A taxpayer can claim medical expenses paid for themselves as well as for their spouse, common-law partner and dependents. A dependent can include;
- the taxpayer or their spouse/common law partner’s child or grandchild or
- the taxpayer of their spouse/common law partner’s parent, grandparent, sibling, uncle, aunt, niece or nephew whom lived in Canada at any time during the year.
There is an extensive list of eligible medical expenses which include but are not limited to;
- Payments to medical practitioners (Dentist, doctors, nurses etc)
- Premiums paid to a private health insurance plan
- Attendant care expenses such as a nursing home or group home
- Cost of equipment that treat illness or provide relief from an illness
- Training costs to learn to care for a relative that lives in your household
For a complete list of all eligible medical expenses please visit their webpage.
A taxpayer can claim medical expenses related to Attendant Care (Nursing home etc) paid on behalf of a dependant. A dependant is someone that relies on the taxpayer for support and can be either;
- the taxpayer or their spouse/common law partner’s child or grandchild or
- the taxpayer or their spouse/common law partner’s parent, grandparent, sibling, uncle, aunt, niece or nephew whom lived in Canada at any time during the year.
If the dependent lives in a nursing care home, the dependent’s share of the salaries and wages paid to all employees in an establishment (other than full-time care in a nursing home) performing the following duties are deductible:
- food preparation;
- housekeeping services for a resident’s personal living space;
- laundry services for a resident’s personal items;
- health care (registered nurse, practical nurse, certified health care aide, personal support worker);
- activities (social programmer);
- salon services (hairdresser, manicurist, pedicurist) if included in the monthly fee;
- transportation (driver); and
- security for a secured unit.
You cannot claim the cost of:
- rent;
- food;
- cleaning supplies;
- other operating costs (such as the maintenance of common areas and outside grounds); and
- salaries and wages paid to employees such as administrators, receptionists, groundskeepers, janitors, and maintenance staff.
It is important to get the breakdown from the nursing home showing which costs are eligible and which are not in order to claim as much as possible. For more information regarding attendant care expenses, please visit this webpage.
If you would like more information or have any questions, feel free to contact us at 780.466.6204, or click here to send us an email.
Thanks to David Wickenberg of KWB Chartered Accountants for providing this content.
