Tax year: 2026 · All amounts in Canadian dollars

Child Care Expenses: Federal Deduction and Québec Credit

Child care expenses receive different treatment on the federal and Québec income tax returns. The federal deduction reduces the income used to calculate tax. Québec provides a refundable tax credit, calculated separately under provincial rules. An eligible Québec family may benefit from both, but the claimant rules, qualifying expenses and limits can differ. The amount paid for care, the federal deduction and the Québec credit are therefore not interchangeable. F1 Q10

Federal and Québec treatment at a glance

Main distinction	Federal deduction	Québec credit
Tax treatment	Deduction in calculating net income	Refundable tax credit
Claimant in a couple	Generally the lower-net-income person, subject to exceptions	Eligible spouses may share the annual credit
Income measure used in the calculation	The claimant’s earned income limits the ordinary deduction	Family net income determines the credit rate
Basic contribution for subsidized Québec care	May qualify, subject to federal conditions	Excluded from the credit

The sections below explain the claimant rules, eligible expenses and annual limits. F1 F3 F4 Q4 Q7

Federal deduction: who can claim?

For a couple, the person with the lower net income generally claims the deduction—even when their net income is zero. Paying the bill does not, by itself, make the higher-income person the eligible claimant. The comparison of net incomes is made before the child care expense deduction and specified social-benefit repayments. F1 F3

If that person has no earned income, the ordinary calculation produces no deduction. This does not, by itself, allow the higher-income spouse or common-law partner to claim instead; an applicable exception is needed. Net income and earned income are different measures. F1 F3 F5

There are exceptions, including specified situations involving education, inability to care for children, imprisonment or relationship breakdown. Equal-income couples must agree on the claimant. Separation, shared custody and changes in family circumstances require attention to the detailed rules. Form T778 provides the calculation and the relevant exception sections. F3 F6

Federal deduction: how much?

For an ordinary claim without a special exception, the starting calculation takes the lowest of qualifying expenses, the combined annual expense limit for the eligible children, and two-thirds of the claimant’s earned income. Special-case calculations and amounts claimed by another supporting person can change the result. F2 F6

Eligible child’s category	Annual amount used to establish the federal expense limit
Under 7 at year-end, not in the disability category below	$8,000
Other eligible child	$5,000
Eligible for the Disability Tax Credit, regardless of age	$11,000

The ordinary age condition is under 16 at some time during the year. A dependent child with a mental or physical infirmity may qualify without that age limit. The higher $11,000 limit has its own Disability Tax Credit requirement. The limit amounts for each eligible child are added to establish the combined annual expense limit; they are not automatically deductible amounts or tax refunds. F1 F6

Earned income has a specific definition for this deduction. It is not interchangeable with taxable income, family income or every amount received during the year. Form T778 and the official guidance explain what belongs in that calculation. F2 F6

The deduction is reported on federal line 21400, in the calculation of net income. Its tax effect depends on the claimant’s return; an $8,000 deduction is not an $8,000 tax saving. F7 F8

Which federal expenses can qualify?

Child care normally must enable the taxpayer or another supporting person to work, carry on a business, attend a qualifying educational program or conduct grant-funded research. F1 F5

Potentially qualifying costs include daycare, eligible caregivers, the child care portion of school fees, and day camps whose primary purpose is caring for children. Québec’s basic contribution paid directly to a subsidized child care provider can also qualify federally. General tuition, medical care, clothing, transportation and ordinary recreational lessons are not child care expenses merely because a child participates. Provider restrictions and reimbursement rules also apply. F4

Boarding schools and overnight camps have additional weekly ceilings: $200 for an eligible child under 7 at year-end, $275 for a child in the qualifying disability category, and $125 for another eligible child. These are additional expense restrictions, not extra deductions. F6

Parental leave does not automatically rule out a deduction. CRA permits certain fees paid to retain a child care place during temporary employment leave when the person remains employed and intends to return to the same employer. Other conditions and deduction limits still apply. F5

Québec: a refundable credit, not an income deduction

Québec’s credit is refundable: an eligible amount can be paid even when no Québec income tax would otherwise be payable. It is calculated from qualifying expenses, the applicable annual expense limit and a percentage determined by Québec family net income. For an ordinary resident couple, the family-income calculation uses both spouses’ net incomes from line 275—not one person’s taxable income or the couple’s gross salaries. Q4 Q8

The federal two-thirds-of-earned-income limit does not apply to Québec’s ordinary credit calculation. Q4 Q8

Qualifying circumstances include work, business, grant-funded research, qualifying study, active job-seeking, and receipt of Québec parental insurance benefits or Employment Insurance benefits related to a birth or adoption. Residence, the child’s relationship to the claimant, living arrangements and expense conditions also matter. Qualifying for the annual credit does not automatically mean a person qualifies for advance payments. Q5 Q12

Who claims the Québec credit?

