Navigating the Family Child care

Section of the Toolkit

There are two primary ways to navigate through this section of the toolkit.

1. Scrolling- Check out what is included in this section of the toolkit simply by scrolling through this section in its entirety. There is a content section at the top and related resources section at the bottom.
   

2. Menu, Links & Buttons- If you are looking for a particular

topic, use the menu below to quickly link to it. Links are

included throughout a topic and take you to additional

resources related to that topic.

You can use the "Return to Family Childcare Topics" button to bring you back to the topic menu page below to explore other topics.

The "Return to the Home Page" button will take you back to the home page of the Model Salary Scale Toolkit.

The "Take me to resources about.." buttons take you to more in depth content and resources related to a specific topic.

The unique aspects of family child care businesses and salary scales

While center based programs have multiple people serving in different roles, Family Child Care Homes typically have one person who does everything! They are the primary caregiver, administrator, and more.

Family Child Care Home owners carry many different responsibilities and wear "all the hats," but they should also be recognized as entrepreneurs and small business owners making a difference in their community.

Family child care is a unique business structure and there are a few important points we want to make right up front.

• Since the majority of family child care home providers operate as sole proprietors, the toolkit will refer to taxes and record keeping as if the owner operates as a sole proprietor. See below for more information about the different types of structures.
• We recommend contacting a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) familiar with family child care home tax preparation (we have a list of questions to ask as you seek a CPA if you need that below, too!).
• You might learn about business practices that are in your best interests that you might not have been doing in the past. That's ok!
• Consider new information as providing an opportunity, if you choose to do so, to make changes for your business practices to be stronger in the future. We don't know what we don't know!
• Family child care business practices include many topics and steps along the way; however, no goal is too small. Many of our larger business goals rely on us having the smaller pieces in place first.

Starting where you are with what you have is a START!

I'm an educator... ...and a business owner

but if it's just me,

why do I need a salary scale?

Next topic: How do I create a salary scale for myself?

How do I create a salary scale for myself?

"Where to begin: How do I create a salary scale for myself?" section looks at the process of creating or revising a salary scale from the big picture perspective. While we mention the steps here briefly, each step of the process is explained further below.

• You may have some or all of the business aspects covered already, but we will talk through them step by step. Think of these three aspects as the foundation to a successful business AND how you can increase your earnings over time.
  
• Business structure
  
• Record Keeping
• Taxes
• Budgeting and paying yourself first relies on all three of the business practices above. We will provide the steps to put all three together and ensure you pay yourself first.
  
• When you have a clear understanding of where you stand financially today you can plan for the future.
• Your long term goals will help determine the financial steps it will take to get there!
  

You might be wondering...

• How do I keep track of my financial records?
  
• We will cover separating your personal and business finances, creating or analyzing your budget, and defining your financial goals.
  
• What if I don't know how much I am spending or how much I make hourly?
  
• We will share a few different ways to get started using information you already have and share ideas to start tracking income, expenses, and your time moving forward.
  

Next topic: Business structures

This section covers the big picture of family child care business practices. It is critical to make sure you understand your business structure and maintain specific records and file taxes accordingly.

You can find more resources about these topics further in the family child care section.

Why does the type of business matter?

Business structures impact everything from your taxes to liability and even how you pay yourself or employees, if you have them. You might find it helpful to review the different types of business structures to ensure you are using the best approach for your situation.

Next topic: Record keeping & taxes

Record keeping & taxes for family child care businesses

• Record keeping is important in ANY child care business, but for family child care, record keeping directly impacts your taxes, which in turn impacts income
• Record keeping covers many elements, but mostly captures revenue or income and how time and money are spent, both when children are present and when the children are not in the home but you are doing work for your business
  

Take me to resources about record keeping

Next topic: Paying yourself first: Budgeting & financial planning

This section looks at how you pay yourself first, which relies on strong record keeping skills and knowing "the numbers." We will talk about budgeting, keeping separate business and personal accounts, and the unique ways that taxes can benefit family child care businesses. These steps are required to calculate your income so you can later set goals to increase income over time.

The first step to creating a plan for the future is to

PAY YOURSELF FIRST!

