122 medical expenses you can claim on your tax return
What is a medical expense tax credit?
If you paid for healthcare expenses, you may be able to claim them as eligible medical expenses on your income tax and benefit return and receive a non-refundable tax credit that you can use to reduce the tax that you paid or may have to pay.
What documents do I need to keep and submit?
If you are filing your tax return electronically or on paper, you do not need to send any supporting documents, but you do need to keep them in case the CRA asks to see them later.
• Receipts must show the name of the company or individual to whom an expense was paid.
• Receipts for attendant care or therapy paid to an individual should also show the individual’s social insurance number.
• Receipts should also show the purpose of the payment, the date of payment, the name of the patient, and, if applicable, the medical practitioner who prescribed the purchase or gave the service.
• In addition to receipts, the CRA may ask to see proof of payment (such as bank or credit card statements) or proof of support (such as a lease agreement or grocery receipts) if you are claiming amounts for a dependant who is 18 or older.
What expenses can I claim?
The following is a list of 122 items that you may be eligible to claim, and 12 expenses that you can't.
To learn more about the specifics of any of these items, please visit:
Canada Revenue Agency - Medical Expenses 2020
TABLE LEGEND
Eligible - Is the item eligible
Prescription - Is a prescription required
Certification - Is certification in writing required
T2201 - Is a T2201 form required
Medical Expense | Eligible | Prescription | Certification | T2201 | |
Acoustic coupler | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
Air conditioner | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
Air filter, cleaner, or purifier | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
Altered auditory feedback devices | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
Ambulance service | Yes | No | No | No | |
Artificial eye or limb | Yes | No | No | No | |
Assisted breathing devices | Yes | No | No | No | |
Athletic or fitness club fees | No | N/A | N/A | N/A | |
Attendant care expenses | Details | Details | Details | Details | |
Audible signal devices | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
Baby breathing monitor | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | |
Bathroom aids | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
Birth control devices (non-prescription) | No | N/A | N/A | N/A | |
Bliss symbol boards | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
Blood coagulation monitors | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
Blood pressure monitors | No | N/A | N/A | N/A | |
Bone conduction receiver | Yes | No | No | No | |
Bone marrow transplant | Yes | No | No | No | |
Braces for a limb | Yes | No | No | No | |
Braille note-taker devices | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
Braille printers, synthetic speech systems, large print-on-screen devices | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
Breast prosthesis | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
Cancer treatment | Yes | No | No | No | |
Catheters, catheter trays, tubing or other products | Yes | No | No | No | |
Certificates | Yes | No | No | No | |
Chair | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
Cochlear implant | Yes | No | No | No | |
Computer peripherals | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
Cosmetic surgery before March 5, 2010 | Yes | No | No | No | |
Cosmetic surgery after March 4, 2010 | Details | Details | Details | Details | |
Crutches | Yes | No | No | No | |
Deaf-blind intervening services | Yes | No | No | No | |
Dental services | Yes | No | No | No | |
Dentures and dental implants | Yes | No | No | No | |
Devices or software | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
Diapers or disposable briefs | Yes | No | No | No | |
Diaper services | No | N/A | N/A | N/A | |
Doctor – see Medical services by medical practitioners | Yes | No | No | No | |
Driveway access | Yes | No | No | No | |
Drugs and medical devices bought under Health Canada’s Special Access Program | Yes | No | No | No | |
Elastic support hose | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
Electrolysis | Yes | No | No | No | |
Electronic bone healing devices | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
Electronic speech synthesizers | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
Electrotherapy devices | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
Environment control system (computerized or electronic) | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
Extremity pump | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
Fertility-related procedures | Details | Details | Details | Details | |
Furnace | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
Gluten-free products | Details | Details | Details | Details | |
Group home – see Attendant care and care in a facility | Details | Details | Details | Details | |
Health plan premiums paid by an employer and not included in your income | No | N/A | N/A | N/A | |
Hearing aids | Yes | No | No | No | |
Heart monitoring devices | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
