Effective January 1st – New tax cuts and increased benefits that would help hard-working Canadian families make ends meet, by making important priorities like child care and after-school sports more affordable in 2015.

While the Universal Child Care Benefit (UCCB) increase is effective January 1st, parents won’t see the additional dollars in their wallets until July 2015, shortly before the fall election.

◾All families with children under the age of 18 will benefit from tax cuts and increased benefits announced in 2014 that will help make life more affordable. Under the proposed changes: ◾the Universal Child Care Benefit (UCCB) for children under the age of 6 would increase to $160 per month per child—up from $100 per month—as of January 1, 2015;

◾the UCCB would be expanded to include a new benefit of $60 per month for children aged 6 through 17 as of January 1, 2015;

◾the Child Care Expense Deduction dollar limits would increase by $1,000 as of the 2015 taxation year; and

◾the Family Tax Cut, a new federal non-refundable tax credit, would provide up to $2,000 in tax relief to couples with children under the age of 18 as of the 2014 taxation year; the credit would be claimable on income tax returns filed in the spring of 2015.