Sole proprietors sometimes find themselves collecting income, paying the expenses, and taking "what's left over" as their own personal income or wages. This approach doesn't paint the full picture of your business, as your income is never factored into the true cost of quality or doing business! You wouldn't choose to leave out food expenses, for example, so why leave out your own pay? Your time and expertise are valuable, and while you may not be in a position to pay yourself your target wage today, until you know what you are currently earning and factoring that cost into your budget, you can't necessarily increase that number, either.

What if I don't know what I am earning right now?

• Pull out previous tax returns: Line 11 (Form 1040) shows your Adjusted Gross Income. Look at the hours you have tracked for that tax year and divide the total by those hours. This is your hourly wage.
• If you don't have a previous tax return, start small. Ideally, a year's worth of records is best, but even one month will get you started! Pull out your receipts and any documentation that tracks money coming in, money going out, and how you spend your time for the business. We will explain how to use these documents as we go.
  

Knowing what we believe helps us plan for it financially

Most of us are generally aware of how much income, or money coming in, there may be. It's important to fully understand our expenses, or the money we spend, too.

Two main types of expenses: flexible and fixed

FIXED expenses are set and do not change monthly, or if they change, it will be after a set amount of time because of a change in the terms of a contract. Examples of fixed expenses might include your rent/mortgage, car payments, or insurance premiums.

FLEXIBLE expenses can fluctuate monthly and some are based entirely on how you

choose to spend your money while others are based on terms that might change

frequently, such as most utilities like electricity or water.

A budget is a projection of how much money is coming in and going out of the business. To create or revise a budget, you will need a list of all the income sources and all fixed and flexible expenses.

Moving up the business ladder...taking steps towards paying yourself first

Identify how much you can pay yourself NOW...

And set a TARGET for increasing your wage over time

Take me to resources about budgets & paying myself

Next topic: Planning for wage increases & retirement

With strong record keeping practices in place, developing and using a budget, and knowing what you are earning for the work, you have the information you need to set goals for your financial future.

Planning for wage increases or retirement

You will want to plan for increasing your income over time for any or all the following reasons:

• Your current budget operates at a deficit - or your expenses are higher than your income
  
• You've identified debts that you want to eliminate
• You have a surplus and you are paying yourself, but not at a consistent rate and/or a livable wage
• You want to save money or put more money towards retirement or a personal financial goal
• You want to increase your own pay or the amount you pay your employees
  

There are two approaches to consider when strategically planning for a budget surplus

Reducing

Expenses

Increasing

Income

Creative

Financial

Strategies

and tips

• Your budget should realistically reflect enrollment; you might not consistently be "fully" enrolled. Whatever percentage you use to inform your budget, keep in mind you have to maintain that percentage or you are losing money.
• Tom Copeland suggests setting aside money from one child's tuition throughout their time enrolled in your program; call this your "retirement plan," or allocate this specific income stream towards paying down bad debt or increasing your wage.
  

• Tuition and fees should be regularly reviewed. When did you last increase tuition? What fees are you charging and are you using those fees in a way that supports financial growth? Consider adding a cost of living increase into your family handbook/policies related to tuition.
• Flexible expenses are the easiest to consider when having to reduce or eliminate an expense. Are you paying for services that are a want, but not a need? Can you reduce food costs?
• Just because an item or expense is a business deduction, spending money still reduces your income. Reassess what you are spending, how often, and whether or not it is an immediate priority.
• Increasing enrollment doesn't always mean more income; enrolling one more child can change the quality of care being provided and hiring an employee to cover enrollment can cost more than adding another child or two.
  

• You can consider adjusting the time spent working for your business and raising rates simultaneously. If you were to reduce your operating hours slightly and increase tuition by just a few dollars, these two adjustments together can make a dramatic change over time.
• Some expenses can be justifiably shared with families, such as your business liability insurance or licensing fees. There may be annual fees you can add and distribute across enrolled families to offset or eliminate your bottom line.
  

• While the goal is to increase your income without MORE work, there may be times when expanding your services makes sense financially. What extra services can you provide that fit with your interests, hobbies, or skills? Offer a monthly or quarterly "night out" for a flat rate for your families, provide add -ons such as weekend activities or literacy kits, or offer a drop in day on a weekend for a flat rate.
  

