Just rung tax office which may be of interest to some of you!

**auntym** · 19-04-2010, 06:25 PM

Well i dont know what to suggest other than my kids are 13 and 15, so ANYTHING i now do outdoors is for benefit of minded kids, last wk i spent £40 on plastic smily massive flowers. outdoor mini table (for kids~) 3 x 5 ft fence panels so they cant climb over my 2ft ones to next door also.
Im putting them ALL through, il argue the toss when i get (but hopefully not) an inspection.
THEY CAN TRY TO PROVE I DONT NEED IT!!!!!! LOL

**Hebs** · 19-04-2010, 06:26 PM

Originally Posted by auntym

Well i dont know what to suggest other than my kids are 13 and 15, so ANYTHING i now do outdoors is for benefit of minded kids, last wk i spent £40 on plastic smily massive flowers. outdoor mini table (for kids~) 3 x 5 ft fence panels so they cant climb over my 2ft ones to next door also.
Im putting them ALL through, il argue the toss when i get (but hopefully not) an inspection.
THEY CAN TRY TO PROVE I DONT NEED IT!!!!!! LOL

i agree

aly · 19-04-2010, 06:39 PM

Originally Posted by Lincsminder

But thats the point it dosnt have to be a requirment, some people buy tins of beans for their mindies at 80p a can and others spend 8p its up to you what you do with your buisness. If you are having decking done as an out side area for children that is fine so long as it is for the children.

thats different, you have to feed them

**Hebs** · 19-04-2010, 06:42 PM

Originally Posted by aly

thats different, you have to feed them

i have to say i do agree that decking is not essential for minding,

as long as the area they use is suitable.

i was told by my pre reg inspector that i'd need my garden made safe, levelled etc so i did it and claimed for it

I didnt claim for my shed even though i store toys in it as i'd have got it anyway for our bikes, didnt claim for the fence cos i'd have wanted my garden made secure and more private.

common sense really

aly · 19-04-2010, 06:46 PM

Originally Posted by Hebs

i have to say i do agree that decking is not essential for minding,

as long as the area they use is suitable.

i was told by my pre reg inspector that i'd need my garden made safe, levelled etc so i did it and claimed for it

I didnt claim for my shed even though i store toys in it as i'd have got it anyway for our bikes, didnt claim for the fence cos i'd have wanted my garden made secure and more private.

common sense really

We got a shed {mahoosive 10x6 lol} to put my partners stuff in from under the stairs so I can claim it back for mindees toys etc, theoretically i could claim that, oh and my daughters playhouse as 2 of my mindees sometimes play in it..think there is ok and then goign to far...decking is not essential,my garden is full of the chippings and I have a 15m walking on it fine, children learn to adapt for such things....why decking, why not cement the area so it's level??

TheBTeam · 19-04-2010, 07:31 PM

I have just been reading the post about look what I did with my grant money, i find it a complete misnomer, that in some areas they are allowed £1000's of pounds in grants to do just this kind of thing to outside spaces and yet other areas people are forced to pay for it themselves and then told that claiming it against tax is not possible!

I do not for one minute hold it against people that have got the grant but surely this is double standards, the government through grants say we should have it, but some of us get no grant, and yet we can not even get the tax break should we have to pay for it ourselves!

**Hebs** · 19-04-2010, 07:39 PM

Originally Posted by TheBTeam

I have just been reading the post about look what I did with my grant money, i find it a complete misnomer, that in some areas they are allowed £1000's of pounds in grants to do just this kind of thing to outside spaces and yet other areas people are forced to pay for it themselves and then told that claiming it against tax is not possible!

I do not for one minute hold it against people that have got the grant but surely this is double standards, the government through grants say we should have it, but some of us get no grant, and yet we can not even get the tax break should we have to pay for it ourselves!

i was thinking that too, we get nowt here one of the reasons i'm giving up soon

**SimplyLucy** · 19-04-2010, 07:45 PM

How about buying a large amount of wood as you are going to do a woodwork project with the mindees.

You have amazing mindees who decided to build decking for you with all the wood you bought for them. Let them hammer a few nails in the off cuts and job done!

Always a way round everything!

