Tax Breaks Parents Can Claim This Tax Season

Raising a family is expensive, but the annual tax season can provide meaningful relief for many parents. Tax credits and deductions can lower your overall tax bill and help cover childcare, education and medical costs. To access these benefits, it’s essential to file your income tax return on time—generally by the April 30 deadline—or you risk losing or delaying valuable payments and credits. The 2025 tax-filing season recently opened, and timely filing determines eligibility for a range of family-focused tax breaks and government supports.

Claiming child care expenses

One significant tax relief for families is the child care expense deduction. This deduction lets parents claim reasonable expenses for daycare, nannies, licensed day camps and other child care services that are required so parents can work or operate a business. The key test is necessity: the care must enable the parent(s) to earn employment or business income. Costs for specialized recreational lessons, such as hockey camps focused on skill development, generally do not qualify as child care expenses.

Chartered professional accountant Stefanie Ricchio emphasizes that qualifying child care expenses are those that cover supervision while parents are working. For example, paying for a supervised summer camp because your children need care during your work hours can typically be claimed as a child care expense.

The maximum deductible amount depends on the child’s age: parents can typically claim up to $8,000 per year for children under age seven, and a lower limit—around $5,000 per year—applies for older children up to age 16. In most situations, the parent with the lower net income is the one who must claim the childcare deduction.

Government benefits tied to your tax return

The Canada Child Benefit (CCB) is the cornerstone of federal support for families, providing monthly tax-free payments that are income-tested and depend on filed tax returns. Tax experts stress that even households with little or no income should file a return each year to avoid disrupting benefit eligibility. The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) may suspend or delay CCB payments for individuals who fail to file their returns on time.

In addition, the federal government recently announced an enhancement to the GST credit program, increasing the rebate by 25% for a five-year period to better support low- and modest-income families with their GST/HST costs. Because these refundable credits and benefits are calculated using tax return information, timely filing is crucial to receiving them.

When families are separated, divorced or blended, entitlement to refunds and credits can become more complex. Who claims the child-related expenses and how benefits are allocated may affect payment amounts, so consulting an accountant or tax professional is often advisable in these situations.

Other tax credits families shouldn’t overlook

Beyond child care deductions and the CCB, there are several other tax credits and allowances that can ease family finances.

Eligible medical expenses for dependants can generate a non-refundable tax credit equal to 15% of qualifying costs. However, medical expenses must exceed the lesser of $2,800 or 3% of the taxpayer’s net income before the credit applies. For example, a taxpayer with $40,000 in net income would need to incur at least $1,200 in eligible out-of-pocket medical costs—such as prescriptions, dental or other approved medical treatments—before qualifying for the credit.

Some provinces also offer additional credits or rebates related to fitness, extracurricular activities and similar programs for children. It’s important to keep receipts and documentation for these expenses so you can claim credits where eligible.

For families with adult children in post-secondary education, tuition tax credits offer flexible options: a student can use the credit themselves in the same year, carry it forward for future use when they earn more, or transfer up to an annual maximum amount to a parent, grandparent or eligible guardian. According to Ricchio, the annual transfer limit to a family member is $5,000.

It’s also worth noting that Registered Education Savings Plans (RESPs) are not tax-deductible. RESP contributions do not reduce taxable income the way RRSP contributions do; instead, RESPs provide tax-deferred growth on investment earnings and often include government matching grants, which help increase a child’s education savings without affecting RRSP room.

Read more about taxes:

• Claiming your spouse and dependants on your tax return
• Income tax brackets in Canada (2026)
• Unexpected money? Here’s what Canada taxes—and what it doesn’t
• Preparing taxes for someone who died