When claiming child care expenses using CRA’s form T778, if you were living with:
- Your spouse, or
- Your common-law partner, or
- The eligible child's parent, or
- Someone claiming one of these amounts for the eligible child
then both of you need to complete your own form and claim the expenses only once, according to the directions on the form. Usually the one with lower income makes the claim (see exceptions below).
Or, if you’re preparing “coupled” returns in TurboTax, TurboTax will automatically allocate the expense deduction to the lower-income person as required by the CRA. That’s unless the information you provide indicates that the higher-income person is able to claim it, because the lower-income person:
- Was enrolled in and attended a part-time or full-time educational program, or
- Wasn't able to care for children due to physical or mental impairment, or
- Was confined in prison for at least two weeks
or, because a breakdown in your relationship meant you were:
- Living apart for at least 90 days, and
- Living apart at the end of the tax year, and
- Back together before March of the next year
Child care expenses won't be calculated on your return if either your balance owing or income is $0, since child care expenses are nonrefundable and accompanied by income caps (two-thirds of your earned income, in most cases).
