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Child Care
Options
There are lots of child care options to
choose from; the important thing is to
choose the type of child care that best
suits you and your baby. Check out the links
below to find a directory of licensed child
care facilities as well as the application
for the Nova Scotia Child Care Subsidy.
Tools
Directory of Licensed
Child Care Facilities
Forms
Nova Scotia Child Care
Subsidy Application
Child Care Expenses
Deduction Form
Additional
Resources
Public Health Agency of Canada:
www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/index-eng.php
Visit
http://www.gov.ns.ca/just/regulations/regs/dayregs.htm
to see what daycare facilities are required
by law to do for your baby.
Contacts
Child Care Connections (Atlantic Canada):
http://www.cccns.org
FAQ
What’s better for my baby: A family
member or babysitter, or a daycare center?
This decision is entirely up to you. There
are pros and cons for each option, so try
making a list to help you decide. For
example, day care centers must be licensed,
and they are regulated by the government of
Nova Scotia. Individuals such as
babysitters, nannies, and family members are
allowed to care for a small number of
children without needing a license, but
these people are not regulated by the
government of Nova Scotia. Day care centers
can be expensive, while family members and
babysitters are often more cost effective.
Your decision may also depend on where you
live; the type of child care you are looking
for may not be available in your area.
The choice you make depends entirely on
your situation and what you feel comfortable
with. If the child care provider you choose
is someone who you trust and who your child
is comfortable with, you’ve made the right
decision. That being said, to make your
child care costs tax deductible, you’ll need
receipts from the day care or a Social
Insurance Number (SIN) of the care worker or
regular baby-sitter or nanny that cares for
your child.
What are the qualifications for staff
and regulations for child care facilities?
It is natural to worry about your child’s
safety when leaving him or her alone for any
period of time. The Day Care Act outlines
rules and regulations that day care
providers must follow to keep your children
safe. You can find the qualifications for
staff and the regulations for day care
facilities outlined in the
Day Care Act.
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Can I deduct child care expenses from
my taxes?
If your child is under the age of 16 or
you care for a child under the age of 16,
you can claim child care expenses in your
tax return. If you are one of two parents or
guardians of the child, then it’s the parent
or guardian with the lower income of the two
who gets to claim the expenses of child
care.
Expenses you can claim involve any payments
made to the following:
• Caregivers providing child care
services
• Day nursery schools and day care
centres
• Educational institutions, for the part
of the fees that
relate to child care services
• Day camps and day sports schools where
the primary goal of
the camp is to care for children (an
institution offering a
sports study program is not a sports school)
• Boarding schools, overnight sports
schools, or camps
where lodging is involved
Remember that you need to have
receipts for all of your payments in order
to claim them on your tax return. If you
hire a baby-sitter or take your children to
someone else’s home for the work-day and
want to claim what you paid her, you need
the babysitter or care-giver’s SIN. The
Child Care Expense Deduction form can be
found in the Forms section above. The
information at the start of the application
is a little confusing, so if you need help
call 1-800-959-8281. You can save money by
doing this, so look into it! xii
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