Copeland, Tom. Strategies for increasing your income. https://www.tomcopelandblog.com/blog/key-strategies-for-increasing-your-income

Copeland, Tom. Setting Financial Goals. https://www.tomcopelandblog.com/blog/setting-financial-goals-for-the-year-2

Kelton, R. (2020). Fiscal Check-Up for Family Child Care Part 2: Tips for Tracking Actuals and Budgeting.

https://mccormickcenter.nl.edu/library/tips-for-tracking-actuals-and-budgeting/

Next topic: Special situations and family child care

businesses with employees

Common questions and hiring employees

You are not obligated to pay your spouse a wage, but if you do, they should be treated as any other employee (i.e. W2, federal and state applicable taxes). There are other financial and tax benefits from having your spouse work for your business that we will discuss later, too.

The first step is to develop a good

understanding of your income and expenses so you can create a plan to increase your income next year and moving forward. There are more details about this process in the budgeting section below, but to increase pay you will need to increase income, reduce expenses, or a little bit of both.

It's never too late to make changes for the better... contact a CPA familiar with family child care to understand the proper next steps. Often, it's possible to re-file previous year taxes to fix errors, and you will usually have a better outcome when you are proactive in fixing the issue yourself as soon as possible.

What about employees?

Not all family child care home providers have employees, but if you do or if you are considering hiring an employee, there are a few things you'll need to keep in mind. If you have employees:

• You must pay federal and state payroll taxes and file the appropriate tax forms
  
• You will also need to purchase workers' compensation insurance
• You will also be responsible for hiring, supervision, and firing... which does mean more liability if anything were to happen under their watch
• You will want to calculate the impact on your bottom line.. weigh the benefits and challenges to determine if having employees is a decision that fits your needs AND your budget. As a general rule, Tom Copeland suggests you won't increase profits until you care for more than two additional children after hiring a full time employee
  

Copeland, Tom. (2017). Costs & Benefits of Hiring an Employee, blog post. https://www.tomcopelandblog.com/blog/costs-benefits-hiring-employee

Next topic: One step at a time

Take me to resources about employees

Knowing where you want to start feels great! We know it can feel overwhelming, too. This section provides some strategies to build confidence and motivation to work towards the goals you've identified.

Break down your goal into small, achievable steps.

Create "SMART" goals, which are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time bound.

It's hard to plan for or know if you "make more money next year." You can identify specific steps attached to dates on the calendar however, if you plan to "increase personal income by $1,500 next calendar year."

Identify an accountability partner

While it's important to connect with peers, we also believe anyone you trust as an "accountability partner" can help motivate you to stay on track as you work towards your financial goals.

Our relationships with money can bring about mixed feelings, and when someone who supports you knows about your goals, they can help you process some of the things you are feeling and thinking along the way. This might even be your child care consultant or another technical assistance provider you have established a relationship with, too.

Connect with your financial institution, and reach out to your local Self-Help Credit Union.

Establishing a relationship with your local bank allows you to receive financial guidance and makes it more likely you get the help you need if you ever face a financial crisis.

Self-Help Credit Union is a statewide financial institution that provides business supports specific to family child care. We encourage you to check out all they have to offer, as well.

Connect with peers as a support system

Depending on where you live, you may be the only family child care business nearby or you may be in an urban area with a family child care network or association.

Contact your local partnership or CCR&R to find out what opportunities exist for you to connect with peers. Not only can you learn from one another, but you can share what you've learned in the toolkit with others, too.

END OF FAMILY CHILD CARE CONTENT

This concludes our Family Child Care Homes Content Section of the Salary Scale Toolkit. You may continue scrolling to find

more resources below or use the buttons

below to return to the center based

menu or the home page.

Record keeping for family child care homes

Record keeping is the key to financial stability and filing taxes for your business.

