If you paid for medical expenses in 2021 and were not reimbursed for them, you may be able to claim them on your tax return.

If any of your expenses are eligible, this could result in you receiving a non-refundable tax credit that you can use to reduce the amount of tax that you paid or may have to pay.

View the list of eligible expenses

Which medical expenses can I claim?

You can only claim eligible medical expenses (see list below) on your tax return if you, or your spouse, or common-law partner:

  • paid for the medical expenses in any 12-month period ending in 2021
  • did not claim them in 2020

For all expenses, you can only claim the part of the expense that you or someone else have not been and will not be reimbursed for. However, the expense can be claimed if the reimbursement is included in your or someone else's income and the reimbursement was not deducted anywhere else on your tax return.

For couples, who should claim the expenses?

Compare the amount you can claim with the amount your spouse or common-law partner would be able to claim. It may be better for the spouse or common-law partner with the lower net income to claim the eligible medical expenses.

Claiming expenses as a disability support

If you have an impairment in physical or mental functions, you may be able to claim some medical expenses as a disability supports deduction.

Full details are available HERE.

Low income and high medical expenses?

The refundable medical expense supplement is a refundable tax credit available to working individuals with low incomes and high medical expenses.

Full details are available HERE.

Claiming expenses for a dependant who passed away

A claim can be made for expenses paid in any 24-month period that includes the date of death. It only applies if the expenses were not claimed for any other year.

List of eligible (and ineligible) expenses

Eligible - Is the item eligible to claim
Prescription - Is a prescription required to be eligible
Certification - Is certification in writing required to be eligible
T2201 - Is a T2201 (Disability Tax Credit Certificate) required to be eligible

  • click on any of the blue colored Medical Expense titles to see details
  • if viewing on a mobile device, the list is best viewed in horizontal/landscape mode

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 (gym) fees No N/A N/A N/A
Attendant care and care in a facility See details See details See details See 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, speech systems, 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 (power-operated) Yes Yes No No
Cochlear implant Yes No No No
Computer peripherals Yes Yes No No
Cosmetic surgery See details See details See details See details
Cosmetic surgery solely for cosmetic procedures No N/A N/A N/A
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
Driveway access Yes No No No
Drugs/devices through the 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 Yes Yes No No
Extremity pump Yes Yes No No
Fertility-related procedures See details  See details  See details See details
Furnace Yes Yes No No
Gluten-free food products See details See details See details See details
Health plan premiums paid by an employer 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 (COVID tests) 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 Yes No No No
Medical services by medical practitioners (specialist) Yes No No No
Medical services outside Canada Yes No No No
Mobile applications that help with blood glucose No N/A N/A N/A
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
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 (Lifeline, Health Line) 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 health care 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
School for persons with an 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 40 km No N/A N/A N/A
Travel expenses - at least 40 km See details See details See details See details
Travel expenses - at least 80 km See details See details See details See details
Travel expenses (outside of Canada) See details See details See details See 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 (eyeglasses, contact lenses) Yes Yes No No
Visual or vibratory signalling device Yes Yes No No
Vitamin B12 Yes Yes No No
Voice recognition software Yes No Yes No
Volume control feature 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 (hot tub) Yes No No No
Wigs Yes Yes No No

Questions?

If you have any questions about this article or medical expenses, please contact the Avail CPA Help Desk using the form below.

Contact Us

Devin Vornbrock

Devin Vornbrock

Devin specializes in the area of tax, particularly corporate tax. His passion lies in creating solutions for clients that help them save money and make sound financial decisions.

Service Expertise: Audit , Tax
Industry Expertise: Small Business , Public Sector

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