Parents who take care of their young children can benefit from a reduction or a tax credit. Thanks to this tax advantage, they recover 50% of the expenses incurred for the care. The law distinguishes according to whether the child is looked after at home or away from home.

Childcare costs outside the home give rise to a tax credit under certain conditions.

• The child is under 6 years of age on January 1 of the tax year.
• They are looked after by: an approved nursery assistant, a crèche, a day-care center, a school day-care center or a leisure center.
• The child is the responsibility (1) of the parents who request to benefit from the tax credit. Grandparents can also claim the tax credit for the care of their dependent grandchildren, provided that their own adult child is attached to their tax household (2).

Parents who have recourse to an employee at home for the care of their child can claim, as the case may be, a tax credit or reduction on their 2016 income tax return. To benefit from the tax credit, each of the both parents must either exercise a professional activity or be registered as a jobseeker for the tax year. Otherwise, parents can only claim a tax reduction: the amount of the tax benefit is deducted from their taxes. From the 2018 declaration of income for 2017, parents will be able to benefit from the tax advantage in the form of an unconditional tax credit.

For the calculation of the reduction or tax credit, only the expenses actually borne by the parent in the context of the care of their child are taken into account. This is the remuneration paid to the nursery assistant, to the reception structure or to the employee at home, after deduction of any financial assistance received in this regard.

The amount of the tax credit amounts to 50% of the expenses borne by the parents for childcare costs, after deduction of the aid received and within the limit of certain ceilings.

• The expenditure ceiling for childcare costs outside the home is € 2 per child. In the event of alternating custody, this ceiling rises to € 300 per child.
• The expenditure ceiling for home childcare costs is € 12. It may be increased by € 000 per dependent child (€ 1 in the case of joint custody), per ascendant or per household member over 500, up to a limit of € 750. Exceptionally, the expenses related to the employment of an employee at home for childcare are taken into account within the maximum limit of € 65, increased under the same conditions without being able to exceed € 15. Parents who are disabled or have a disabled person dependent on them benefit from a ceiling on their expenses of up to € 000.

When the parents are not subject to a common tax system, the tax deduction for childcare costs benefits the parent who has the dependent child.

Example: a parent has paid € 5 for annual childcare costs. He received aid from CAF to the tune of € 000. So he really spent € 3. He benefits from a tax credit equal to 000% of this sum, ie a total of € 2.

As of the 2018 declaration of income for 2017, parents will receive a deposit of 30% of the amount of the tax benefit they will have benefited from the previous year.

To benefit from the reduction or tax credit for childcare expenses for young children, parents fill out the corresponding boxes on the 2042 RICI (3) form of their online or paper tax return. They indicate the amount of their expenses, after deduction of any aid and allowances received.

• For the care of children under 6 years away from home, please refer to boxes 7GA to 7GG of the form.
• For childcare at home, see boxes 7DB to 7DG of the section “Personal services: home employment”

Parents benefit, under certain conditions, from additional assistance for the cost of childcare for their children under 6 years of age: the free choice of childcare system (Cmg). Thanks to the Cmg, part of the expenses are covered by the CAF, up to a limit of 85%.