You will want to keep records for these specific aspects of your business:

• SAVE all receipts for your home AND your business

• KEEP daily records of all meals and snacks served and children's attendance
  

• TRACK your time for all the hours you work in your home even when children are not present, if you are doing work for the purpose of your business
  

Watch this video for 3 Record Keeping Tips from Tom Copeland

Relationships between record keeping, taxes, and income

Legally you are required to

• File tax returns
  
• Pay self employment taxes (when your income exceeds a certain limit, this may change depending on the tax year in question)
• File quarterly estimated tax returns if you expect to owe at least $1000 in income taxes after subtracting credits (you can use the Tax Withholding Estimator Here)
  

The records you keep for income and expenses, including meals you provide and the amount of time you work for your business, provide the tools you need to successfully accomplish all three of these legal requirements.

Accurate tax filing can help you recapture some of your profit and ensure you are following all applicable laws and tax rules.

Record keeping for tax preparation

Watch this video from Civitas Strategies Early Start to help prepare for tax season.

While we recommend hiring a CPA to prepare your taxes, we also believe it's important for you to know the basic information that is required on tax forms. If your CPA were to make an error or claim a deduction that you can't back up with documentation, you are ultimately still responsible. It's important to know what you are entering on your tax forms and why.

CLICK HERE to visit the Confidence in Quality Tax Prep Rubric: This document explains each line of IRS form 1040 (Schedule C). This is an app for mobile or PC use. HERE is the same tool in Spanish.

IRS Video: Lesson 2 Schedule C and other small business taxes. Video. Retrieved from: https://www.irsvideos.gov/Business/SBTW/Lesson2

National Association for Family Child Care. (2022). 2022 FCC Tax Resources. Retrieved from: https://nafcc.org/2022-fcc-tax-resources/

Copeland, T. (2021). The Tax Implications of the Child Care Stabilization Grants. USGOVACF. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YON5nwBhDg

Copeland, T. (2016). Do you know what is on your tax return? Blog entry. Retrieved from: https://www.tomcopelandblog.com/blog/do-you-know-what-is-on-your-tax-return

Finding the RIGHT CPA means finding one who knows family child care

There are some unique aspects about your taxes that your tax preparer should understand and be able to describe. Be sure to ask any potential tax preparer to tell you about:

• How they determine the business use of your home: Family child care is the only business that uses a time-space percentage to calculate how much time certain spaces in
  

your home are used for business purposes

• How participating in the food program impacts your taxes:
  

You can count income from the food program, but you also

can deduct food costs using a standard deduction without

having to produce receipts

• How they treat deductions for your business: Family child care
  

home providers can deduct many items that other businesses can't

(for example, many home improvements qualify as a deduction depending on how they

contribute to your family child care home business)

While many family child care home providers may enlist the services of a CPA or certified tax preparation service, many discover they have not been working with a preparer who fully understands the unique aspects of taxes when it comes to operating a family child care home business.

Here are some questions you might want to ask:

Questions to ask your potential tax preparer: https://www.tomcopelandblog.com/blog/questions-to-ask-your-tax-professional

How to find a tax preparer for FCCH: https://www.tomcopelandblog.com/blog/how-to-find-a-tax-preparer

How taxes work: income, expenses, and deductions

We will go into more details about budgeting, or the relationship between income and expenses in our daily program operations further below. Understanding WHY you keep particular records will help you in the budgeting process later. For now, we will talk about the concepts of income, expenses, and deductions as they relate to taxes.

Your INCOME is the sum of all the money coming IN

Your EXPENSES account

for everything

you are paying OUT

Your DEDUCTIONS are

part of your

EXPENSES

Copeland, T. (2012). What's deductible in a family child care business. Blog post. Retrieved from: https://www.tomcopelandblog.com/blog/whats-deductible-in-a-family-child-care-business

Full and partial deductions

Some items can be fully or partially deducted on your taxes. If you purchased a new set of blocks used only for your business, this is a fully deductible purchase. You are using it FULLY for business purposes. If you put new carpet in your living room and you use that space for your business during the day and your family uses that space together in the evenings, it is a partial deduction; you are only taking PART of the cost since it is shared between business use and personal use.

An important number you will need to know for PARTIAL deductions is your

Time-Space Percentage

The video to the right gives an in depth explanation of how to calculate your time space percentage. This calculation determines how much of your home is used for your business "what" percent of the time.

