It’s tax season, and Tom Copeland, the nation’s leading expert on the business of family child care, is here to help. Tom has years of experience working with family child care providers, and provides excellent tax advice. If you are a KidKare user and want to receive even more advice and tips from Tom, join the Child Care Business Partnership today for only $15.

Tom Copeland’s tax tip for in-home child care providers

Here are the key KidKare Accounting reports you should print out to complete your 2018 taxes. Review the numbers on these reports before printing them out to ensure that you entered all your expenses. After printing them out, give a copy to your tax preparer or transfer the information onto your own tax return.

The Schedule C and Form 8829 Detailed Expenses reports were designed to mirror the actual IRS tax forms, making it easy to fill out your tax forms.

These key reports are:

• Schedule C Detailed Expenses: This report will list your business expenses in the order they appear on the Schedule C Profit or Loss Business tax form.
• Form 8829 Detailed Expenses: This report will list your house expenses in the order they appear on Form 8829 Expenses for Business Use of Your Home tax form.
• Depreciation Worksheet: This report will tell you what items you purchased in 2018 that should be depreciated, using IRS Form 4562 Depreciation and Amortization. It is also used to see what items you bought before 2018 that you should continue to depreciate.
• Standard Meal Allowance: This report will list the number of meals and snacks you served in the year, multiplied by the standard meal allowance rate for 2018. The total at the bottom of the report is your business deduction. If you use the actual expenses method for determining your food expenses, print out the Actual Food Expenses report.
• Vehicle Mileage: This report will list the number of business miles you drove multiplied by the standard mileage rate for 2018. If you use this method you can also deduct parking expenses, tolls, and the business portion of vehicle loan interest and personal property tax. If you kept receipts for other expenses associated with your vehicle (gas, oil, repairs, insurance, etc.) and you want to compare the actual expenses method with the standard mileage method, print out the report Vehicle Deduction Comparison.

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Check out more of Tom’s child care resources to help you prepare for a successful year.

• 2018-2019 Food Program Reimbursement Rates Announced – The CACFP reimbursement rates for family child care providers until June 30, 2019
• The Food Program is Still a Great Deal! – Tom Copeland explains that even though the Food Program rates have not increased, the Food Program is still a great deal!
• Join the Food Program and Get Paid to Serve Nutritious Food – The Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) offer many benefits for child care providers. Tom Copeland goes over the common objections to the Food Program and explains why you should consider joining.
• What Does Your Tax Preparer Need to Understand About Your Taxes? – Do you wonder if your tax preparer understands your business taxes? Learn the tips and resources needed to properly explain your child care business in detail during tax time.
• Common Mistakes Providers Make on Their Taxes – Tom Copeland lists out the common mistakes that providers make on their taxes and how to avoid or fix them.