Claiming Child Care Expenses While on Maternity Leave
Scenario:
- Child care provided in 2016 by a relative.
- Wife is on maternity leave for Jan-Oct 2016. Wife goes back to work for Nov-Dec 2016.
- Husband works full-time and was employed for all of 2016.
Question:
- Can child care expenses (maximum of $8000/year) be claimed only for Nov & Dec 2016 (in other words, the months where wife was working)?
- Or can child care expenses be claimed for the entire year of 2016, since the husband was working throughout all of 2016? (even though the wife was on maternity leave for most of 2016)
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CRA states:
Expenses to enable the undertaking of specific activities
1.9 The definition of child care expense in subsection 63(3) requires that the expense be incurred to enable the taxpayer or a supporting person who resided with the eligible child at the time the expense was incurred, to:
perform the duties of an office or employment;
carry on a business either alone or as a partner actively engaged in the business;
carry on research or any similar work for which the taxpayer or supporting person received a grant; or
attend a secondary school or designated educational institution (see Income Tax Folio S1-F2-C1 for the definition of designated educational institution) where the taxpayer is enrolled in a full-time or part-time educational program.
1.10 A supporting person of an eligible child of a taxpayer for a tax year is defined in subsection 63(3) to mean an individual who resided with the taxpayer at any time during the year and at any time within 60 days after the end of the year and who is:
the child's parent (paragraph 252(2)(a) provides an extended meaning of parent for the purposes of the Act);
the taxpayer's spouse or common-law partner; or
any other individual who was able to claim a tax credit under section 118 for the child for the year.
http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/tchncl/ncmt ... tml#N102CF
- Child care provided in 2016 by a relative.
- Wife is on maternity leave for Jan-Oct 2016. Wife goes back to work for Nov-Dec 2016.
- Husband works full-time and was employed for all of 2016.
Question:
- Can child care expenses (maximum of $8000/year) be claimed only for Nov & Dec 2016 (in other words, the months where wife was working)?
- Or can child care expenses be claimed for the entire year of 2016, since the husband was working throughout all of 2016? (even though the wife was on maternity leave for most of 2016)
--------------------------------------------------------------
CRA states:
Expenses to enable the undertaking of specific activities
1.9 The definition of child care expense in subsection 63(3) requires that the expense be incurred to enable the taxpayer or a supporting person who resided with the eligible child at the time the expense was incurred, to:
perform the duties of an office or employment;
carry on a business either alone or as a partner actively engaged in the business;
carry on research or any similar work for which the taxpayer or supporting person received a grant; or
attend a secondary school or designated educational institution (see Income Tax Folio S1-F2-C1 for the definition of designated educational institution) where the taxpayer is enrolled in a full-time or part-time educational program.
1.10 A supporting person of an eligible child of a taxpayer for a tax year is defined in subsection 63(3) to mean an individual who resided with the taxpayer at any time during the year and at any time within 60 days after the end of the year and who is:
the child's parent (paragraph 252(2)(a) provides an extended meaning of parent for the purposes of the Act);
the taxpayer's spouse or common-law partner; or
any other individual who was able to claim a tax credit under section 118 for the child for the year.
http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/tchncl/ncmt ... tml#N102CF
