Why aren't my child care expenses being calculated on my return?

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:
  • Line 30400, Amount for an eligible dependant
  • Line 30425, Canada caregiver amount for a spouse or common-law partner
  • Line 30450, Canada caregiver amount for other infirm dependants age 18 or older
  • Line 30500 Canada caregiver amount for infirm children 

then both of you need to complete your own form and claim the expenses only once between the two of you 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 to claim it, in a case where 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 are subject to income caps (usually two-thirds of your earned income).