I will be caring for a child in my home (5 days a week, 8hrs. a day). Do I have to pay taxes on my income ($95. a day), and if so, how do I go about it? Thanks.

JANE

This is such an old message I'm not sure that you still need the answer. You do need to file taxes for your babysitting income. This may be to your advantage though. Keep all your receipts for food if you supply the meal as well as other purchases directly related to the child care such as toys, etc. You will need to file a schedule c. this will list your income and your expenses in gaining the income. You may even be able to deduct a portion of your utilities as an expense. Your tax professional can help you but it is simple to do on your own. The IRS even has free on line filing! Good Luck!

Tyesmoon

That is the technically correct answer, but if the people you are doing this for are willing to pay you under the table, in otherwords, they aren't going to write of the child care money on their taxes, then you don't have to, no one would know. It depends on whether or not they are reporting the expense to get a deduction on their taxes.