Question about Ontario childcare access and relief from expenses tax credit

[taxfree20201]

Hi,

In turbo tax 2019, for Ontario childcare access and relief from expenses tax credit, it seems you have choice to only select one parent as supporting person for child or both parents are supporting person for child. I am wondering for married couple, under what circumstances, only select one parent(either father or mother) as the supporting person for the child? If do so, what kind of supporting documents should be prepared for tax audit?

Thanks,

Cindy 

[taxfree20201]

In turbo tax 2019, for Ontario childcare access and relief from expenses tax credit, it seems you have choice to only select one parent as supporting person for child or both parents are supporting person for child. I am wondering for married couple, under what circumstances, only select one parent(either father or mother) as the supporting person for the child? If do so, what kind of supporting documents should be prepared for tax audit?

Thanks,

Cindy 

[TurboTaxGinette]

If you have a spouse, you must check the box that says your spouse is the "supporting person". 

The credit is claimed by the lower-income earner, and failure to check the box saying your spouse is the supporting person results in an incorrect calculation based only on the lower-income earner's income, not the "combined family income". 

Depending on which version of TurboTax you are using (Online or the CD/Download version), the screens to make this claim may appear different. As long as you check off that your spouse is the supporting person, your claim calculation should be correct. And you check to make sure it is by looking at your Provincial Summary page.

For more information about Child care Access and Relief from Expenses (CARE) please see the TurboTax FAQ below.

What is the Ontario CARE tax credit, and how does it affect me?

[kenneth-nunez-l]

Hi. What about for divorced parents that have shared custody? In my case, I'm using the CD version and I'm selecting " there were different supporting persons for each eligible child" as both (mother and father) shared the custody. Any guidelines in this case?

[TurboTaxNicola]

Yes, both you and your ex can claim the child care expenses you each paid. If you are a single parent, they should be automatically populated to your return. 

If you are filing as married or common-law, you will need to make sure you have entered your new spouse's income as well. If you haven’t entered your spouse’s income yet, TurboTax assumes your spouse’s income is zero and transfers childcare expenses to them. Also if your new spouse does have a lower income than you, he/she will have to claim for the childcare, even though he/she may not have paid the expense. 

More reasons why the childcare expenses may not be calculating can be found here:

https://turbotax.community.intuit.ca/community/family-education/help/why-aren-t-my-childcare-expense...