If I babysit my nephews in my home what can I deduct from my taxes like food, electricity, etc?

[MargaretL]

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 You do not meet this requirement if your application was rejected or your license or other authorization was revoked.

[MaisonetM]

What form would I file these deductions on and in what category? 

Can you only qualify for these deductions if you have a license? 

[PattiF]

The income and expenses would be entered as self-employment and will be reported on a Schedule C. 

You may be be able to deducted some home expenses if your state does not require you to have a license to what you are doing. You would need to check with your state's regulations as the requirements for licensing vary and can be based on minding related children. If you do not need a license in your state, you could deduct a portion of your home expenses such as rent/mortgage interest, utilities, property taxes, etc.

You will be able to deduct ordinary expenses such as snacks, toys, books, cleaning supplies and more.

See this article for more information: Child Care Provider. See the Expenses section for what is considered a valid expense by the IRS.