"home daycare" What is this????

[feastervilee]

What is the name of your state?Maine,

Recently my child support was adjusted and now includes child care, i am the father the kids live with there mother in colorado. Turns out now the kids are not in daycare actually this is her words excalty about the kids in daycare:


"I do not have a daycare center per say, but I am still paying for the home daycare right now. I don't know what's going to happen with daycare but I do know that whether or not its a daycare center I will always have to pay someone."

This someone is her live in boyfriend.


My question is, isn't he just a babysitter not daycare, and does this qualify for me to pay child care services? I've been paying for 6 months now and for 5 of those 6 months the kids haven't attended daycare, the kids are left with him for about an hour or two till she gets home from work. She claims she pays 250.00 a week on the child support form, this is a joke now.

ANy help is welcomed thanks



"

 

[LdiJ]

What is the name of your state?Maine,

Recently my child support was adjusted and now includes child care, i am the father the kids live with there mother in colorado. Turns out now the kids are not in daycare actually this is her words excalty about the kids in daycare:


"I do not have a daycare center per say, but I am still paying for the home daycare right now. I don't know what's going to happen with daycare but I do know that whether or not its a daycare center I will always have to pay someone."

This someone is her live in boyfriend.


My question is, isn't he just a babysitter not daycare, and does this qualify for me to pay child care services? I've been paying for 6 months now and for 5 of those 6 months the kids haven't attended daycare, the kids are left with him for about an hour or two till she gets home from work. She claims she pays 250.00 a week on the child support form, this is a joke now.

ANy help is welcomed thanks



"

It may be that temporarily her boyfriend is providing the daycare. Although its unlikely that she is paying him, she could be paying him. Its likely not something that is going to be going on forever.

Someone who babysits in the home and gets paid is no different than a daycare center. That person is still providing daycare and is getting paid for doing so.

The real question is whether or not he is getting paid, and how long this particular set-up is going to last. If he is doing it because he got laid off, but is actively seeking employment, then by the time you take it to court it could be a "moot" point.

 

[nextwife]

Someone who babysits in the home and gets paid is no different than a daycare center. .

Actually, a non-accredited daycare does not get paid the same for daycare services. Accreditation brings a daycare provider a higher fee structure than a simple babysitter gets.

If he is paying for a compensation commensurate with that a properly accredited center would get, then the kids should be in an accredited daycare. If they are not, the cost to dad should be adjusted to reflect the lesser fee that a non-trained and non-state certified provider would get.

 

[LdiJ]

Actually, a non-accredited daycare does not get paid the same for daycare services. Accreditation brings a daycare provider a higher fee structure than a simple babysitter gets.

If he is paying for a compensation commensurate with that a properly accredited center would get, then the kids should be in an accredited daycare. If they are not, the cost to dad should be adjusted to reflect the lesser fee that a non-trained and non-state certified provider would get.

Valid point.

 

[bubbly602]

$250/week?

That seems a bit steep to me. I live in Colorado, and I have a child in daycare, and I pay $120/week when I have her in daycare full time(50hours/week) When I have her in part time daycare, I pay $200/month. And this is a licensed provider. I don't know if this is a viable option, and hopefully others can enlighten you as to whether or not this might help, but maybe you could contact some centers in the area where she is living and see what she would be charged for the hours that the kids are being watched. Contact several centers, and several home centers. Maybe you can prove that the amount is exorbitant and ask for a modification? Just a thought. Good luck.

 

[nextwife]

Agreed. Leaving them with boyfriend AND having you pay high accredited daycare costs is akin to claiming he's homeschooling them and therefore demanding private school tuition. The fact is that boyfriend is NOT a daycare center and he cannot provide what an accredited center does.

 

[stealth2]

$250 a week for kids who are in school is a bit excessive - unless we're talking long hours after school (i.e. Mom works nights or until late). I'd call around to see the going rate for her area/hours she needs care, and ask for receipts. If she's overcharging you, take it back to court for a modification.

