Sonia changed daycare in September. The pickup time changed, the daily fee changed and her daughter acquired a firm opinion about the new coat hooks. The advance childcare-credit deposits kept arriving as before.
Those deposits were based on an estimate. At tax time, the actual year's credit still has to be calculated and compared with the money already received.
Two slips, two different jobs
The RL-24 from the childcare provider supports the childcare expenses. The RL-19 from Revenu Québec reports advance payments of tax credits. Putting both in the same folder is useful. Treating them as two childcare bills is not.
For the 2025 return, Revenu Québec generally requires the provider's RL-24 as proof, with limited exceptions such as some care outside Quebec. Its instructions also exclude the government-set reduced contribution from the provincial childcare credit. Check the eligible amount rather than assuming every daycare payment qualifies. Quebec's childcare-credit instructions.
Sonia compares each provider's slip with her payment records and the service period. If a slip is wrong, she asks the issuer to correct it. The new provider's fees do not erase the earlier provider's records.
Calculate the credit, then account for the advances
For 2025, complete Schedule C to calculate the actual provincial credit and report it on line 455. The advance amount in box C of the RL-19 goes on line 441 of the recipient's return, not the spouse's. Instructions for advance payments on line 441.
Here is a reconciliation, after eligibility and the Schedule C calculation have already been checked:
- Actual credit for the year: $3,800.
- Advances already received: $4,200.
- Excess advances: $400.
That $400 affects the return's final balance. Other tax-return items determine the total refund or amount payable. Sonia does not receive the full $3,800 again in addition to the $4,200 already paid.
Nor should she subtract the advances from the provider's eligible expense amount as a substitute for completing the two return entries. The expense, calculated credit and payment already received are three separate numbers.
Update the estimate when the year changes
Notify Revenu Québec promptly when circumstances affecting the advances change. Examples include different family income, a relationship change, new childcare fees or days, a new provider, kindergarten or subsidized care. Use the advance-payment service in My Account or the change-of-situation form; a provider-related change can require a new fees-and-days form. Changes during the year.
Keep the revised estimate and confirmation with the original application. Then check the next payment notice. A deposit continuing to arrive does not establish that the old estimate is still correct.
Quebec allows spouses to split the provincial credit under its rules, but that choice can affect the recipient's reconciliation of advances. The federal child care deduction follows a separate calculation and claimant rules. Use the federal child care guide for that part of the file.
Sonia cannot change her daughter's opinion of the hooks. She can update the daycare estimate before another year's deposits get ahead of the facts.
Checked October 20, 2026. Filing lines refer to the published 2025-return instructions; the change-reporting process uses current Revenu Québec guidance.