Eligible spouses can generally choose how to divide the annual credit between their Québec income tax returns. The total credit cannot be duplicated. This differs from the federal child care expense deduction, which is generally claimed by the lower-net-income spouse or common-law partner. Q15 F3

If spouses share the annual credit, each completes a separate Schedule C and accounts for the other spouse’s claim. For advance payments, only one spouse applies for the couple. Those payments are reconciled with the annual credit, as explained below. Q15 Q16

Québec’s age rule changed for 2026

For 2026, the ordinary age condition is that the child was under 14 at some point during the year. A child can meet this condition even if they turn 14 during 2026. The exception for a dependent child with a mental or physical infirmity remains. Q1

That exception should not be confused with the higher expense limit for a severe and prolonged impairment in mental or physical functions, which has separate requirements. Q3

Québec annual expense limits for 2026

Eligible child’s category	Annual amount used to establish the Québec expense limit
Under 7 at year-end, not in the severe-and-prolonged-impairment category	$12,525
Other eligible child	$6,305
Severe and prolonged impairment in mental or physical functions, regardless of age	$17,145

These amounts establish the expense limit—not the credit payable. The annual calculation compares qualifying expenses with the combined annual limit for the eligible children before applying the family-income rate. The same child is not counted in more than one category. Q2 Q4 Q8

Québec credit rates for 2026

Québec family net income	Credit rate
Up to $25,305	78%
More than $25,305, up to $44,620	75%
More than $44,620, up to $46,270	74%
More than $46,270, up to $47,935	73%
More than $47,935, up to $49,565	72%
More than $49,565, up to $51,225	71%
More than $51,225, up to $122,290	70%
More than $122,290	67%

One percentage applies to the qualifying expense base; this is not a set of marginal income-tax brackets. The rate drops to 67% above the top threshold rather than the credit disappearing solely because income exceeds that threshold. Q6

Subsidized care, non-subsidized care and extra fees

The basic reduced contribution for Québec subsidized child care is excluded from the Québec credit, even though it may qualify for the federal deduction. Qualifying non-subsidized care can potentially support both measures. F4 Q7 Q10

Some extra fees charged by a subsidized provider may qualify for the Québec credit. Eligibility depends on the fee—not simply whether the provider is subsidized. The RL-24 identifies expenses qualifying for the Québec credit; the federal deduction still requires its own expense and claimant assessment. Q9 F3 F4

For subsidized school daycare, the basic contribution is excluded from the Québec credit. On pedagogical days, only otherwise qualifying charges above the applicable basic-service amount may be eligible. Q4 Q7 Q9

Payments to excluded providers, tuition and recreational charges, and reimbursed or assisted expenses can be restricted. The reimbursement rules include exceptions for certain amounts included in income. The two regimes must be assessed separately. F4 Q7

Example: one expense, a deduction and a credit

Assume a Québec couple has one four-year-old child, $12,000 of qualifying non-subsidized care, no reimbursement or special-case adjustment, and all other eligibility conditions satisfied. The person entitled to claim the federal deduction has $40,000 of earned income. Québec family net income for the credit has already been established at $100,000.

The federal deduction is calculated as follows:

The person entitled to claim the deduction has $40,000 of earned income. In this ordinary case, the earned-income limit is two-thirds of that person’s earned income:

$40,000 × 2/3 = $26,666.67

The deduction is the lowest of these three amounts:

Qualifying child care expenses: $12,000
Annual expense limit for the four-year-old child: $8,000
Two-thirds of the claimant’s earned income: $26,666.67

Federal child care expense deduction: $8,000. In this example, the annual expense limit is the amount that restricts the deduction. F1 F2 F6

The Québec credit is calculated as follows:

Qualifying expenses are $12,000, which is below the $12,525 annual expense limit, so the full $12,000 is used. Québec family net income of $100,000 gives a 70% credit rate under the 2026 table above.

$12,000 × 70% = $8,400 refundable credit. Q2 Q6

The $8,000 reduces the claimant’s income for federal tax purposes; it is not an $8,000 tax saving. The Québec amount is an $8,400 refundable credit. The two figures cannot be added to measure total tax savings. This illustration does not calculate changes in other income-tested benefits, advance-payment reconciliation or a complete net child care cost. F2 Q2 Q6

Records, annual claims and advance payments

For the federal deduction, Form T778 supports the line-21400 amount. Receipts are required; where the provider is an individual, the receipt normally identifies the provider’s social insurance number. Unclaimed child care expenses are not carried forward to a later year. F7

For Québec, the annual credit is calculated on Schedule C and claimed on line 455. The RL-24 is generally required for qualifying Québec child care services; exceptions permit receipts in specified circumstances, such as services outside Québec. Q8 Q11

Advance payments are instalments of the anticipated Québec credit—not an additional credit. The annual return reconciles entitlement with advances received; changed income, attendance, provider or family circumstances can produce a repayment. Sharing the annual credit after one spouse received the advances can also leave that spouse with an amount to repay. The 2026 advance-payment instructions require reporting advances from the RL-19 on line 441 and completing Schedule C. Q12 Q13 Q15

Important limits and year distinctions

This page summarizes common cases. It does not establish a person’s eligibility, allowable expenses, disability status or filing result. Shared custody, separation, changes of residence, education exceptions and other circumstances may require a different calculation.

For 2026, the Québec tax shield no longer applies. Older Schedule C instructions may still refer to it because they concern an earlier tax year. Q14

Expense limits, family-income thresholds, eligibility rules and form editions do not necessarily change together. The 2026 amounts above come from the published 2026 parameters. The source list identifies forms and guidance for the 2025 return separately; do not automatically use their amounts or age rules for a 2026 claim without checking that they apply.

Connected Calculators

Federal Taxable Income Estimator — estimate income after selected deductions.

Using an income estimator: Enter only the federal child care expense deduction that the person can claim—not total household child care spending or a deduction claimed by their spouse or common-law partner. F1 F3

Related References

Related terms: Taxable income · Net income for tax purposes

Taxation — browse the tax Reference directory.

Check the current official rules

This Reference is for educational purposes. Tax rules, limits, forms and administrative guidance can change, and OpenBook content may contain errors, omissions or information that has become outdated. Do not rely on this page alone when preparing a tax return or deciding whether an expense or credit applies to you. Check the current CRA and Revenu Québec resources and, where appropriate, speak with an accountant or other qualified tax professional.