Yes, you can claim home office deduction and any costs associated with it: rent (if you pay) mortgage interest, real estate tax, utilities and food provided for the children. And yes - if you provide food for your daycare recipients, you can deduct as a business expense 100% of the actual cost of food consumed by your daycare recipients or you can use Standard meal and snack rates given by the IRS.
Note: If you meet both rules below, you may qualify to deduct entire part of your home even if you use the same space for non business purposes. If you don't qualify, you would only deduct square footage actually used for babysitting only.
You must be in the trade or business of providing daycare for children, persons age 65 or older, or persons who are physically or mentally unable to care for themselves.
You must have applied for, been granted, or be exempt from having, a license, certification, registration, or approval as a daycare center or as a family or group daycare home under state law. You do not meet this requirement if your application was rejected or your license or other authorization was revoked.
