Babysitting - Cleveland,OH

My husband is self employed so I just asked him. He said you can write off $600 as miscellaneous labor every year. Anything more than $600 you have to claim. How mean of her husband's parents! Why are they bringing you into this?

Oh wow... did they pay you by cash or check?

I would... consult with an Attorney or Accountant.... right away...

The county is not an agent of the IRS. Are they investigating your home? Your daycare? How many years did you not report it? How much exactly did they pay you?Did they claim it on their taxes? What agency exactly did they call?

If I were being investigated, I would go make an appoitment with a real Certified Public Accountant CPA(not HR block or someone like that).
I would tell them THE TRUTH. They could efile an amended tax return for you that same day, It would be better to pay a late fee than to have a full blown IRS audit.

I don't think they can look at your tax returns. I've done daycare for years, and our accountant told us that the IRS can't use information on someone's return to verify something on someone else's. You keep your records, and they keep theirs. They probably are looking at other things, and if they ask you what you were paid, I'd refer them to the parents. You can verify the hours, and give them a weekly estimate, but they aren't interested in your taxes.

Hi, I can tell you that when I worked as an independent contractor a few years back, I could make $500 from any one employer before I had to claim it on my taxes. I had to pay taxes on any amount over $500. Maybe that applies to you too, I can't say for sure. Could you check out one of those babysitter sites for advice?

You are suppose to claim anything over $600.

Hi, the county is probably not going to look at your taxes, however you should be claiming all of this income. In the state of Ohio you do not need to be certified or licensed to watch another child but you are still considered an in-home daycare. Either way - licensed, certified, or not, you cannot care for any more than 6 children at a time. That includes your own if they are under 6 years of age. Most likely that is what you be looked at for - the number of children in your home. They also may look at the 'safety' of your home - is it clean, free from hazards that children can get to? They may want some type of confirmation of when/how often you care for these children.

Also, back to the tax thing. At any time anyone can 'turn you in' to the IRS for not claiming income you are earning and you will be investigated. Even if someone agrees to pay you in cash under the table. It's best to do right. With daycare you have a ton of things you can claim as expenses to offset money you pay in taxes.

I don't think you have to claim if you make less than $6,000 a year.

I think its $8000+ a year to have to claim it on taxes.

wow- a lot of different answers! Check with a CPA- it's a different amount depending on different factors- at least it was 10 years ago! I think you could make more and not file- if you were living with parents(that won't help you!)- but with so many opinions- just find a really good CPA and they will help you out!
~C.