The PARENTS are trying to claim my overnight doula services are "childcare" and have requested documentation from me to file with THEIR taxes to use for the childcare credit on their OWN taxes. I am NOT trying to claim these children as my own dependent.
As a former child care center director, I am familiar with the statement we used to give parents as a curtesy each January that had our EIN and the total they paid the center, to claim the expense on their taxes. As a parent, I myself have claimed care provided at a child care center, home based center or before/afterschool program once they were school-aged. However, I am almost certain the services I provide in the parent's homes, while they are there sleeping, does NOT qualify as "child care", since both parents are present and not working while I am there (they are sound asleep). Besides the fact that one of the parents is technically on maternity leave.
They are first time parents and have tried to argue that since they need sleep at night in order to function at their jobs, that meets the definition of "work related" since they can't "work" if they don't sleep. I am almost certain the IRS will not see it that way. Even if they DO have their own registered LLC businesses, and could theoretically claim to be "working from home", the hours that I am in the home providing support they are both sleeping, not actively working. Even if it was daytime doula support, and one parent was working (either in the home or outside the home), I don't know if DOULA services would be considered "child care" since we are not babysitters or nannies, we provide nonmedical support to the infant AND the mother, at least one parent is present, and almost always at least one parent is on medical leave (either paid or unpaid).
If I am wrong and it WOULD qualify as "child care" for tax credit purposes, that would be wonderful, but I don't think that is the case. If I supply the parents with the requested statement and describe it as "child care" or "nanny services", f they file for the credit and it's found to be fraudulent... who is liable for that?
