If I work from home, can I claim business mileage for driving to childcare and back?

[MargaretL · Accepted solution]

No, driving your child to childcare is not a business expense, it is personal expense and is not tax deductible - unless you are in a business of driving children to their daycare. 

[Cynch84xl]

Hi. What if you are driving your child to daycare so that you can go to work? For example, I have a client I go frequently that's 30 miles away. My son's daycare is somewhat on the way to my client's location. Maybe an extra 3 miles added.

[xmasbaby0]

@Cynch84xl  You cannot count commuting miles for a tax deduction, nor can you count the miles you drive to take your child to daycare.  

[Cynch84xl]

I guess I forgot to mention that I'm not an employee. I'm a small business owner so mileage driving to meet a client at a temporary workplace is tax deductible, correct? 

I guess my question is- can I start counting my mileage from home or must I start counting my mileage after I drop my son off to daycare which is on the way to my temporary work location?

Thanks for your help!

[mscherry89]

This is my exact question- did you get an answer?

[Vanessa A]

No, taking your child to daycare is a personal expense and is not deductible.