Are amounts paid for reiki treatments performed by reiki practitioners (practising reiki exclusively) eligible for the medical expense tax credit (METC) if prescribed by a medical practitioner such as a medical doctor, physiotherapist, registered massage therapist, or psychologist, as part of a treatment plan?
CRA indicated that in the absence of any apparent “legislation that authorizes the practice of reiki in any of the Canadian jurisdiction … reiki practitioners are not considered to be medical practitioners under paragraph 118.4(2)(a),” so that amounts paid to them are ineligible.
Regarding the possibility of Reiki treatments being performed by members of a health profession, CRA noted that it understood that the College of Massage Therapists of Ontario (CMTO) seems to allow registered massage therapists (RMTs) to integrate “First Degree Reiki” into massage therapy treatment plans, in which case, their services would still be considered to be registered massage therapy, with the associated fees being eligible for the METC – whereas RMTs choosing to offer “Second Degree Reiki” or reiki, in general, as a stand-alone “complementary modality” were not permitted to describe such services as registered massage therapy, so that the amounts paid for such reiki treatment would be ineligible.