Don’t miss out on medical expenses

Zoomer | January 1st, 2006

Every year many Canadians miss filing for lucrative medical expense claims. There are only a few simple rules to remember:



  1. Total medical expenses must be greater than 3% of your net income. So reduce your net income every year with an RRSP deduction, if possible.


  2. Spouses can claim each other’s medical expenses, so if both are taxable, it makes sense to claim the costs on the return of the spouse with the lowest income.



  3. Medical expense can be claimed in the best 12-month period ending in the tax year, so save receipts from one year to the next. In the year of a taxpayer’s death, the medical expenses can be claimed in the best 24-month period from the date of death, provided they were not previously claimed by someone else.


  4. Claimable amounts include

    • Glasses
    • dental work
    • payments to licensed medical practitioners,
    • part-time home care
    • various devices including hearing aids and wheelchairs
    • medical-related travel including ambulance and hotel costs in a remote location, if treatment is not available in your community
    • amounts paid for care in special schools and group homes
    • thery for the disabled
    • respite care for those looking after the disabled… and much more