Principal Issues: Which medical expenses that are specific to a province are eligible for the medical expense tax credit.
Position: See below for details.
Reasons: See below for details.
September 11, 2006
XXXXXXXXXX
Dear XXXXXXXXXX:
Thank you for your letter received on July 21, 2006, concerning the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)'s Interpretation Bulletin IT-519R2, Medical Expense and Disability Tax Credits and Attendant Care Expense Deduction.
Subsection 118.2(2) of the Income Tax Act allows individuals to claim a medical expense tax credit based on the sum of their eligible medical expenses. Paragraphs 19 to 65 of the bulletin detail which medical expenses are eligible for the medical expense tax credit. In some cases, the eligibility of an expense depends upon the service being performed by, the prescription being issued by, or the medical condition being certified by a medical practitioner. Subsection 118.2(4) of the Act clarifies that the laws of the relevant jurisdiction or province dictate which professionals are medical practitioners for this purpose.
Additional information on eligible medical expenses may be obtained on the CRA's Web site at www.cra.gc.ca/tax/individuals/topics/income-tax/return/completing/deductions/lines300-350/330/allowable-e.html. The information on the site is updated regularly. For your convenience, I am attaching a print of the current web page. Should you wish to discuss the eligibility of a particular medical expense, I invite you to contact the Income Tax Rulings Directorate by calling, toll free, 0-613-957-8953.
I appreciate the opportunity to respond to your question.
Sincerely,
The Honourable Carol Skelton, P.C., M.P.
Attachment
Dominic Tiu
August 15, 2006
613-957-8961
2006-019903