You will need to know the total square footage of your home, the square footage of your home used for business ONLY and the square footage for areas you use for business AND family use.

You will also need to know the total number of hours worked per year. Remember this includes time cleaning, preparing, in professional development, and more!

Here is a LINK to an online tool to calculate your time-space percentage for you!

• Research shows the majority of providers are not claiming the business use of their home, which is a substantial part of your business deduction
• Many providers claim business expenses that are NOT common to family child care home business operations, triggering an audit from the IRS
• Some providers are not claiming expenses at all, which drastically increases the amount of taxes you would OWE
  

When you are self-employed, you do not have paystubs to show a bank when you are seeking a loan. Most lenders look for financial statements to show your business’s income and your tax returns to show your personal income history. Many lenders use Line 31 (Net Income) on your tax return to prove your income for a mortgage, business, or car loan. Filing taxes today can mean saving money for later - all while building the foundation to access future funds if needed!

Strategies for Increasing the Supply, Quality, & Sustainability of Family Child Care in States & Communities. (2019).

All our Kin. Retrieved from: https://allourkin.org/files/galleries/Family_Child_Care_to_Thrive.pdf

Unleashing the Economic Power of Family Child Care Providers (2019). The Committee for Hispanic Children & Families, Inc. Retreived from: https://docs.google.com/viewerng/viewer?url=https://www.chcfinc.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/UNLEASHING-THE-ECONOMIC-POWER-OF-PROVIDERS.pdf&hl=en_US

Budgeting for family child care homes

A budget is a child care business’ plan of action, expressed in dollars. A budget estimates the expected income and expenses of a business for a specified period of time.

• Decide the time period you are going to cover - monthly, quarterly, or annually
• Estimate the number of children served - keep in mind licensing standards, the size of your home, and there will be times that you are not at full capacity
• Estimate anticipated revenue (income) based on tuition, subsidy, parent fees, food programs, etc.
• Estimate anticipated expenses - some are fixed (remain the same) while some may change over time; expenses should include your pay or salary and any employees pay and all applicable taxes
  

When you list expenses, be sure to think about which ones are a FULL business expense v/s a SHARED expense. Your shared expenses should be calculated using your TIME SPACE PERCENTAGE.

Evaluate the differences between income and expenses: there will be a surplus (money left over) or a deficit (not enough money to cover expenses). Keep in mind that a budget is a projection. It will be necessary to go back and review your ACTUAL income and expenses with what you projected in order to make adjustments over time.

• Set aside time monthly to review your transactions: both income and expenses
• Create some general categories for coding or storing expense receipts now so they are all sorted when it comes to tax season
• Consider electronic systems such as spreadsheets, receipt scanners, or programs that are made for accounting and tax preparation

in one

• Here's a link to Tom Copeland's free budget Excel sheet: free to download and use HERE
  

• Be sure to check out Tom Copeland's Business Planning Guide: there are links to download the supplemental Excel documents specific to family child care business planning, budgeting, and more.
  

paying yourself first...

Watch Tom Copeland explain how to pay yourself first and how your business structure can impact how you are paid

• Make record keeping easier by using a separate account to track receipts
• Check out twice when you are shopping: business and personal items should be paid separately
• Use the budget you created above and compare with actuals monthly to determine your true profit (this determines the maximum amount you can pay out for yourself and if applicable, your employees)
• Determine the amount you can begin paying yourself and how often based on the profit you've identified (Refer to the Model Salary Scale for pay suggestions based on education levels)
• Include line items in your budget when possible to ensure you are funding retirement, savings, and upcoming tax payments (no amount is too small!)
  

What if I'm not sure how much to pay myself?

• Begin by keeping a record of all revenue and expenses for one month to get an idea of what money is coming in, going out, and whether or not you have a surplus or deficit and how much
• If you have a surplus, or money left over, this is the potential amount you could pay yourself
• Keep in mind tax obligations, whether or not you have employees, and that this was the financial picture for just one month
• Simply transfer funds from the business account to your personal account or you can write a check made out to yourself instead
• Continue tracking the revenue and expenses each month for comparisons over time. Your personal draw could potentially fluctuate over time depending on enrollment, operation costs, etc.
  

