babysitting

[bertea]

My client babysits for her daughter child and receives $5,000/year for it.

Does my client need to pay SE taxes and can she deduct standard meal & snack rates for each day she babysits. Any other expenses available like toys,etc even though it is her granddauughter?

[ChEAr$]

yes, no and yes

My client babysits for her daughter child and receives $5,000/year for it.

Does my client need to pay SE taxes and can she deduct standard meal & snack rates for each day she babysits. Any other expenses available like toys,etc even though it is her granddauughter?

It's se income, cause it regular activity. But for snacks, actual costs may be deducted,
along with "supplies."

A client inadvertently confessed to me she keeps daughter's child for $50 per week, so I naturally had to insist on included income on their joint return. Turns out that with clever manipulation of section 179 I found the "sweet spot" for his se income, and with hers they qualified for the $600 recovery rebate credit
that they didn't get last year as a stimulus payment.

[Jesse]

Just curios as to why you say the actual rather than standard meal/snack allowance may be taken? Because they are related?

[erchess]

Agree with Jesse

I see no reason why she can't use the standard rates for day care meals and snacks if that is to her advantage.

[ChEAr$]

what kind

I see no reason why she can't use the standard rates for day care meals and snacks if that is to her advantage.

of "standard rate" are you talking about? Is there one specially for day care facilities?
I was of course thinking of the stardard meal rate of 40 something dollar per day.

[Larmil]

of "standard rate" are you talking about? Is there one specially for day care facilities?
I was of course thinking of the stardard meal rate of 40 something dollar per day.

I am not at the office or I would look it up. The rate for snacks is something like $0.61 each.

Several years ago one of my Sched C babysitting clients came in with ZERO dollars for meals. I questioned her and she said that particular year she sat nothing but infants and the mothers furnished the formula.

[erchess]

Day Care Meals and Snacks

See TTB 1040 Edition 5-2 for a table of the rates and 5-17 for an explanation of how this works.