How to Reconstruct Your Food Expenses

What can you do, as a family child care provider, if you find yourself in one of these two situations?

One -  You are getting ready to prepare your taxes and you realize that your food records are incomplete. You didn't record throughout the year all the meals and snacks you served on a daily basis to the children in your care.

Two - Your food expenses are being audited by the IRS. You realize that you didn't claim an afternoon snack you served each day, but you don't have a daily record showing that you did. You want to claim this extra snack, but the IRS auditor refuses to allow the expense.

Many child care providers keep incomplete records of their food expenses. This is unfortunate, because food expenses are a significant business deduction and they are a common target in an IRS audit.

IRS rules say that child care providers should be keeping a daily record of all the meals and snacks served in their program.

In both of the above situations, you will need to reconstruct your food expenses.