How to Take Advantage of the Children’s Fitness Tax Credit

As you look to put the finishing touches on your Income Tax Return, we wanted to remind you about the Children’s Fitness Tax Credit.

Here's a quick summary from the CRA's Website:

You can claim fees paid in 2015 for the cost of registration or membership for your or your spouse’s or common-law partner’s child in a prescribed program of physical activity. You can claim a maximum of $1,000 of eligible fees per child.

Here's a video to further explain it: Click here.

Eligibility (From the CRA)

1. The child must have been under 16 years of age (or under 18 years of age if eligible for the disability tax credit at line 316) at the beginning of the year in which an eligible fitness expense was paid.
2. Children with disabilities - If the child is eligible for the disability tax credit and is under 18 years of age at the beginning of the year, an additional amount of $500 can be claimed if a minimum of $100 is paid for registration or membership fees for a prescribed program of physical activity.
3. You may have paid an amount that would qualify to be claimed as child care expenses and the children's fitness tax credit. If this is the case, you must first claim this amount as child care expenses. Any unused part can be claimed for the children's fitness tax credit if the requirements are met.
4. If an expense is eligible for the children's fitness tax credit, it is not eligible for the children's arts amount.
5. If the organization provides your child with two distinct prescribed programs and one program is eligible for the children's fitness tax credit and the other program is eligible for the children's arts amount, you should receive two receipts. If you receive only one receipt, it must clearly show the amounts paid to the organization for each distinct program.

Example (From the CRA): 

Mary registered her daughter Julie (9 years old) in a prescribed program of physical activity and paid fees of $1,250 on August 30, 2015. The program started on September 15, 2015, and ended on April 21, 2016.

Mary's husband registered their son Eric (17 years old and eligible for the disability tax credit) in a prescribed program of physical activity and paid fees of $400 on December 20, 2015. The program started on January 6, 2016, and ended on April 28, 2016. He also registered their daughter Samantha (10 years old) in a prescribed program of physical activity and paid fees of $600 on January 2, 2016. The program started on January 6 and ended on April 28, 2016.

On her 2015 income tax return, Mary can claim a total amount of $1,900 (if her husband is not claiming any amount) based on the following formula:

• Julie $1,000 (maximum allowable expenses per child)
• Eric $400 (paid fees) plus $500 (since he is eligible for the disability tax credit and at least $100 was paid for eligible fitness expenses for him)
• She can not claim a tax credit for Samantha because the fees were paid in 2016.

We hope you found this useful! If you would like a copy of your 2015 True North Sports Camps or North Toronto Baseball Camp invoice, feel free to call or email us at info@truenorthcamps.com!

Source: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/fitness/