Announcements

A friendly reminder that the following due dates and deadlines are fast approaching:

The first quarterly personal tax installment is due on Friday, March 15th.

The Employer Health Tax annual return deadline is Friday, March 15th.

A September 11, 2018 Tax Court of Canada case examined the eligibility of a number of child care costs with a recreational and educational component. The taxpayer and his spouse worked full time and had two children, aged 10 and 12.

The Court acknowledged two separate lines of cases related to eligibility of child care expenses (all informal and, therefore, not binding on CRA).

The first set, argues that the definition of a “child care expense” is restrictive such that recreational or educational activities do not qualify. The reasoning is that expenses to develop the physical, social and artistic abilities of the child would have been incurred whether or not the parents had been working.

The second line of cases requires that one evaluate whether the purpose of the expense was to allow the parent(s) to work. A bona fide expense would not be denied solely because the activity was recreational or educational in nature.

Taxpayer Wins, Mostly

The Court accepted the second set of cases as guidance, noting that if Parliament had intended to limit such activities, it would have said so in more specific and restrictive language. As such, the Court accepted the majority of the taxpayer’s child care expenses that contained a recreational and educational component.

Parental Discretion

The Court found that the taxpayer’s decision to engage university students, who were paid $5/hour more than what was paid to high school students, was irrelevant as “it is not for the state to decide who minds the appellant’s children as long as the expenses are reasonable.” In other words, it is the parents that are responsible for choosing who they wish to use, and they do so, based on the child’s needs; this choice is an exercise of parental discretion.

The Minister also suggested that the child who was 12 years of age in the year may not have needed some of these expenditures due to his age, to which the Court responded that Parliament grants child care expenses for eligible children up to age 16 – it is up to the parent to decide whether a child 12 or older should stay home alone.

 Limitations

Costs related to activities on a Saturday, and during school hours, were denied as they did not facilitate the taxpayers’ ability to work. Amounts related to camp were limited to a weekly amount of $125 (as the child was over 7), as specifically provided for in the Income Tax Act. Camp costs for children under 7 are limited to a weekly amount of $200. A higher amount may be available for those with a disability.

CRA Administrative Policy

As this case was informal, it is not precedential. While it may provide a filing position, CRA may still challenge these types of child care expenses. CRA’s webpage continues to state that fees for leisure or recreational activities, and fees related to education costs, cannot be claimed as a child care expense.

ACTION ITEM: If incurring child care costs with a recreational or educational component, consideration may be given to claiming these amounts as a child care expense, up to the maximum allowed amount. That is, an annual amount of $8,000/child under 7, $5,000/child aged 7 to 16 and $11,000 for a disabled child.

• The annual TFSA contribution limit for 2019 will be increased to $6,000 (from $5,500) due to indexation. For those who have been eligible to build contribution room since inception of the program in 2009 and have never contributed, the total maximum room as of January 1, 2019 is $63,500.
• For 2019, the Employment Insurance premium rate is reduced to 1.62% (from 1.66%). The maximum insurable earnings is $53,100 (from $51,700), resulting in a maximum employee premium of $860 (a net increase of $2) and maximum employer premium of $1,204 (a net increase of $3).
• Registered charities will now be able to pursue their charitable purpose by engaging in non-partisan political activities in the development of public policy without limitation. These rule charges are largely retroactive to January 1, 2008. Previously, a registered charity must have limited their non-partisan political activities to 10% of their resources.
• CRA recently opined that investment management fees in respect of tax-sheltered accounts (like RRSPs, RRIFs and TFSAs) paid outside of the account (e.g. management fees charged to a non-registered account), would be subject to a 100% advantage tax. That is, a tax equal to the full value of the management fee would be levied. It was recently announced that the implementation date of this policy was extended indefinitely until a review had been completed.

This publication is produced by Andrews & Co. as an information service to clients and friends of the firm, and is not intended to substitute for competent professional advice. No action should be initiated without consulting your professional advisors.