 

[feastervilee]

Well, I did attempt to ask her more information about this "home daycare". Asked questions like where is this place, who is this person are they ceritified, how much are you paying them? I'm not arguing that i don't want to pay, but I'm not paying daycare prices for a non-employment live-in boyfriend to be watching my kids. And the kids tell me if pays no attention to them while he babysits he plays his video games! Seems as though the kids would be better off in daycare.

But here is her response, and noticed not one answer to any of my questions:

I don't understand why this is such a critical issue for you. Based on the child support figures that are currently being paid, a little less than $48 of your weekly support obligation is going towards child care. With your percentage being only 45, that relates to me only having a weekly child care bill of $106.67. The reason you were able to have a reduction from the basic calculations was due to the fact of daycare. You were given roughly a $55 a week reduction in child support for paying the July travel expenses and whining about money. Your travel expenses were only $540. Your annual savings on child support will be $2860. That is $2320 in savings. If we calculate just from May of this year the adjusted child support savings was still $1870. That is still $1330 in savings for you. I don't understand why you keep harping at me when you are the one saving money.
I am paying for child care. I need to work therefore I need to pay for child care. I do not want to have to keep adjusting the amounts to you just beacause you feel you are being screwed. I will provide a total amount in February for you. As long as the weekly amount for child care is above $106.67 then it really shouldn't matter to you.

Another piece of savings for you is that the amount I accepted for back support only affected about 10 weeks of back support. If you remember, I was paying the other place since last August. Again, you were given savings. This doesn't even take into account the amounts I was paying to the child care places before last August. This issue is a dead issue as long as I pay over $106.67 a week. We are supposed to be civil to each other for the benefit of the children. It is kind of annoying that you keep harping on issues that I have responded to already. Hopefully with these clarifications the issue won't have to be brought up anymore.



To me this means she hasn't been paying any daycare since Auguest, and can anyone explain to me what she means by as long as she pays 106.67 it's a dead issue, i understand you may need more information from me but i don't know what that would be please respond and i will provide any info that i can.

THanks

 

[Inquiry123]

Get the receipts...

I suggest that you have your att'y send a letter regarding documentation of the daycare expense. Require that copies of receipts for daycare expenses be sent to you monthly. Require that daycare receipts include the providers name, address, AND Federal Tax ID or Social Security Number.

You will need to provide the Federal Tax ID or SSN on your income tax returns in order to claim a deduction for the child care expense that YOU paid.

As soon as I sent this requirement to my ex, all claims that daycare expenses were being paid ceased. It seems that none of her boyfriends wanted me to have their SSN, etc. When that info hits the internet, it can create quite a mess, I hear.

In my case, no expense was actually being paid (but what a great scam to squeeze more $ out of Mr. Moneybags.) Good luck.

 

[feastervilee]

she's court ordered that in Feb. of every year, to show documents of what she paid out for daycare expenses. I was unaware that i would be able to claim this on my taxes i didn't think i could. I pay her 165.00 per week.. on the support table it breaks down to 110.00 child support and the rest to child care expenses. Can someone explain more to me about this tax thing?

Seems to be an endless battle with her about this, notice how she won't answer the actual question i'm asking like , "who is watching them" "how much are you paying"? I don't see what i can't know these things, i'm their father/ She does have sole custody of them, so i guess she thinks i don't need to know.

Every time we go to court i'm fighting to just see my kids, she's always fighting to get more money! I just wanted to get her on this one for once.
Any more advice would help thanks everyone.

 

[LdiJ]

I suggest that you have your att'y send a letter regarding documentation of the daycare expense. Require that copies of receipts for daycare expenses be sent to you monthly. Require that daycare receipts include the providers name, address, AND Federal Tax ID or Social Security Number.

You will need to provide the Federal Tax ID or SSN on your income tax returns in order to claim a deduction for the child care expense that YOU paid.

As soon as I sent this requirement to my ex, all claims that daycare expenses were being paid ceased. It seems that none of her boyfriends wanted me to have their SSN, etc. When that info hits the internet, it can create quite a mess, I hear.

