Your Guide to Claiming Medical Expenses

The medical tax credit is a common tax credit many Canadians claim each year.

This is what you need to know about claiming medical expenses on your tax return.

Today we're breaking down:

• What you can claim

• How to calculate your medical expenses

• The 12-month rule to get the most out of your medical expenses

Medical Expenses You Can Claim

In Canada, we have two different categories of medical expenses. There are federal expenses that are the same across Canada and there are medical practitioners (like physiotherapists, chiropractors, dentists, midwifes, massage therapists etc.) that vary from province to province.

Federally Approved Medical Expenses

You can find a full list of all the federal medical expenses you can claim HERE.

There are conditions and exceptions to the items on this list. To ensure that you qualify to claim them consult your tax professional or check the CRA qualifications HERE.

Provincial and Territorial Approved Medical Practitioners

To see if a specific type of medical practitioner and their services can be claimed in your province or territory consult THIS CHART.

Medical practitioners include the following:

Calculating Medical Expenses

Medical expenses are calculated differently than other credits. Your medical expenses must be over a threshold amount before you can begin to claim them. Any amount above the threshold can be claimed but anything below it cannot be claimed. All of the family's medical expenses can be claimed under one person and it is usually best to combine them all together under one person.

For example, if your threshold amount is $1,000 and you have medical expenses of $1,500 you can claim $500 worth of medical expenses because that is what is above your threshold amount.

Your threshold amount is based on your net income. It is 3% of your net income up to a maximum of $2,759 for the 2024 tax year. For this reason, it's typically best to claim medical expenses on the partner with the lower net income so you can claim more expenses.

Step 1.

Add all of your medical expenses together.

Step 2.

Multiply your net income by 3% to find your threshold amount. If 3% of your net income is greater than $2,759 then use $2,759.

Step 3.

Subtract your medical expenses in Step 1 from your threshold amount calculated in Step 2. If there is a positive difference this is your medical tax credit amount.

12 Month Rule

Medical expenses follow a 12 month period. Typically this follows the calendar year, from January 1st to December 31 but not always.

You can claim any consecutive 12 month period as long as the last month of the period is in that tax year. This is very useful if you are not over your threshold amount in a calendar year but you would be over your threshold amount in a 12 month period split over two years.

For example, if you went to the dentist in July of 2023 and you spent $500. This was your only medical expense that year and it was not enough to be over your threshold amount. Then in 2024 from January - June you had $3,000 of medical expenses. You could file your 2024 tax return with a 12 month medical period of July 2023- June 2024 to include the $500 from 2023 and the $3,000 from 2024.

It's important to note that you cannot claim the same expense twice. If you claimed that medical expense on another tax return you cannot claim it again in a different year.

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