Hospital bed | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
Hospital services | Yes | No | No | No | |
Ileostomy and colostomy pads | Yes | No | No | No | |
Infusion pump | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
Injection pens (such as an insulin pen) | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
Insulin or substitutes | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
In vitro fertility program | Yes | No | No | No | |
Kidney machine (dialysis) | Yes | No | No | No | |
Laboratory procedures or services | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
Large print-on-screen devices | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
Laryngeal speaking aids | Yes | No | No | No | |
Laser eye surgery | Yes | No | No | No | |
Lift or transportation equipment (power-operated) | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
Liver extract injections | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
Medical cannabis (marihuana) | Yes | No | No | No | |
Medical services by medical practitioners | Yes | No | No | No | |
Medical services outside Canada | Yes | No | No | No | |
Moving expenses | Yes | No | No | No | |
Needles and syringes | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
Note-taking services | Yes | No | Yes | No | |
Nurse | Yes | No | No | No | |
Nursing home – see Attendant care and care in a facility | Details | Details | Details | Details | |
Optical scanners | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
Organic food | No | N/A | N/A | N/A | |
Organ transplant | Yes | No | No | No | |
Orthodontic work | Yes | No | No | No | |
Orthopaedic shoes, boots, and inserts | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
Osteogenesis stimulator (inductive coupling) | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
Over-the-counter medications | No | N/A | N/A | N/A | |
Oxygen and oxygen tent | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
Oxygen concentrator | Yes | No | No | No | |
Pacemakers | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
Page-turner devices | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
Personalized therapy plan | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | |
Personal response systems such as Lifeline an Health Line Services | No | N/A | N/A | N/A | |
Phototherapy equipment | Yes | No | No | No | |
Premiums paid to private health services plans | Yes | No | No | No | |
Pre-natal and post-natal treatments | Yes | No | No | No | |
Prescription drugs and medications | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
Pressure pulse therapy devices | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
Provincial and territorial plans | No | N/A | N/A | N/A | |
Reading services | Yes | No | Yes | No | |
Real-time captioning | Yes | No | No | No | |
Rehabilitative therapy | Yes | No | No | No | |
Renovation or construction expenses | Yes | No | No | No | |
Respite care expenses – see Attendant care and care in a facility | Details | Details | Details | Details | |
School for persons with a mental or physical impairment | Yes | No | Yes | No | |
Scooter | Yes | No | No | No | |
Service animals | Yes | No | No | No | |
Sign language interpretation services | Yes | No | No | No | |
Spinal brace | Yes | No | No | No | |
Standing devices | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
Supplements and vitamins | No | N/A | N/A | N/A | |
Talking textbooks | Yes | No | Yes | No | |
Teletypewriters | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
Television closed caption decoders | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
Tests | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
Therapy | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | |
Training | Yes | No | No | No | |
Travel expenses (less than 40km) | No | N/A | N/A | N/A | |
Travel expenses (at least 40 km) | Details | Details | Details | Details | |
Travel expenses (at least 80 km) | Details | Details | Details | Details | |
Travel expenses (outside of Canada) | Details | Details | Details | Details | |
Treatment centre | Yes | No | Yes | No | |
Truss for hernia | Yes | No | No | No | |
Tutoring services | Yes | No | Yes | No | |
Vaccines | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
Van | Yes | No | No | No | |
Vehicle device | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
Vision devices | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
Visual or vibratory signalling device | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
Vitamin B12 | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
Vitamins – see Supplements and vitamins | No | N/A | N/A | N/A | |
Voice recognition software | Yes | No | Yes | No | |
Volume control feature (additional) | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
Walking aids | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
Water filter, cleaner, or purifier | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
Wheelchairs and wheelchair carriers | Yes | No | No | No | |
Whirlpool bath treatments | Yes | No | No | No | |
Wigs | Yes | Yes | No | No |
For more information about which medical expenses you can claim, please contact your local Avail office or email our Avail CPA Help Desk.
Contact the Avail CPA Help Desk |
