| 923318 | |
| 24(1) | R.B. Day |
| (613) 957-2136 |
December 21, 1992
19(1) 24(1)
We are writing in reply to your memorandum of November 3, 1992, wherein you requested our opinion as to whether or not fees paid to the 24(1) would qualify as medical expenses.
OUR COMMENTS
It would appear that the only provision in the Act that would permit a taxpayer to claim the fees paid to the centre as qualifying medical expenses would be subparagraph 118.2(2)(e) which reads as follows:
" For the purposes of subsection (1), a medical expense of an individual is an expense paid ...
(e) for the care, or the care and training, at a school, institution or other place of the patient, who has been certified by an appropriately qualified person to be a person who, by reason of a physical or mental handicap, requires the equipment, facilities or personnel specially provided by that school, institution or other place for the care, or the care and training, of individuals suffering from the handicap suffered by the patient;"
An analysis of this paragraph reveals three basic requirements that must be met in order for the costs related to the tutorial courses given at the centre to be considered qualified medical expenses of an individual.
1. The individual must be certified by an appropriately qualified person. This certification will usually be done by a medical practitioner or psychologist but is not restricted to such professionals.
2. The individual must be suffering from a physical or mental handicap.
3. The individual requires the equipment, facilities or personnel specially provided by the institution to treat the individual's particular physical or mental handicap and the determination of the individual's requirements must be made by the qualified person making the certification.
In other words, in order for the costs related to the tutorial courses given by the Centre to be considered qualified medical expenses, the claimant must have a certificate from a qualified person certifying they have a physical or mental handicap, the nature of which, for treatment purposes, requires the equipment, facilities or personnel specially provided by the Centre for the treatment of persons afflicted with such disorders. The certificate should be detailed in stating the nature of the handicap and should also be specific to the particular individual.
With respect to the specific enquiry regarding 19(1) the doctor's certificate states that the patient has a behavioral affliction known as Attention Deficit Disorder. He suggested a non-medical approach to this disorder, by the use of one-on-one tutoring that cannot always be provided within the public school system. In this regard, the certificate does not provide adequate information that would support the contention that the fees paid to the Centre qualify as medical expenses.
Although Attention Deficit Disorder is recognized as a mental handicap for medical expense purposes it is our understanding that there are varying degrees of this learning and behavioral disorder and that it is the more severe forms of the disorder that require the special facilities and personnel of an institution that deals specifically with such individuals.
The doctor's certificate in this case refers to a learning or study problem that is correctible by one-on-one tutoring; however, it is unclear from the statements as to whether the disorder within 19(1) is sufficiently severe in degree so as to distinguish the recommendation for one-on-one tutoring from that which would be beneficial to many children within the public school system that are experiencing difficulty in learning and achieving desirable grades.
24(1)
In conclusion, although we are usually reluctant to challenge a medical certificate, issued by a medical practitioner, it is our view that this certificate (although acknowledging a learning disorder) does not clearly establish that this learning disorder constitutes a mental handicap nor does it state that the individual requires the facilities or personnel specially provided by a learning centre specifically equipped to treat individuals with this disorder.
We trust these comments will provide you with sufficient information to respond to the taxpayer and the Centre.
J.A. Szeszyckifor Section ChiefPersonal and General SectionBusiness and General DivisionRulings DirectorateLegislative and Intergovernmental Affairs Branch