RL-24's for 2024 can be sent electronically &
must be validated by the Quebec government no later than February 29th, 2025.
The RL-24 tax credit is for daytime childcare services and not extracurricular activities. Overnight camps are eligible and must be declared in weeks. RL-24s are only available to organizations based in Quebec.
Who can Generate RL-24s?
Daycare Centers
Summer Camps
Overnight Camp
Boarding Schools
Day Camps
Preschool Education Centers
👉 If you offer before and after care for camp (extended hours) please note that these must be configured as an activity or activity add on, and not as a merchandise item. Merchandise is not eligible for RL-24s and won't be taken into consideration.
Declaring in Weeks VS Days
It is possible to declare childcare expenses in days, or weeks.
The day option is to be used for a typical daily summer camp. For example, one that runs Monday through Friday from 9AM-5PM. The child arrives in the morning and returns home at the end of the day.
The week option is only to be used if the child stays overnight in your care. For example, a sleep away camp where the child is in your care from Monday to Friday. One week in SmartRec is calculated as 168 hours ( 7 occurences, 24 hours each). This accommodates camps that begin in the middle of the calendar week.
To prepare for a smooth tax season, be sure to complete the following steps:
1. Reconcile your Payments to Invoices
Reconciliation is the process of associating client payments to corresponding invoice items. This allows you to know exactly which item has been paid for, which is mandatory when generating RL-24s.
To view unreconciled payments, credit and reimbursements:
For RL-24 eligible items only, access the list of these items in the Accounting > RL-24 Tax Credit subtab. This list is available in Step-2
For all unreconciled items, click on the Accounting & Finance > Unreconciled items subtab. Use the Date created column to filter for the most recent transactions. Click the Receipt ID to jump to the payment, where you can link it to the appropriate invoice item(s).
To perform the reconciliation, you can:
Manually reconcile each account individually.
Use the Account Reconciliation tool in the Clients > Operations to automatically reconcile items on an oldest to newest basis. We suggest filtering accounts with transactions dated 2023.
2. Update SIN's and Client Information
Clients must provide their SIN number to be eligible to receive an RL-24 tax credit.
Information that must be up to date in the client's account:
Child's first and last name;
First and last name of adult(s) who will receive the tax credit;
Social insurance number (SIN) for adult(s) who will receive the tax credit;
Full address;
Specify if the tax credit is remitted 100% to the 1st or 2nd guardian, or 50/50; and
If applicable, ensure the 2nd guardian's information is within the account.
Export a list of clients with missing SIN numbers by program in the Reports > Standard subtab in the RL-24 section. This list is also available in Step-4
3. Inform your Clients
We strongly recommend sending a communication to your clients informing them of these requirements.
Click here to use our email template.
Access your client email addresses by program in the Reports > Standard subtab, under the Activities section.
4. Generate your RL-24s
Use the Accounting and finance > RL-24 Tax Credit subtab when ready to generate your RL-24s. You can start generating and sending them to the government now through February 29th 2024. SmartRec breaks it down into 5 steps. Click here for more detailed instructions.
Once they have been approved by the government and your organization has made them available, clients will have access to their RL-24s via the Documents tab in their personal Amilia account.
5. Frequently Asked Questions
What is eligible for an RL24?
💚 Activities & Activity add-ons
💚 Custom items (Fees & Rebates)
💚 Custom invoice
💚 Custom credit
💚 Give a rebate
💚 Meals provided during the childcare stay, if these expenses are included in the cost of the services, not billed separately.
What is not eligible for an RL-24?
⛔ Merchandise items: If an organization in Quebec offers before and after care for camp (extended hours) and want them to be admissible for an RL-24, it's important that these extended care hours be configured in the form of an activity.
⛔ Service fee's & Taxes: If an invoice has any service fee or taxes with an invoice item eligible to RL-24, they will display as not-eligible during the RL-24 generation process.
⛔ Scholarship payment: As this amount was not paid by the guardian, it is not eligible.
Is there an age limit?
