What Food Records Should You Keep?
Food is probably your biggest single expense as a family child care provider. Yet, child care providers are not keeping complete and accurate records of these expenses.
If you are using the standard meal allowance rate, IRS rules say that you do not need to keep food receipts!According to the IRS, the records you should keep include "the name of each eligible child, dates and hours of attendance in the family day care, and the type and quantity of meals and snacks served."
The IRS provides a sample log that you can use to track your meals and snacks. This log indicates that you should keep a daily record of the meals and snacks served to the children in your care. (A sample of this log is found in the Redleaf Calendar-Keeper and is also available online.)
If you are not on the Food Program, use the IRS sample log, the Calendar-Keeper log, or create your own. Enter the meals and snacks you serve on a daily basis to each child.
If you are on the Food Program, your monthly claim form can serve as the daily record that will satisfy IRS rules.
However, many child care providers serve meals and snacks that do not appear on these claim forms. This can happen if you serve more than three food servings a day, your food serving was denied reimbursement because it wasn't nutritious, or for other reasons.
If you are on the Food Program, save a copy of your monthly claim forms and put them with your tax records. Here's how you should keep records of the meals and snacks you served that you are not claiming for the Food Program:
* Your Food Program sponsor may allow you to put your non-reimburseable meals and snacks on your claim form. Do so, if you are allowed.
* If your sponsor does not want you to put these servings on your monthly claim form, enter them on your copy of the form and keep it with your tax records.
* Or, use the IRS sample log or Redleaf Calendar-Keeper log to enter these extra servings.
It's extremely important to keep food records of all meals and snacks served to the children in your care. One snack a day served to one child represents a little over $200 per year! This can add up to a lot of money!
These extra meals or snacks do not have to be nutritious.
Image credit: https://www.publicdomainpictures.net/en/view-image.php?image=24208&picture=child-eating-watermelon
For detailed information about how to track food expenses, see my book Family Child Care Record Keeping Guide.
