Line 21400 – What payments can you claim?

Note: Line 21400 was line 214 before tax year 2019.

You can claim child care expenses that were incurred for services provided in 2022. These include payments made to any of the following individuals or institutions:

• caregivers providing child care services
• day nursery schools and daycare centres
• educational institutions, for the part of the fees that relate to child care services
• day camps and day sports schools where the primary goal of the camp is to care for children (an institution offering a sports study program is not a sports school)
• boarding schools, overnight sports schools, or camps where lodging is involved (read the note in Part A of Form T778, Child Care Expenses Deduction for 2022)

If you were a resident of Quebec, you can also claim the basic contribution you paid directly to the subsidized childcare service provider. 

The above is not an exhaustive list of deductible child care expenses. For more information, see Income Tax Folio S1-F3-C1, Child Care Expense Deduction.

When the child care services are provided by an individual, the individual cannot be any of the following:

• the eligible child's parent
• your spouse or common-law partner, if you are the father or the mother of the eligible child
• a person for whom you or another person claimed an amount on line 30400, 30425, 30450, or 30500 on your return or their return
• a person under 18 years of age who is related to you

A person is related to you if they are connected to you by a blood relationship, marriage or common-law partnership, or adoption. For example, your brother, sister, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, and your or your spouse's or common-law partner's child are related to you. However, your niece, nephew, aunt, and uncle are not.

Supporting documents

The individual or organization who received the payments must give you a receipt showing information about the services provided. When the child care services are provided by an individual, you will need the social insurance number of the individual. If you are filing online, keep all your documents in case the CRA asks to see them at a later date. If you are filing a paper return, attach your completed Form T778, but do not send your other documents. Keep all your documents in case the CRA asks to see them at a later date.

Forms and publications

• Form T778, Child Care Expenses Deduction for 2022