To be eligible, the child participant must be 16 years or younger during the taxation year. If a participant has different needs and/or a disability, there may not be an age restriction on eligibility. For any questions or doubts regarding RL-24 eligibility, please refer to the Revenu Quebec website.
Are Social Insurance Numbers (SINs) mandatory when generating RL-24s?
Yes, they are! You can't generate an RL-24 without a client’s SIN.
How can I remind clients to verify their information for RL-24s?
Here's an email template you can use to send clients a reminder. There's also an article in the Help Center with a video explaining how to check their contacts and RL-24s.
What if a client enrolled to two activities eligible for RL-24s? Do I generate a separate slip for each one (i.e., one for spring break and one for day camp)?
The amounts should be calculated automatically by following the steps in SmartRec. One RL-24 will be generated for each child and will include all their eligible activities (e.g., a child participated in Spring Break camp for $500 and Day Camp for $500 which means they'll be eligible for one RL-24 of $1000.
Is there a limit to the number of members included on an RL-24?
There's a limit of three children per RL-24 tax slip. The system will automatically generate multiple slips if the account has more than 3 eligible children.
Can I see which clients refused to provide their SIN?
Yes! Download the Missing SIN reports from the RL-24 section in the Reports tab.
At step 3, do I input the numbers manually if we haven’t issued refunds in an account? Is the amount the client actually paid automatically recognized when generating an RL-24?
Step 3 shows cancellations of eligible items, not necessarily refunds. If you refunded a client without cancelling their invoice, you would reconcile it in Step 2. However, if you see a client in Step 3, an eligible item was cancelled and SmartRec's giving you the chance to issue them an RL-24.
Why wasn’t an RL-24 generated for a member during my original transmission?
You may notice a slip was generated in a lesser amount or not at all. Since the original transmission is complete, it's difficult to say exactly why it wasn't created at that time.
Below you'll find the criteria needed to successfully generate an RL-24. If any one of these was missing at the time you submitted your original batch, they wouldn't have been included as eligible.
Activities must be checked as eligible (declared in days or weeks)
Child must be 16 years old or younger (DOB must be entered in their profile)
Child must have at least one contact (Primary legal guardian), or (Primary and secondary legal guardians)
Legal guardian(s) must decide the percentage to be allocated (100% or 50/50)
Legal guardian(s) must have a SIN entered
Legal guardian(s) must have a complete Québec address
Activity occurrences must occur in the RL-24 fiscal year (i.e., RL-24s created in 2024 are for activities that occurred in 2023)
Invoice must be reconciled to one or more payment(s). Credit memos aren't valid - only monetary transactions are considered
Can I generate an RL-24 for a previous year (e.g., 2019, 2020, 2021)?
You can only generate RL-24s in SmartRec for the current fiscal year in question. Now that the 2023 season has begun, it's only possible to generate slips for 2023. Your client(s) will need to contact Revenue Quebec directly for help with a slip from a previous year.
Can I generate an RL-24 for an activity from 2021 but was paid for in 2022?
No, the eligible activity must have been held in 2022 and reconciled to a payment for it to be eligible for the 2022 RL-24 season. If the eligible activity was held in 2021 and paid for in 2022, it will be eligible for the 2021 RL-24 season.
If a client doesn't have an email address, can I print a hardcopy and mail it?
Yes, you can search for the RL-24, print it, and then send it by mail or give it to them in person.
Can I manually create an RL-24?
After making the first electronic mass submission to the government, it's then possible to manually create an RL-24 for a client from the Documents section in their account.
I corrected an RL-24 and sent it to be validated. Now I can’t search in my list of RL-24s?
This is normal. Once your RL-24s are validated and you make corrections or create new ones, it's better to gather multiple corrections instead of sending each one individually because all your RL-24s are frozen until you receive approval from Revenue Quebec again.
Can I edit existing RL-24s and send back modified slips to the government?
Yes, you can! The steps you need to take in the Accounting and finance>RL-24 tax credit subtab are outlined in this article. Don't forget to print & send the RL-24 Summary by mail once any all changes have been completed.
What resources are there in the Help Center to help with RL-24s?
These articles can help you with the process of generating your RL-24s:
* Last updated in May 2024