Food Program Questions

[victorial]

1. Just this month our family became income eligible to get reimbursed Tier 1 for feeding our own children when daycare children are present. I am open 18 hours a day so my own children are present for more than 2 meals and one snack OR 2 snacks and one meal. Is that still all I am allowed to claim them for...some combination of only 3 meals/snacks? Or can I claim my own children for all meals/snacks they eat with DCKs?

2. Big Appetites: I have one DCK that eats WAY more than one serving at meals/snacks. He is probably close to 180 lbs at 10 years old. I am using the standard meal allowance to figure expenses. Can I claim an additional meal/snack as an expense to reflect what it is really costing to feed him? I know I can only claim some combo of 3 meals/snacks a day for him on my CACFP monthly claim...BUT can I record the additional servings as an expense? (I set up a custom expense category in Minute Menu that I put noncredible and unreimbursed meals/snacks under.)
For example, Cheezits with an apple for snack. I claim him to the food program and get reimbursed .66 for the snack. I also record an additional .66 as an nonreimbursed snack. Total expenses for this particular snack for him would be $1.32. .66 of which is reimbursed to me as taxable income.

[heyhun77]

For your own kids, you can only claim them for 3 meals/snacks per day just like the daycare kids. The perk is that the money you receive for feeding them while dck are present is non-taxable. You'll need to keep track of the meals you serve to them that are reimbursed because you'll back that amount of money out of your food program income when you do your taxes. If you are claiming them on paper filings you'll want to claim them for L and D since those are the two meals with the largest reimbursements and then one of their snacks. If you are using MM then it'll automatically claim to your best advantage.

As for serving extra servings to a child, you can only claim them per meal, not based on how much they ate/eat. The IRS doesn't care if the meals/snacks that you serve are credible for the food program, they just care that you served food to children. If it was based on how much the child eats I'd have some that I'd only get half credit for since they don't eat that much. If you get to the point where you are spending more than the standard meal allowance then start purchasing your food separately and claim your actual expenses on your taxes at the end of the year.

[TomCopeland]

Food Program

While the reimbursements you receive from the Food Program for your own children are not taxable income, any meals served to your own children cannot be deducted as a business expense. So, on your tax return, subtract out what you got for your own children before reporting the income.

You can't claim additional meals for children who eat a lot.