!! I also track km's I use and claim a portion of my gas every year as well - here too I save all gas receipts throughout the year.

  3. #23
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    Hi Mickyc....I keep receipts for any other incidentals I claim....the only receipts I wasn't keeping was groceries....keeping it at 3.50 per child...I don't believe will ask for an audit...and I keep the 40% for space used in the home. I DON'T USE MY CAR....so I am not sure what else I am missing out on....I have had H&R do my taxes for the past 5 years.....

  4. #24
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    I will keep grocery receipts from here on in...but obviously can't do anything about it for the past years...that was why I was asking when someone is audited....is it just for the past year or do they go back ...

  5. #25
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    Quote Originally Posted by sandylynn View Post
    Thanks Rachel....question.. ..when you were audited....was it just for the one year or did they go back to other years?
    For me it was one year but that's only because there were no issues. They were really clear that had my records not been in order, then they automatically, look into the previous 6 years - so 7 years in total.

    They only allow a really small window for error - about $100 or something tiny - I know I was surprised because I remember thinking how easy it would be to just mis-key that. Once they find errors of that value or more, they go into it all.

    To be fair, it wasn't unreasonable but it was a pain in the arse and very time consuming because you have to prove every single figure, they total every single receipt, they check every receipt to ensure it's all valid etc.

    I hate to tell you but they won't let your grocery claim go through without receipts. Even my grocery receipts they went through line by line making sure no toiletries or cat food was on it. But they added up the receipts and only allowed those costs through.

    Without grocery receipts, how do you prove that parents didn't supply food? Or that you didn't buy a whack of KD at 59c and that's all you give? Or that you don't go to the food bank and get free food? Or any number of potential situations.

    Seriously - their whole mantra is no receipt, no claim. I can't stress that enough to anyone reading these forums.

    EDIT

    Something to consider too when audited. If they find an issue and they adjust your claim, as you would expect, you then have to pay any missed tax but that's not all. If you have minor children of your own, you will be getting child tax benefit on the 20th of each month. That payment is based on your income level.

    So if your income level is changed because of a tax audit un-earth some errors, your income level is also changed for the child tax credit calculation and you have to REPAY any over payment you had. For all the years you are audited. Low income families get GST rebates too every quarter. They will claim them back too if they apply.
    Last edited by Rachael; 01-09-2015 at 04:40 PM.

  6. #26
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    Quote Originally Posted by sandylynn View Post
    Hi Mickyc....I keep receipts for any other incidentals I claim....the only receipts I wasn't keeping was groceries....keeping it at 3.50 per child...I don't believe will ask for an audit...and I keep the 40% for space used in the home. I DON'T USE MY CAR....so I am not sure what else I am missing out on....I have had H&R do my taxes for the past 5 years.....
    Bet you do use your car. I don't take children in my car but I do use it for business.

    Do you go to the bank and deposit cheques for day care fees?
    Do you drive to the grocery store for day care food?
    Do you go to the Dollar store for craft supplies?
    Do you go to Walmart for party supplies or toys or booster seats or face-cloths?

    All business miles.

  7. #27
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    agree with Rachel here! I maybe go on 1-3 outings with the kids a year. All the things she has mentioned are all daycare expenses. I tally it like this: I keep all receipts and a total of where each receipt is from. I then just figure out the km's once. so a trip to walmart is 5km's for me, so every time I go to walmart and have a receipt for walmart (even with only using 50% of groceries) I claim a certain amount of gas for this trip. I just have made myself a spreadsheet to keep track of it all and then it is an easy total at the end of the year. Not exactly sure on what portion my accountant claims - that is his job lol.

    Now I don't mean this to sound bad but I strongly suggest you get a new accountant. You have missed out on many tax deductions over the past 5 year using H&R. They are obviously not advising you properly!!

    A

  8. #28
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    Quote Originally Posted by mickyc View Post
    I tally it like this: I keep all receipts and a total of where each receipt is from. I then just figure out the km's once. so a trip to walmart is 5km's for me, so every time I go to walmart and have a receipt for walmart (even with only using 50% of groceries) I claim a certain amount of gas for this trip. I just have made myself a spreadsheet to keep track of it all and then it is an easy total at the end of the year. Not exactly sure on what portion my accountant claims - that is his job lol.

    Now I don't mean this to sound bad but I strongly suggest you get a new accountant. You have missed out on many tax deductions over the past 5 year using H&R. They are obviously not advising you properly!!

    A
    I agree.

    My car mileage isn't high because I work from home. I have a car for the convenience of grocery shopping and errands. We don't pack up on the weekends and head off so it really is just local stuff and a bit of being Mom's taxi.

    Like Mickyc, I keep every receipt and I know going to Costco is 56.0 kms (28 to get there and 28 to come home again). I know Dollorama is 8.6kms - 4.3km each way.

    I have a spreadsheet for my accounts but writing the milage on the receipt works just as well. But for every single day care entry, then I claim those miles.

    Also my parents pay by cash or e-mail. I am paid two weekly but because of how different clients started with me, I actually have 4 who pay one week and 2 who pay the other week. So for the cash clients, I am depositing money every week - if that makes sense. So again, 52 weeks in a year is 52 trips to the bank at 8.6 kms return trip = 447 km a year just for the bank.

    I do my own household shopping the same trip that I do the day care grocery run so that means that milage can be claimed as business mileage. If you are super slick at this, which I'm not, you can incorporate all your household errands to tie in with business related errands.

    Last year my business milage was just under 50% of all the mileage I did for the year. 46.something percent.

    So that means I was able to claim 46% of the cost of my car insurance, winter tires, maintenance, gas (keep all gas receipts and add them up for your annual gas bill and then claim your business percentage), MVI which is done every 2 years here, license plate renewal (every 2 years). It adds up. This year I had new brakes all around which cost me $1,500 so my business will pay a proportion of that based on my business mileage.

    Seriously - it all adds up really quickly and if your accountant isn't claiming these things you are missing out on a few grand a year!

  9. #29
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    So in regards to mileage, if it's a trip just for daycare supplies, you claim in? But if you are doing your own shopping at the same time, you don't claim it? Am I understanding correctly?

  10. #30
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    Quote Originally Posted by superfun View Post
    So in regards to mileage, if it's a trip just for daycare supplies, you claim in? But if you are doing your own shopping at the same time, you don't claim it? Am I understanding correctly?
    NO.

    Every single trip which is for business, I claim.

    So, a trip just for day care supplies, I claim. A trip for both household and day care supplies I claim.

    What I can't claim is a trip which is solely for personal/household reasons and so I make sure where I can that I include my own errands with day care errands so I am maximizing my business mile.

    Suppose the grocery store is 5 kms away.
    If I go there for milk for the day care, I can claim 10kms as business miles.
    If I go there for milk for just the family, I can't claim anything.
    But if I go there for milk for day care and a second bottle of milk for the family, then those miles can be claimed as business miles and I've saved myself a second trip on my dime.

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