Tom Copeland is a renowned tax and child care business specialist. A licensed attorney, Tom graduated from Macalester College (BA) in 1972 and from William Mitchell College of Law (JD) in 1980. He trains thousands of family child care providers, trainers, and tax preparers each year on important business issues, including record keeping, taxes, marketing, contracts, and legal issues. Tom is also the author of many books and resources for family child care providers. Currently, he is a consultant for the National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC). In 2003, he won the Friends of NAFCC Award from the National Association for Family Child Care. In 1998, he won the Child Care Advocate of the Year award from the Minnesota Licensed Family Child Care Association. He has represented numerous providers in IRS audits and has won three US Tax Court cases. In 2003, the IRS issued Revenue Procedure 2003-22 that allows family child care providers to use a standard meal allowance rate to claim food expenses. Tom was the author of the proposal that led to this rule.