CRA commented on whether the following categories of expenses incurred by parents at a childcare centre qualified as child care expense:
| fees paid for child care services | yes |
| additional fees paid for child care services | generally yes – “fees for additional child care (where the parent picks up the child after official daycare hours) are child care expenses … provided they satisfy the other requirements of that section” |
| outings outside the daycare | no – “the purpose of those activities is not to look after the children in order to protect them and thus enable the parents to earn employment income … [but instead] is to ensure the development of the children's physical, social and artistic skills” |
| classes and activities given at the daycare; | no – “the primary purpose of those courses and activities is not to provide childcare but rather to promote the cultural, physical and artistic development of the children.” |
| fees incurred for breach of contract | generally, yes – “2003-0183697 … [indicated] that the phrase ‘an expense incurred...for the purpose of providing… child care services’ found in subsection 63(3) was broad enough to include expenses incurred for the breach of a contract. This conclusion is valid as long as these costs are the result of an undertaking required of the parents in order for the child care to be provided.” |
| interest charges paid by parents who pay their bills late | no – these are not “charges that are … paid to provide childcare but rather to compensate the childcare centre when a parent fails to make a payment by the agreed date” |
| annual dues for parents wishing to be on daycare's Board | no |
| fees for sunscreen and insect repellent | yes |