You can use a formT778: Deduction for childcare costsdeclare the childcare costs that you have paid for your child(ren).2022.
You can claim childcare costs if you or your spouse or partner have paid someone to care for a childeligible childso that you (or both of you) can do the following:
- Earn income from work
- Run a business alone or as an active partner
- Go to school (certain conditions apply)of
- Conduct research or similar work for which you received a grant
To be eligible for your expenses, you or your spouse must have paid for childcarewhilethe child lived with you. As a rule, only payments for services rendered by a Canadian resident in Canada can be deducted on your return.
If you are married or in a common law relationship, the person with thelower net profitmust be the person who declares the costs for childcare. However, there are certain situations where the person with thehigher net incomedeclare these costs. See Part C or D ofform T778to see if any of these scenarios apply to you.
To remind:You need your receipts to declare your childcare costs! Each receipt must be made out in the name of the person who paid the childcare costs. If the childcare is provided by an individual, the proof of payment must also include the carer's SIN (Social Insurance Number). You don't have to submit your receipts if you're filing electronically, but you should keep them in case the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) asks for them.
Remark: If you are a resident ofOntarioand you are eligible to claim the amount of federal childcare costs, you are also entitled to claim the amountAccess to Ontario Childcare and Expense Reimbursement (CARE). H&RBlock's tax software automatically applies this credit to your return based on the information you entered on the formT778page.
Which costs for childcare can I declare?
You can declare the costs for the following childcare facilities:
- Childcare services provided by caregivers (including babysitters and nannies)
- Kindergartens and nurseries
- Childcare services provided by educational institutions (only the part of your fees related to childcare can be claimed)
- Day camps and day gyms where the primary purpose of the camp is to care for children (an institution offering a sports study program is not a gym) or
- Boarding schools, night gyms or camps that involve lodging
Remark: This is not a complete list. For example, you can also claim the cost of advertising fees or placement agency fees paid for hiring a sitter. For more information about which costs you can declare, please visit the websiteCRA-website.
If the childcare is provided by an individual, he or she must not:
- the parent of the child
- your spouse, if you are the father or mother of the child
- a person for whom you or another person has declared one of the following amounts
- Amount for a qualifying dependent
- Canada zorgkrediet (CCC)
- a person under the age of 18 who isrelated to youby blood relationship, marriage, registered partnership, or adoption. For example, your brother, sister, brother-in-law and sister-in-law are related to you; your niece, nephew, uncle and aunt are not.
How much can I claim?
The maximum amount you can claim is:
- $8,000 for each child under age 7 at the end of the year
- $5,000 for each child between the ages of 7 and 16
- $11,000 for each child who qualifies for the disability tax credit
The maximum amount you can claim also depends on your income from work for that year. As a rule, you can only claim an amount thatno more than 2/3 of yourearned income.
Example: In2022your earned income for that year was $40,000. In order to work, you paid $20,000 in childcare costs for your three children, ages 2, 9, and 11. The maximum you can claim is the lower of:
- 2/3 of your earned income i.e. $40,000 X (2/3) = $24,000
- Maximum claimable amount i.e. ($8,000 + (2 X $5,000)) =$ 18.000
- Actual amount paid i.e. $20,000
In this case, you can declare $18,000 in childcare expenses upon your return.
Tax tip: Be sure to enter the full amount of childcare costs you paid into the tax software for each child. Using the example above, let's say you no longer have childcare costs for your 11-year-old, but you paid $15,000 in childcare costs for your other children. You can still claim the full amount you paid instead. of the maximum allowable amount of $13,000 ($8,000 + $5,000). That's because the more children you have that qualify, the higher your allowable amount will be, even if you don't have childcare costs for some of them.
Residents of Quebec
If you are a resident of Québec, you can declare your childcare expenses if you meet the requirementsentry requirementsfor the tax credit and you fill in theSchedule C: Tax credit for childcare expensesform.
Remark:The tax software from H&RBlockwill yourSchema Cfor you based on the information you enter on theRelevance 24: Child Care Expenses (RL-24)and the federalT778page in the software.
For certain childcare costs, yourRL-24The stub may list what amounts can be used to claim the federal deduction (on theT778form). When you enter information about theRL-24page in H&R Block's tax software, we automatically use this information to create afederal deductionfor your childcare costs on theT778page in the software.
To enter childcare expenses from your RL-24 slip into H&R Block's tax software:
Before you start, make sure you have informed us of your family members for whom you will be declaring childcare costs:
- In the left navigation menu, click theThe government is slippingtab thenSmart search.
- TypeRL-24ofstatement 24in the search field and click the highlighted selection or pressEnterGet on.
- When you are on the page for yourRL-24slip, enter your information into the tax software.
- If you are declaring childcare costs for more than one dependent, click+ Add expenses for another childand enter your information into the tax software.
If you have not received an RL-24 slipMake sure you have the name and social security number (SIN) of the person to whom you paid the childcare costs to hand. Then follow these steps:
-
Add theRL-24page to your return (see steps above).
-
On theRL-24page, enter information related to your childcare expenses.
Remark: You must enter the SIN of your childcare providerbox hon theRL-24page.
My childcare expenses also qualify for the provincial fitness or art amount
According to the CRA, if you paid an amount that qualifies as childcare costsInthe provincial children's amount for fitness/exercise/sports or art, then you must first declare the amount as childcare costs. Any unused funds can then be applied to the provincial children's fitness/exercise/sports or arts funds.
Remark: The federal amounts for children's fitness and arts have been eliminated for 2017 and subsequent tax years.
I received a benefit from the employment insurance (EI) during the year. Can I still declare childcare costs upon my return?
You can, but it's important to remember that any childcare expenses you may have paid can only be applied to your own accountearned income–income received from:
- Employment opportunities
- Independent activities and
- Scholarships, research grants, etc.
Example:
Let's say you earned $7,500 from your part-time job in2022. In addition to your employment income, you received $2,500 in employment insurance benefits as a result of your layoff. In this scenario, the deduction you're entitled to for childcare expenses is based only on your earned income ($7,500).
Where do I claim this?
Follow these steps in H&R Block's2022tax software:
Before you start, make sure you've told us about your situationdependentsfor whom you declare the costs for childcare.
- <![CDATA[ ]]>In the left navigation menu, click thename of your family member.
- Below theEXPENDITUREheading, check the box labeledChildcare Fees (T778), then clickGet on.
- When you get to the page for formT778Enter your information into the tax software.