Fill Out CRA Form T778 Online
Child Care Expenses Deduction
Canada Revenue Agency
Calculates the child care expenses deduction you can claim on your income tax return.
Reviewed July 2026
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CRA Form T778, Child Care Expenses Deduction, calculates how much of your child care costs you can deduct on your income tax and benefit return. Payments for daycare, home child care providers, day camps, and certain boarding school or overnight camp fees can qualify when the care allowed you or your spouse to work, run a business, or attend school.
You can complete Form T778 in the Universal PDF editor, enter each child's details and the amounts you paid, work through the limit calculations, and download the finished PDF to keep with your return records.
What is Form T778 used for
Child care expenses are a deduction rather than a credit: they reduce the income on which tax is calculated. The T778 applies the rules that limit the claim, including annual limits per child that depend on the child's age and disability status, a cap tied to a fraction of the claimant's earned income, and weekly limits for boarding schools and overnight camps.
The form also determines who claims. In a two-parent household, the person with the lower net income generally must make the claim, with specific exceptions when the lower-income person was in school, hospitalized, confined, or the couple separated during the year.
Who files Form T778
Parents and supporting persons who paid for eligible child care so they could earn employment or self-employment income, attend an eligible educational program, or carry on research qualify. The child generally must have lived with you and be under the age threshold in the rules, or be dependent because of an impairment.
Payments must be to eligible providers, such as daycare centres, camps, schools for the child care portion of fees, or individuals who are not the child's parent and are not closely related minors. The provider's receipts, including a social insurance number for individual caregivers, back up the claim.
How to fill out Form T778
The form moves through four parts:
- Part A: list each eligible child and the total payments made for each, along with the names of the organizations or individuals you paid.
- Part B: calculate the basic limit, combining each child's annual limit, the total paid, and the earned income cap, to arrive at the deduction for the lower-income claimant.
- Part C: complete this only when the higher-income person is claiming for a period covered by one of the exceptions, such as the other person attending school or being hospitalized.
- Part D: calculate amounts tied to educational programs when a parent was in school part-time or full-time during the year.
Claiming the deduction and keeping receipts
Enter the result on the child care expenses line of your return and file the T778 as part of the return. Keep every receipt: for individual caregivers the receipt should show their social insurance number, and the CRA commonly asks to see documentation for these claims.
Remember that only amounts for care qualify. Fees for education, sports and lessons as such, medical costs, and clothing do not, though the care component of a program can sometimes be separated out. If your situation involves separation, shared custody, or a disabled child, the rules interact in detail and a tax professional's review can be worthwhile.
Frequently asked questions
Generally the spouse or common-law partner with the lower net income claims the deduction. The higher-income person can claim only for periods covered by the exceptions on the form, such as when the lower-income person was in school or hospital.
Payments for the care of an eligible child so you could work, run a business, or attend an eligible school program: daycare, home providers, day camps, and limited amounts for boarding schools and overnight camps. Purely educational, medical, or recreational fees do not qualify.
You cannot claim amounts paid to the child's parent, to your spouse or common-law partner, or to certain young relatives. Payments to other individuals can qualify if you obtain a receipt showing their social insurance number.
Yes. Each child has an annual limit that depends on age and disability status, and the total claim is also capped by a fraction of your earned income, with weekly limits for boarding schools and camps. The current figures are printed on the form and in the CRA's guidance.
No, but you must keep them. The CRA regularly reviews child care claims and will ask for receipts, including the caregiver's social insurance number for payments to individuals.
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