Child Care Benefits – Now More Beneficial!
Universal Child Care Benefits
The Government of Canada has announced that the monthly Universal Child Care Benefit (UCCB) will increase from $100 to $160 per child under age 6.
A new UCCB benefit of $60 per child aged 6-17 will also be introduced at the same time.
The enhanced UCCB benefits will take effect January 1, 2015, but you won’t see them in your pocket until the July 2015 payment, which will reflect the July benefit plus any benefits for the period of January–June.
These expanded benefits will replace the Child Tax Credit for 2015 and subsequent tax years. (Note: there will be no change to the existing monthly Canada Child Tax Benefit, which is not the same as the Child Tax Credit).
Child Care Expense Deductions
If you claim the Child Care Expense Deduction on your tax return, the maximum amounts that may be claimed will all be increased by $1,000 effective for the 2015 tax year (i.e., the tax return to be filed in April 2016). Thus, you will soon be able to claim:
- up to $8,000 per child under 7 (was $7,000 in 2014 and prior years)
- up to $5,000 for each child 7–16, and (was $4,000 in 2014 and prior years)
- up to $11,000 for children who qualify for the Disability Tax Credit (was $10,000 in 2014 and prior years).