Fewer kids in DAYCARE...is it just called BABYSITTING??

[Unregistered]

HI everyone~

My name is Rose and I have 2 infants I watch in my home. I began with the idea of being a legal DAYCARE, but in my state, anyone with MORE THAN 4 children this age must be licensed, and I think more than 4 is more than I care to watch.

I have been a Daycare center Teacher, Assistant Director and also a pre-school teacher and Nanny. I have business forms, parent consent forms, will file taxes and have a handbook with rules, etc.

Does anyone here run a smaller daycare that is NOT licensed but still has more than 3 children that are not your own?? If I am not licensed can I still consider my work a business and file taxes accordingly? Are my forms legal?

Thank you for your help

Rose
Tennessee

[kitkat]

I am not licensed and my state (WI) allows you to be unlicensed if you care for 3 or less children not related to you (your kids don't count in the total of 3). A friend of mine had sent her kids to a provider years ago who was not licensed and had more than the legal limit. Someone called social services (not because of numbers) and they told her to get down to the legal limit or stop providing care all together. She dropped her numbers to stay legally unlicensed. I'm not sure what the follow up was.

I have always stuck to the legal limit. I don't know what the consequences are for going over the limit, but there's no way I'm going to chance it. I recently had to let a family go b/c I wasn't able to take their newborn b/c I would have been over the limit.

I read something about claiming income and deductions on your taxes and being unlicensed and over the legal limit. I think it was on the redleaf site. I think it said something about you can claim the income but not the deductions? I'll try to look for the article. I could be way off on remembering it, so don't take my word for it. I tried to look for it as I was typing this, but it'll take me a bit. I'll post a link if I find it. If you are unlicensed and stay at your legal limit, you can claim the income and appropriate deductions.

[kitkat]

Here's a link to a question asked of Tom Copeland regarding taxes:

http://www.resourcesforchildcaring.org/index.cfm?page=A%20Question%20Tom%20Has%20Answered&id=30

I can't find the article I was looking for, but the above link will answer your question.

[Chickenhauler]

A good rule of thumb-if you are generating income that has to be claimed on taxes and pay taxes upon that income, then you are fully within your rights to deduct expenses that are required to generate that income.

My .02-spend a few bucks and talk to a qualified tax preparer, not an H&R BlockHead, or one of those other fly by night operations, someone who does it all year round, keeps up on the laws, and knows their stuff-preferably someone who specializes in small business.

Ask around your community for reccomendations from other business owners of who they use (and won't use again).

A good tax person will at minimum save you their fee in taxes, a great one will save it many times over.

[Unregistered]

Thank you!

Thank you so much, I feel better and know I am heading in the right direction. I am so trained to follow state regs being in Daycare before that I was worried I might be doing something illegal. This is exactly why I posted here...even though ym DH is an accountant and best friend is a lawyer-neither one had a clue- I KNEW the EXPERTS would help.

You guys are great!

Rose