You can claim the refundable tax credit for childcare expenses paid if all of the following requirements are met:

• You were resident in Québec on December 31, 2023, or you were resident in Canada, outside Québec, on December 31, 2023, and you carried on a business in Québec in 2023.
• The childcare expenses were incurred for an eligible child while you or your spouse on December 31, 2023, was:
  • carrying out the duties of an office or employment;
  • actively carrying on a business;
  • practising a profession;
  • carrying out research under a grant;
  • actively seeking employment;
  • attending a secondary school or taking a course remotely or in person at a qualified educational institution on a full- time or part- time basis;
  • receiving benefits under the Québec parental insurance plan (QPIP) or benefits related to a birth or adoption under the Employment Insurance plan.
• You or your spouse on December 31, 2023, paid childcare expenses for 2023 and the child was living with you (or with your spouse) at the time the expenses were incurred.
• The childcare services were provided in Canada by a person resident in Canada, and you paid the person for childcare only for the period you resided in Canada in 2023, unless you were living outside Canada temporarily.

To claim the credit and calculate the amount to enter on line 455 complete Schedule C.

Child with a severe and prolonged impairment in mental or physical functions

You must enclose a document from a healthcare professional certifying the child's impairment if you have never done so and you or your spouse on December 31, 2023, paid childcare expenses for a child with a severe and prolonged impairment in mental or physical functions and the expenses were more than:

• $11,360 if the child was born after December 31, 2016; or
• $5,720 if the child was born before January 1, 2017.

If the child's health has improved since you last filed a document certifying the impairment, you must inform us.

RL-24 slip

Your childcare provider must give you an RL-24 slip to keep as proof that you paid the expenses. Receipts for childcare services will no longer be accepted, except in a few specific cases (for example, when fees are paid to a childcare service provider outside Québec).

Note that the reduced contribution set by the government that you paid for childcare services is not covered by the tax credit.

Boarding school or camp

You can claim childcare expenses up to the following amounts for fees paid to a boarding school or camp that provides lodging:

• $275 per week for an eligible child of any age who has a severe and prolonged impairment in mental or physical functions;
• $200 per week for an eligible child who was six or under on December 31, 2023;
• $125 per week for an eligible child over six, but under 16 at some point in the year.

Splitting the tax credit for childcare expenses

If you and your spouse want to split the tax credit for childcare expenses, you can jointly choose the amounts that will be attributed to each of you. To do so, you must each complete your own Schedule C and file it with your respective income tax returns. In Schedule C, you must enter the amount claimed by your spouse and subtract it from the amount you are claiming.

Note that if you received advance payments of this tax credit and you choose to split the credit with your spouse on December 31, 2023, the amount you are entitled to may be less than the advance payments you received. In this case, you may have to repay part of the credit.

Advance payments of the tax credit for childcare expenses

If you received advance payments of the tax credit for childcare expenses in 2023, enter on line 441 the amount from box C of your RL-19 slip.

You were resident in Canada, outside Québec, on December 31, 2023, and you carried on a business in Québec in 2023

If you were resident in Canada, outside Québec, on December 31, 2023, and you carried on a business in Québec in 2023, contact us for the specific rules that apply.

Tax-exempt individuals

Special rules apply if you or your spouse on December 31, 2023, was exempt from income tax because one of you worked for an international organization, the government of a foreign country or an office of a political subdivision of a foreign state recognized by the Ministère des Finances. For more information, contact us.

You were resident in Canada for only part of the year

Under certain conditions, you can claim the tax credit for childcare expenses if you were in one of the following situations:

• You were resident in Québec on the day you ceased to reside in Canada.
• You were resident in Canada, outside Québec, on the day you ceased to reside in Canada, and you carried on a business in Québec in 2023.

If you were resident in Québec on the day you ceased to reside in Canada and you carried on a business outside Québec, you must reduce your tax credit in proportion to the reduction in your income tax payable.

If, for all or part of the year, you or your spouse on December 31, 2023, was not resident in Canada, you must include, in your family income (Part C of Schedule C), all of the income that you and your spouse earned, including income earned while you or your spouse was not resident in Canada.

Allowance for or reimbursement of childcare expenses from the Ministère de l'Emploi et de la Solidarité sociale or the Ministère de l'Immigration, de la Francisation et de l'Intégration

If you included allowances for or reimbursements of childcare expenses received from the Ministère de l'Emploi et de la Solidarité sociale or the Ministère de l'Immigration, de la Francisation et de l'Intégration in calculating your childcare expenses for a previous year, and you are required to repay those amounts, you can ask us to adjust your tax credit for childcare expenses for the year in which you received the allowance or reimbursement. If you want us to do so, complete and file form TP-1.R-V, Request for an Adjustment to an Income Tax Return.