**Monkey1** · 19-04-2010, 08:33 PM

Originally Posted by SimplyLucy

How about buying a large amount of wood as you are going to do a woodwork project with the mindees.

You have amazing mindees who decided to build decking for you with all the wood you bought for them. Let them hammer a few nails in the off cuts and job done!

Always a way round everything!

I like your thinking!

**Monkey1** · 19-04-2010, 08:35 PM

Originally Posted by Ticktoria

That's really interesting. Im pre-reg, and have two dogs. We thought the dogs may be an issue for the powers that be and parents so my hubby is in the process of fencing off an area for them in the garden with a weatherproof dog house for them to stay in whilst Im working. Hopefully we'd able to claim for the costs?

Sorry for the hi-jack

Yes put it all through! You wouldn't be fencing an area off if you weren't minding!

**Hebs** · 19-04-2010, 08:35 PM

yeah hire a nail gun and let the mindees build it

just make sure you RA it first

**SimplyLucy** · 19-04-2010, 08:37 PM

Like Hebs says, so long as you have a risk assesment.

Isn't part of the EYFS to encourage children to use tools and everyday items!

**cabby** · 19-04-2010, 09:10 PM

Originally Posted by SimplyLucy

Like Hebs says, so long as you have a risk assesment.

Isn't part of the EYFS to encourage children to use tools and everyday items!

yup!!

jumpinjen · 19-04-2010, 10:11 PM

I got an accountant recently and she knew all the ins and outs and says can claim for a proportion if the children use it under capital expenses.... considering the cost of decking, £150 for an acountant could save you quite a bit of money!!

jenni

aly · 20-04-2010, 08:57 AM

Originally Posted by jumpinjen

I got an accountant recently and she knew all the ins and outs and says can claim for a proportion if the children use it under capital expenses.... considering the cost of decking, £150 for an acountant could save you quite a bit of money!!

jenni

bu tit is still under the hmrc and if they say no, you can;t then go and claim under capital expenses as they have just given the answer

jumpinjen · 20-04-2010, 01:16 PM

Originally Posted by aly

bu tit is still under the hmrc and if they say no, you can;t then go and claim under capital expenses as they have just given the answer

Yes, but accountants know their stuff, as it is their job to be up to date with the rules for sole traders and as far as I'm concerned if she has put it through then it is on her back if it isn't allowed. As she pointed out to me, childminders are small fry, and the tax office is unlikely to pull you up for several hundred popunds for garden improvements, they are after the big fish that swizzle hundreds of thousands out of the tax office. I also have to say that as ofsted change their mind depending on who you speak to, it is very likely that hmrc give a different answer often too!!

Hugs, Jen

**Emz** · 27-04-2010, 09:15 PM

Originally Posted by Hebs

yeah it

idon'thaveaclue@HMRC.com

lmao

**Hebs** · 27-04-2010, 09:23 PM

Originally Posted by Emz

lmao

couldn't resist it

**Cazz** · 27-04-2010, 09:40 PM

I discovered that my downstairs toilet seat was broken yesterday morning and had a mindee due at 3.00pm. I got dh to stop off at Focus on the way home from work and get a replacement as the downstairs toilet is the only one mindees can use.

We got one of those family toilet seats with an integrated child seat as I get fed up with picking the plastic one off the floor when it's just been thrown down.

I was going to put this through as an expense but after reading this thread I'm wondering if I need to do a survey to see how many times it's sat on in 24 hours and count how many of those bottoms belong to mindees so that I can work out how much I can claim for?

**Joannechildmind** · 28-04-2010, 01:16 PM

Originally Posted by Cazz

I discovered that my downstairs toilet seat was broken yesterday morning and had a mindee due at 3.00pm. I got dh to stop off at Focus on the way home from work and get a replacement as the downstairs toilet is the only one mindees can use.

We got one of those family toilet seats with an integrated child seat as I get fed up with picking the plastic one off the floor when it's just been thrown down.

I was going to put this through as an expense but after reading this thread I'm wondering if I need to do a survey to see how many times it's sat on in 24 hours and count how many of those bottoms belong to mindees so that I can work out how much I can claim for?

lmao