For home daycares and child care centres. Your books done the day you upload your statements, for $79 CAD a month.
Free to join. The first 1,000 in get their catch-up free.
Sales tax
Nova Scotia charges 14% HST on most sales. Once your sales pass $30,000 in four quarters in a row (or in one quarter), you register, charge it and file GST/HST returns.
Income tax
Nova Scotia taxes income at 8.79% to 21% in 2026, on top of federal tax of 14% to 33%, on the profit from your business.
CPP
Working for yourself, you pay both halves of CPP: 11.9% of your earnings from $3,500 to $74,600 in 2026, plus 8% more up to $85,000.
Deadlines
Sole proprietors file by June 15 and pay by April 30. Once you owe more than $3,000, CRA asks for instalments on March 15, June 15, September 15 and December 15.
Contractors
Paid someone more than $500 for services in a year? They may need a T4A slip by the end of February.
What every business here keeps track of in 2026. Rates change, so check with your accountant before you file.
Why daycares need different books
Monthly fees from parents, government funding with its own rules and reports, staff ratios that drive payroll, food for the kids and a home or building that's partly the business. Funding is what makes daycare books different.
What a bookkeeper for daycares in Nova Scotia keeps track of
Parent fees and who's paid
Government funding received
Staff payroll
Food and supplies
The business share of your home, for home daycares
Taxes for daycares in Nova Scotia
Child care in Nova Scotia, as across Canada, is exempt from GST/HST.
Child care for children under 14 is exempt from GST/HST, so you don't charge it and can't claim it back on costs.
Parents need receipts for their child care expense deduction.
A home daycare can claim part of the home's costs.
What SumSwift does for daycare and child care owners, for $79 CAD a month
Monthly parent fees invoiced and chased automatically
Funding deposits sorted apart from fees
Payroll worked out each payday, with the deposit file for your bank and the remittance to send
Home office share worked out for a home daycare
Receipts snapped with your phone or forwarded by email are read and matched to the charge
Every statement checked against the balances your bank printed, to the cent, with personal spending kept off your profit
Up to 3 accounts included. Prices in CAD. Your accountant still files your tax return, with clean books and free access.
Questions.
How much does a bookkeeper for daycares cost in Nova Scotia?
Published price guides put most small businesses at $300 to $1,500 a month for a bookkeeper, more when the books are busy, as they often are for daycares. SumSwift does the monthly work for $79 CAD a month, the day you upload your statements.
Do I charge GST/HST on child care?
No. Child care for children under 14 is exempt in Canada.
Can parents pay automatically?
Yes. Repeating invoices go out each month and parents can pay by card or bank.
Does SumSwift know Nova Scotia's tax rules?
Child care in Nova Scotia, as across Canada, is exempt from GST/HST. Child care for children under 14 is exempt from GST/HST, so you don't charge it and can't claim it back on costs.
Behind on my books. Can you catch me up?
Yes. A catch-up of up to 12 months is $599, once, checked against your bank to the cent.