The Canadian Revenue Agency rewards parents for their contributions of time and money by offering tax credits to parents.

The criteria for these credits are unique to your children’s age and your marital status, but regardless of the circumstances of your situation, you can get big savings for your parental duties. Brushing up on basic tax credit information will help you figure out how to get every penny you deserve. The good news for people who prepare and file with QuickTax is the software will ask questions about your life and find all the credits and deductions relevant to your individual tax situation.

The Canada Revenue Agency features a child tax calculator tool on their website that can help parents figure out how get the basic amount back for child-related expenses. But savvy parents should study up before filing their tax forms to make sure they maximize their savings.

Some of these tax credits garner simple savings that are easy to identify on your return form. For instance, you can get an automatic $2,089 tax credit for each child born in 1992 or later.

Parents will find they can claim child tax credit for almost any necessary expense incurred because of children. Pay for post-secondary school last semester? Any unused tuition credits for up to $5,000 can be transferred to you.

Maybe your children went to a care center while you went to work or attended classes. You can claim child care expenses.

Even some of the “unnecessary” expenses can translate into surprising savings. Did you know that parents of children registered for any sport can claim up to $500 in tax credits? This amount increases to $1,000 for disabled children. Knowing what you deserve before you file your tax returns will ensure solid tax credits.

Experts at Intuit also remind Canadian taxpayers that your income tax form is used for calculating the child tax benefit so even if you have no income you should file a tax return to make sure you get the benefits you deserve.

Being a parent is a full time job, and you should receive the compensation due. Parents are reminded to figure out what they deserve in child tax credits in time for the April 30 tax filing return deadline.