In my case, no expense was actually being paid (but what a great scam to squeeze more $ out of Mr. Moneybags.) Good luck.

Uh...incorrect. Only the parent with primary custody is permitted to take a child care credit. Therefore he has no legitimate reason to have the person's SS number or Federal ID number. HE CANNOT take the child care credit.

 

[0000]

what i don't get is why women have children if they are just going to hand them over to daycare?

but what i'm really writing about is that there seem to be an awful number of posts about mommies who are scamming "daycare" money from the NCP. i mean, wouldn't they WANT to use that money to put their kid in an accredited daycare center - where the child can learn and make friends - instead of leaving them in an empty room while some "babysitter" (aka boyfriend) plays video games and drinks beer?

truly disgusting is that mommie would rather keep that money for hersef instead of applying it towards the betterment of a child who is already losing out by having an absentee father AND mother.

i'm an NCP and absolutely dread the day (in the near future) i will be notified of daycare expenses. better believe i'm going to make DAMN sure my kid is getting what i'm paying for.

 

[Inquiry123]

Never been in jail...

LdiJ:

Ouch!

I'm not a tax attorney, but I pay one every year. I have claimed the Child Care tax credit for two of my three children during the years immediately following my divorce that my ex was in school and had legitimate child care expenses.

I will note that while I did not meet the exact guidelines of the IRS in order to claim the credit, the only years that I claimed the credit were those in which I was entitled by the divorce decree to "claim the children for any and all tax purposes". The law, including tax law, is open to interpretation.

It doesn't appear that the original poster provides the primary residence for the child/ren. Regardless -- nothing ventured, NOTHING gained. I would never encourage anyone to cheat on their taxes -- I strongly recommend that everyone use the "guidelines" to their advantage when applicable.

In the original post, my impression was that he felt that he was being used to finance the lifestyle of an unemployed boyfriend. I pay taxes for that, too -- It's called Unemployment & Welfare. Worse, I got the impression that he felt that he was paying for something that didn't even exist...No real care, no real expense being paid.

If a REAL expense was incurred, pay your share. Let the ex come up with the receipts -- and as a previous poster stated, let the IRS take a stab at the situation. Or, take my advice and see how fast the boyfriend gets a real job.

Here's the link for the IRS guidelines for the Child Care credit...Good luck.

http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc602.html

 

[LdiJ]

LdiJ:

Ouch!

I'm not a tax attorney, but I pay one every year. I have claimed the Child Care tax credit for two of my three children during the years immediately following my divorce that my ex was in school and had legitimate child care expenses.

I will note that while I did not meet the exact guidelines of the IRS in order to claim the credit, the only years that I claimed the credit were those in which I was entitled by the divorce decree to "claim the children for any and all tax purposes". The law, including tax law, is open to interpretation.

It doesn't appear that the original poster provides the primary residence for the child/ren. Regardless -- nothing ventured, NOTHING gained. I would never encourage anyone to cheat on their taxes -- I strongly recommend that everyone use the "guidelines" to their advantage when applicable.

In the original post, my impression was that he felt that he was being used to finance the lifestyle of an unemployed boyfriend. I pay taxes for that, too -- It's called Unemployment & Welfare. Worse, I got the impression that he felt that he was paying for something that didn't even exist...No real care, no real expense being paid.

If a REAL expense was incurred, pay your share. Let the ex come up with the receipts -- and as a previous poster stated, let the IRS take a stab at the situation. Or, take my advice and see how fast the boyfriend gets a real job.

Here's the link for the IRS guidelines for the Child Care credit...Good luck.

http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc602.html

Well, I am a tax accountant. In order for a person to claim the child care credit the child must live with them at least 51% of the time. If your tax preparer is allowing you to take the credit even though you don't qualify, I suspect that you have not let your tax preparer know that your child does not primarily live with you. Odds are your preparer wouldn't ASK that question.

The risk of an audit is fairly low these days for an individual, however there are indications that the IRS intends to start auditing individuals again due to rampant tax fraud. If the child's ss# shows up on two different tax returns for the child care credit, that certainly could/would trigger an investigation.