Are You Deducting All Your Outdoor Expenses?

With summer here, many family child care providers are working outside in their gardens, making home repairs, or doing general outdoor clean-up work.

Are any of the expenses associated with these activities deductible?

You are entitled to deduct all expenses that are "ordinary and necessary" to your business. Since you must maintain your home (including the outside of your home) to attract and retain clients, and to provide a safe, outdoor place for children to play, most outdoor expenses are at least partly deductible in your business.

These can include:

Awnings

Cement work on a driveway or walkway around your home

Deck

Doorbell

Fence

Flowers

Garage door opener

Gutters and drain pipes

House siding

Lawn mowing/maintenance service

Lawn sprinkler system

Patio

Security system

Stair/deck railings

Storm or screen windows

Termite and other pest control

Tool shed

Yard tools (rake, shovel, wheelbarrow, etc.)

Not every outdoor expense would be deductible in your business. If you don't use something in your business you can't deduct it. This might include outdoor flood lights or a swimming pool (if you only care for infants).

The next time you are at your local garden store, hardware store or home store, save your receipts! it's quite likely that at least part of the expense will be deductible.

If an item is used 100% for your business, deduct 100% of the cost. If it's used for business and personal purposes, use your Time-Space Percentage. If it's only used for personal purposes, don't deduct any of it.

Tom Copeland - www.tomcopelandblog.com

Image credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lifetime_Storage_Shed.jpg

For a comprehensive list of over 1,000 allowable business expenses, see my book Family Child Care Record Keeping Guide.