Day Care Question

[gymbo]

I have not filed but I am hoping for an over the median ch 7.
I just got the nolo book and read 9 chapters straight I'm a dork.

But I am wondering about Day Care expenses.
I pay $800/ month, BUT I plan to file in Jan or Feb (husband in construction, income is lower in Winter) and my daughter starts school in September, thus reducing the cost of child care (although there will still be an after school expense - approx $300/month).

How do I handle this when filling out the forms? It will be a monthly expense when I file... but only for 7 or 8 months after...

I'm worried because I'be read you shouldn't be too negative, but if I am close to even, then they could push me into a 13 if this comes up, right?

[JRScott]

Since the expense would be ongoing year to year I don't think they'd dismiss it, it might help to find out what the average day care expense in your area is.

[BKParalegal]

Figure out how much you pay a year for Daycare and then divide by 12, and use that as your monthly expense. That is acceptable to most if not all trustees.

[Help!]

If you haven't done this already, I would get together receipts for the exact amounts you've paid. It is always best not to estimate and if you're asked for the documentation you'll have it handy (it was a major PITA to track receipts down when we were asked).

[gymbo]

We pay $180/week and it is withdrawn directly from our checking - won't be hard to track. Might not be exactly $800 but it's very close.

[Frogge]

We have the same situation, daycare is all different costs during the year due to summer, school breaks, my oldest being around or not to stay with the younger ones, etc. We will be adding up yearly cost and dividing by 12 as BKParalegal said.