If you are an Ontario resident and have enrolled your kids in music or dance lessons, you might want to take advantage of the Ontario Children’s Activity Tax Credit (CATC) when preparing your income taxes. The CATC, which was introduced late last year, allows parents to claim up to $500 of eligible expenses per child. The refundable credit is worth $50 per child under 16 years of age and $100 for a child with disability under 18 years of age.
The CATC applies to a wider range of activities than the Federal Children’s Fitness Tax Credit. In addition to sports, arts, music, language and even tutoring expenses qualify for the credit. Check this page for the list of activities eligible for the credit. You have to claim the CATC on Form ON479 “Ontario Credits” in Line 6309.
It is not clear to me if taxpayers can claim the same activity for both the Children’s Fitness Amount as well as under the CATC. As the wording on the Ontario Ministry of Revenue page does not explicitly forbid claiming both tax credits for the same activity, I’m assuming taxpayers are allowed to do so. If you are preparing taxes with software, you may have to manually update Line 6309. While claiming our kids’ music lessons, I found that TurboTax did not automatically include the swimming fees claimed under the Federal fitness amounts for the CATC.
