T778: Child care expenses deduction

You can use form T778: Child care expenses deduction to claim child care expenses you paid for your child(ren) in 2023.

You can claim child care expenses if you or your spouse or common-law partner paid someone to look after an eligible child so that you (or both of you) can:

  • Earn income from employment
  • Carry on a business either alone or as an active partner
  • Attend school (certain conditions apply) or
  • Carry on research or similar work, for which you received a grant

For your expenses to qualify, you or your spouse must have paid for child care while the child lived with you. As a rule, only the payments for services provided in Canada by a Canadian resident can be deducted on your return.

If you’re married or in a common-law relationship, the person with the lower net income must be the one to claim the child care expenses. However, there are certain situations that allow the person with the higher net income to claim these expenses. Refer to Part C or D of form T778 to see if any of these scenarios apply to you.

Remember: You'll need your receipts to claim your child care expenses! Every receipt needs to be made out to the person who paid for the child care expenses. If the child care services were provided by an individual, the receipt should also show the caregiver's SIN (Social Insurance Number). You don't have to submit your receipts if you're filing electronically, but you do need to keep them in case the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) asks to see them.

Note: If you're a resident of Ontario and you qualify to claim the federal child care expenses amount, you’re also entitled to claim the Ontario childcare access and relief from expenses credit (CARE). H&R Block’s tax software will automatically apply this credit to your return based on the information you entered on the T778 page.