Free checklist · home child care in Canada
Child care receipt checklist for Canada
Parents need a receipt from you to claim child care expenses on line 21400 of their tax return. Here is everything CRA says the receipt must show, and the rules around it. Tick each item against your own receipt.
Checked against canada.ca and revenuquebec.ca on 7 October 2026. Sources are linked under each section.
What every receipt must show
Your receipt has 0 of 9. Tick each item it shows.
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Source: CRA, Daycare in your home: Issuing receipts (page modified 2025-06-05; checked 2026-10-07).
The rules around it
- One receipt per child. If a family has two children with you, they get two receipts.
- Your SIN. If you provide the care as an individual, CRA asks parents to make sure the receipt shows your SIN.
- Whose name. The receipt can be in the parent's name or in their spouse's or common-law partner's name.
- Which year. Parents claim care provided in the tax year, so a year-end receipt shows the care you gave that year.
- Parents keep it. They don't send receipts with the return. They keep them in case CRA asks.
Sources: CRA, Line 21400: How to claim (modified 2026-01-20); Issuing receipts (modified 2025-06-05). Both checked 2026-10-07.
Payments parents can't claim
If the care is provided by an individual, parents can't claim what they pay to:
- the child's own parent
- their spouse or common-law partner, if the parent claiming is the child's mother or father
- someone for whom they or another person claimed an amount on line 30400, 30425, 30450 or 30500
- someone under 18 who is related to them
Source: CRA, Line 21400: Expenses you can claim (modified 2026-01-29; checked 2026-10-07).
For parents: the yearly limits
An eligible child was under 16 at any time in the year, or had a mental or physical infirmity and depended on the parent or their spouse or common-law partner. CRA limits the claim per child each year:
- $8,000 for a child under 7 at the end of the year
- $5,000 for a child aged 7 or older at the end of the year who was under 16 at some point in it, and for an older child with a physical or mental infirmity who depends on the parent or their spouse or common-law partner
- $11,000 for a child who is eligible for the disability tax credit
There are other limits too. CRA's Form T778 works out the claim.
Sources: CRA, Income Tax Folio S1-F3-C1, paragraph 1.38.1 (updated 2024-12-09); Line 21400: Who is eligible (modified 2026-01-29). Both checked 2026-10-07.
In Quebec
Quebec has its own tax credit for childcare expenses, with its own rules. Revenu Québec says everyone who provides paid child care in Quebec must give parents an RL-24 slip so they can claim it. By the last day of February of the following year, providers file the RL-24 slips and the RL-24 summary with Revenu Québec and give the slips to the people who paid. For the Quebec credit, receipts are no longer accepted except in special cases. Check Revenu Québec's RL-24 page for the details.
Sources: Revenu Québec, RL-24 Slip: Childcare Expenses and RL Slips (checked 2026-10-07; the pages show no date).
Make the receipts in minutes
The Canadian Home Child Care Bundle prints a receipt for each child with a place for every item on this list. You add your signature, and the date and your SIN if they're not filled in, before you give it out.
- Money Workbook (Excel & Google Sheets): pick a family and child, and the year-end receipt fills in from your fees ledger, month by month of care.
- Forms & Policies Pack (Word & Google Docs): print-and-fill child care receipts, two per page, one child each, among 20 forms and policies.
Bundle CA$39 · Forms pack only · CA$25 · Money workbook only · CA$29 · See what's in the bundle · Priced in Canadian dollars; the US$ figure is an estimate, and checkout shows the exact amount and currency you pay
General information, not tax advice. Rules change; this page was checked on 7 October 2026. For your own return or business, check with CRA or an accountant.