Dependent care account questions

[egoldber]

We are going to be switching Amy from full time preschool/daycare to before care+preschool and then a nanny in the afternoons.

In that situation, I can still claim the before care AND preschool as an expense for a dependent care FSA, yes?

Also, how do you pay your (part-time) nanny so that you can claim that expense under your dependent care FSA?

Thanks!

[wellyes]

1. Yes
2. Ask her to send you an invoice for her services, and then sumbit that as your expense. You can pay her separately. We pay weekly, but request a monthly invoice for the equivelent amt becuase I don't want to deal with weekly reimbursement checks.

[Momof3Labs]

2. I have sheets that I can submit to my dependent care FSA for reimbursement, as an alternative to an invoice. They require the caregiver's signature in addition to dates of care provided and amount paid. I fax those sheets over as they are filled up.

[sste]

Technically, you are supposed to be paying the nanny's taxes in order to use the dependent care account. I don't think this is enforced. We have always had to submit the nanny's social security number and name and then a statement of how much money we had paid her.

Since it is only 5k or so, you probably won't even need to involve the nanny but can exhaust the account using only the preschool bills.

[egoldber]

Are the rules any different when the nanny is part-time vs full-time?

And next year we'll have no trouble exhausting the $5K with just preschool, but I signed up for the full $5K for this year and with only the preschool hours, we're at about $4K. (That includes Sarah's before school care as well.)

[sste]

For some reason the irs site is only giving me the 2008 figure but if it is under 1600 paid to a household employee (probably a bit more in 2009) and not more than x amount in a tax quarter (sorry I don't know the figure), you don't owe any taxes for a household employee.
http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc756.html

[egoldber]

OK, thanks. I didn't realize that the minimum was that low.

Although we may be OK for 2009.

[sste]

If you are worried about it, you can also submit for a few babysitters that you used when you were job hunting. In other words, I imagine there are a few people you paid $500 or so to for job hunting babysitting or for emergency weekday babysitting or even weekends if you used that time to catch up on work. The only thing is you need to tell them clearly and emphatically that your requesting their social security number will NOT, absolutely NOT, affect their taxes or be reported to any govt agency. It is just for your employer's internal records for you to use a childcare account. People get a little worried about giving out their ss#.

[vonfirmath]

My childcare worker has a taxid number so she doesn't have to give out her SSN.

[Zansu]

You can also use it for summer camp, if that's easier than getting the nanny to do paperwork.

[egoldber]

My issue is I did not sign up until August and the expenses need to be after I signed up. For next year, there is no problem at all. It's just I need to account for $5K in child care between mid August to December 31. If Amy stayed in the daycare or Sarah had gotten into the after care, it would be no problem.

[applebutter]

The claim requirements are the same for PT care as they are for FT care.

[saschalicks]

Beth,
Do you do yours through Ceridian by any chance? We do and there is a spot on the actual form where the nanny or DCP can sign that they were paid xyz and give their SS# there. You don't need receipts or anything like that, just a signature (like an afidavit). If you don't have Ceridian check the form to see if yours has something like that too.

We do in-home day care for DD and our DCP gives us a receipt for our payments. Needless to say we pay about 18x's the $5K allowed (between FT day care, FT preschool and after school care), but what can you do ?