Claiming..is this 100% or TSP??

[My4SunshineGirlsNY]

I'm going through my receipts and marking them to put it into minute menu....I have 2 snowplow receipts from the beginning of the year....I remember at a tax class I took he mentioned maintenance like that was a Time/Space/Percentage writeoff...however we usually do our own plowing with my father's tractor, but the 2 times I used a service was specifically for my daycare parents to get in and out of the driveway since my husband was at work and couldn't plow until later on. So in a case like this, can I claim this as 100% business? I just want to make sure I'm doing it right, thanks.

[mac60]

I would say yes.

[originalkat]

I would do 100% because you would not have done it if you didnt have a business.

[misol]

I agree with the others. 100% business.

[TomCopeland]

I'm going through my receipts and marking them to put it into minute menu....I have 2 snowplow receipts from the beginning of the year....I remember at a tax class I took he mentioned maintenance like that was a Time/Space/Percentage writeoff...however we usually do our own plowing with my father's tractor, but the 2 times I used a service was specifically for my daycare parents to get in and out of the driveway since my husband was at work and couldn't plow until later on. So in a case like this, can I claim this as 100% business? I just want to make sure I'm doing it right, thanks.

I would say that you should use your Time-Space percentage for the cost of the snow plow service. The reason is that your family gets the benefit of this as well. The snow removed was not exclusively business snow! I know that you had to use the service because your husband wasn't available when it was needed, but the test of whether or not something is 100% business or shared is based on how the item was used, not why it was done. Since the use or benefit is shared, I believe it's a shared expense.

[mac60]

There are a lot of things I would not be doing if I wasn't doing childcare....and going out at 5:30 to clear 6 inches of snow off the driveway is one of them. Maybe I did benefit that the snow was removed, but bottom line is, I never would of done it if I wouldn't of been doing childcare.

How was the service used? I don't quite understand that question. How is a snow removal service used???.....you call and ask them to come clean you out because you have clients coming to your home and they need to get into your driveway.

I bought a snow blower because I have to have my drive cleaned out by 6:15, it was not a necessity for me or my family, I have 2 kids that can use a shovel.....but because it is not feasible for me to wake my family up at 5:30 in the morning to clean off 6 to 10 inches of blowing drifting snow off of our driveway, I bought a snow blower. Being liable for the safety of parents and children to use my driveway is why I purchased a snow blower. How does the question "How was the service used", relate to this. Just wondering.

[TomCopeland]

"How was the service used" means that your own family is getting the benefit of your plowed driveway. You use the plowed driveway for personal purposes, as well as business purposes. I can understand your point that you wouldn't be shoveling snow at 5:30am.

[My4SunshineGirlsNY]

"How was the service used" means that your own family is getting the benefit of your plowed driveway. You use the plowed driveway for personal purposes, as well as business purposes. I can understand your point that you wouldn't be shoveling snow at 5:30am.

Well yes we benifit from it...but had it not been for daycare clients, we could have done it ourselves at a later time and not spent the money to plow...I do understand what you mean...but it doesn't seem fair, know what I mean? It's one of those "hairy" tax questions I guess. Just feels like it should be claimed at 100% because it was strictly for daycare moms to get in, we could have gotten in our driveway by doing it for free if I wasn't doing this business, but since I have daycare kids that need 100% of my direct attention, I cannot leave their sight to go plow. Don't know how far that argument would go over with the IRS, so guess I will do it as TSP.

[originalkat]

Well yes we benifit from it...but had it not been for daycare clients, we could have done it ourselves at a later time and not spent the money to plow...I do understand what you mean...but it doesn't seem fair, know what I mean? It's one of those "hairy" tax questions I guess. Just feels like it should be claimed at 100% because it was strictly for daycare moms to get in, we could have gotten in our driveway by doing it for free if I wasn't doing this business, but since I have daycare kids that need 100% of my direct attention, I cannot leave their sight to go plow. Don't know how far that argument would go over with the IRS, so guess I will do it as TSP.

I agree that it should be 100 %, BUT I would go with what Tom Copeland says. He did write the book on the subject (literally).::

[My4SunshineGirlsNY]

I agree that it should be 100 %, BUT I would go with what Tom Copeland says. He did write the book on the subject (literally).::

I know..I have it! LOL..but need to find the time to finish it, I started it but life has been so busy and crazy lately with daycare and my own 4 girls in sports...time is limited.