When family child care homes have employees

According the Internal Revenue Service (IRS): “An employer-employee relationship exists when the business for which the services are performed has the right to direct and control the worker who performs the services.”

No matter the number of hours or the amount of money paid to a person who helps you in your program - they are considered an employee UNLESS:

• A person who is self-employed AS a substitute and contracts with multiple programs or owners and has their own business name and Tax ID number
  
• You have hired this person through an employment agency and you are contracted to pay the agency directly
  

Everyone else, if they work for you in your family child care business, IS an employee. You must withhold Social Security, Medicare, federal, and state income taxes and pay these quarterly. You must file IRS forms W-2 and W-3 at the end of the year and you MAY need workers' compensation insurance.

There are two layers of legal practices to keep in mind: Federal rules and State rules.

To get started as an employer:

AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL:

• Get a taxpayer identification number (EIN) from the IRS (Form SS-4). This form is also available online at www.irs.gov
  
• Have any employee complete an I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification Form before their first day of work; the employer has until the third day of work to complete the remainder of the form
• Have employees complete form W-4, or Withholding Allowance Certificate before their first day of employment (keep this on file)
• Withhold federal taxes to match the information on employee's W-4; you pay no part of this but must collect and pay on behalf of the employee

You will pay half of the Social Security and Medicare taxes and you will deduct the other half from your employees wages (see Federal Insurance Contributions Act, FICA). If applicable, you will pay a portion of your employees wages towards FUTA, or federal unemployment taxes.

Tom Copeland's IRS Family Child Care Resource Page: https://www.tomcopelandblog.com/irs-info

Internal Revenue Service: Small Businesses Self-Employed Tax Center: https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed

AT THE STATE LEVEL:

• Register as a business in the state of North Carolina with the NC Department of Revenue
  
• Look at the criteria to determine whether or not you need to get an Unemployment Insurance Tax Number (this will depend on your current situation and can also change in the future)
• Report any new hires to the NC Department of Health & Human Services within the first 20 days of hiring; this can be done online, via mail, or fax
  

• Withhold state income taxes from the employees pay using Form NC-4, Employee's Withholding Allowance Certificate
• Pay the state portion of State Unemployment Taxes (SUTA) if subject to unemployment tax
• Revisit your business insurance and make sure you carry workers' compensation when applicable
• Ensure the three required labor law posters are printed and hung in an area visible to employees

Steps to hiring your first employee in North Carolina: https://startingyourbusiness.com/steps-to-hiring-your-first-employee-in-north-carolina/

New Hires in North Carolina/information and forms: https://www.ergpayroll.com/nc-new-hire-packet/

Employee's wages and the toolkit calculator

To support child care administrators and family child care home providers to review and analyze their budgets and hiring practices and ensure a consistent and fair approach to ECE workforce compensation, an interactive calculator has been developed.

When you have employees, you will be able to add information on monthly income and payroll expenses for your teaching staff. The calculator will then assist you in creating budget projections for those staff so you can determine how much it would cost to achieve a certain wage level over time.

You can try out the calculator at any point in time, but it's going to be most helpful as you set your goals as it helps identify what's possible and helps you attach goals to targeted dates. To get the full benefits of the calculator, it will be helpful to have the following information and technology:

• Download and reference the USER GUIDE (this will be on the page with the calculator)
  
• Ability to open Excel files
  
• Staff roster, wages, and their education levels
• All sources of income/revenue
  

You enter the information...

and the calculator is designed to

do the math for you!

Special situations

While your own child over the age of 18 or your spouse/partner MUST be treated as an employee if you are paying them, children under 18 are treated differently when it comes to labor and tax laws. Here are some things to consider if you hire your own children who are younger than 18 years old.

The IRS (Internal Revenue Service) offers a Voluntary Classification Settlement Program (VCSP). If you meet eligibility requirements, you can start paying those who work for you as a true employee moving forward and pay a smaller penalty in the long run. Look at the requirements and frequently asked questions HERE and always ask a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) for more information.

Resources used in this section of the toolkit:

Resources about record keeping & taxes

CLICK HERE to visit the Confidence in Quality Tax Prep Rubric: This document explains each line of IRS form 1040 (Schedule C).

