The Government has doubled the Children’s Fitness Tax Credit (CFTC) and made it
refundable to further help families who enroll their children in eligible fitness activities.
Making the tax credit refundable ensures that even those who do not earn enough to
pay income taxes can benefit from this credit.
Parents will be able to take advantage of the new $1,000 maximum limit in the spring of
2015 when they file their tax returns for 2014. The credit will be made refundable
beginning in the 2015 tax year, increasing benefits to low-income families claiming it for
that year and subsequent years.
The CFTC was introduced by the Government in 2006 to help promote physical fitness
among children by making it more affordable for Canadian families to register their kids
in fitness activities. The enhancements to the CFTC fulfill a commitment made by the
Government in 2011. The enhancements will deliver additional tax relief to about
850,000 families who enroll their children in eligible fitness activities.