Federal Child Fitness Tax Credit
Starting in 2007, there is a federal non-refundable tax credit available to individuals for registration and membership costs of up to $500 per child, for prescribed programs of physical activity for their children who are, at the beginning of the taxation year
- under 16 years of age, or
- under 18 for a child with a disability (i.e., when any person is able to claim a disability amount tax credit for the child on line 318 of the federal tax return)
The tax credit will be calculated using the lowest tax rate (15% for 2007), so the maximum tax credit per child for 2007 will be $75.
An additional tax credit will be available to an individual for a child with a disability. The additional credit will be $500 x the lowest tax rate, if the total of eligible fitness costs for that child in the year is $100 or more. This brings the maximum tax credit to $150 for 2007, for a child with a disability.
The tax credit may be claimed by either spouse, or apportioned between them.
A prescribed program of physical activity includes the following, which are not part of a school's curriculum:
- a weekly program of 8 or more consecutive weeks in which all or substantially all of the activities include a significant amount of physical activity;
- a program of 5 or more consecutive days, if more than 50% of the daily activities include a significant amount of physical activity;
- a program of 8 or more consecutive weeks, offered to children by an organization where participants in the program may select from a variety of activities if
- more than 50% of the activities include a significant amount of physical activity, or
- more than 50% of the time scheduled in the program is scheduled for activities that include a significant amount of physical activity
- membership in an organization for 8 or more consecutive weeks if more than 50% of the activities offered to children by the organization include a significant amount of physical activity
- for a program of 8 or more consecutive weeks, which does not meet the 50% requirement of (c) above, offered to
children by an organization where participants in the program may select from a variety of activities, the portion
- that is the percentage of those activities that include a significant amount of physical activity, or
- that is the percentage of time scheduled in the program that is scheduled for activities that include a significant amount of physical activity
- for membership in an organization for 8 or more consecutive weeks, where the 50% requirement of (d) above is not met, the portion of membership that is the percentage of all the activities offered to children by the organization that are activities that include a significant amount of physical activity
Physical activity means a supervised activity suitable for children (other than an activity where a child rides on or in a motorized vehicle as an essential component of the activity) that
- in the case of a child with a disability, results in movement and in an observable expenditure of energy in a recreational context; and
- in the case of any other child, contributes to cardio-respiratory endurance and to one or more of the
following:
- muscular strength,
- muscular endurance,
- flexibility, and
- balance
Horseback riding is deemed to be included in the above definition of physical activity.
The above information was updated based on draft legislation released October 2, 2007.
For more information, see the Canada Department of Finance press release, as well as the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) Children's Fitness Tax Credit page.