IRS Video: Lesson 2 Schedule C and other small business taxes. Video. Retrieved from: https://www.irsvideos.gov/Business/SBTW/Lesson2

National Association for Family Child Care. (2022). 2022 FCC Tax Resources. Retrieved from: https://nafcc.org/2022-fcc-tax-resources/

Copeland, T. (2021). The Tax Implications of the Child Care Stabilization Grants. USGOVACF. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YON5nwBhDg

Copeland, T. (2016). Do you know what is on your tax return? Blog entry. Retrieved from: https://www.tomcopelandblog.com/blog/do-you-know-what-is-on-your-tax-return

Copeland, T. (2012). What's deductible in a family child care business. Blog post. Retrieved from: https://www.tomcopelandblog.com/blog/whats-deductible-in-a-family-child-care-business

Tom Copeland's IRS Family Child Care Resource Page: https://www.tomcopelandblog.com/irs-info

Internal Revenue Service: Small Businesses Self-Employed Tax Center: https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed

Internal Revenue Service: Tax withholding estimator: https://www.irs.gov/individuals/tax-withholding-estimator

Civitas. Time/space calculation worksheet: https://www.dropbox.com/s/0zpe05gn9i7u5fp/Time%20space%20calc.xlsx?dl=0

Resources about paying yourself & financial planning

Copeland, Tom. Strategies for increasing your income. https://www.tomcopelandblog.com/blog/key-strategies-for-increasing-your-income

Copeland, Tom. Setting Financial Goals. https://www.tomcopelandblog.com/blog/setting-financial-goals-for-the-year-2

Kelton, R. (2020). Fiscal Check-Up for Family Child Care Part 2: Tips for Tracking Actuals and Budgeting.

https://mccormickcenter.nl.edu/library/tips-for-tracking-actuals-and-budgeting/

Resources about having employees

Copeland, Tom. (2017). Costs & Benefits of Hiring an Employee, blog post. https://www.tomcopelandblog.com/blog/costs-benefits-hiring-employee

Steps to hiring your first employee in North Carolina: https://startingyourbusiness.com/steps-to-hiring-your-first-employee-in-north-carolina/

New Hires in North Carolina/information and forms: https://www.ergpayroll.com/nc-new-hire-packet/

Civitas: How to hire your own children under age 18. Blog post, Tom Copeland. (2013). https://www.tomcopelandblog.com/blog/how-to-hire-your-own-children-under-age-18?rq=employees

Resources about finding a CPA

Questions to ask your potential tax preparer: https://www.tomcopelandblog.com/blog/questions-to-ask-your-tax-professional

How to find a tax preparer for FCCH: https://www.tomcopelandblog.com/blog/how-to-find-a-tax-preparer

Resources about strengthening family child care businesses

Strategies for Increasing the Supply, Quality, & Sustainability of Family Child Care in States & Communities. (2019). All our Kin. Retrieved from: https://allourkin.org/files/galleries/Family_Child_Care_to_Thrive.pdf

Unleashing the Economic Power of Family Child Care Providers (2019). The Committee for Hispanic Children & Families, Inc. Retreived from: https://docs.google.com/viewerng/viewer?url=https://www.chcfinc.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/UNLEASHING-THE-ECONOMIC-POWER-OF-PROVIDERS.pdf&hl=en_US

Disclaimers

While we strive to always provide accurate, current and helpful resources and information in our salary scale toolkit, it's important to stress that this information is not a substitute for tax and legal advice from a tax preparer or attorney. You should always consult a professional with experience and knowledge of child care businesses to assist you with specific questions or needs. The content and resources we have included in this toolkit is merely meant to be informational and does not constitute legal advice.

In addition, although the NC Salary Scale Toolkit (toolkit) is a product of the NC Institute for Child Development Professionals (the Institute), the toolkit website may contain copyrighted content not owned by the Institute. The materials, resources and information in the toolkit is provided for educational and informational purposes and thus is believed to fall under the "Fair Use" guidelines of section 107 of the US Copyright Act of 1976. All rights and credit go directly to the rightful owners. No copyright infringement intended.

©2023 NC Institute for Child Development Professionals