Claim your medical expenses

You can claim medical expenses for any 12-month period ending in 2022 as long as you didn’t claim those expenses in 2021. For example, you can claim medical expenses from March 2021 to March 2022 on your 2022 return as long as you didn’t claim those expenses on your 2021 return.

You can claim these expenses for you, your partner, your child under 18, or your other dependant. Expenses can only be claimed once - if your other dependant has claimed a medical expense on their return, you cannot also claim it on your own. You’ll need to create a medical expense “slip” for each individual and indicate their relationship to you.

To claim your medical expenses, follow these steps:

Web Mobile app
  1. Click Add Tax Forms in the left-hand column
  2. Search for “Medical expenses”
  3. Add the Medical Expenses section to your return
  4. Fill out your medical expenses information
  1. Log into the Tax mobile app
  2. Scroll down to the search bar under Manage your tax forms
  3. Search for Medical expenses
  4. Add the Medical Expenses section to your return
  5. Fill out your medical expense information
Tip: The CRA receives your medical expenses categorized by person and by type. This means you don't need to enter each medical receipt into Wealthsimple Tax. However, you should keep a record of your receipts in case the CRA asks for an itemized list in the future.

Understand what medical expenses can be claimed

In the table below, we have listed common medical expenses and whether or not you are able to claim them:

Expense

Can it be claimed? 

The details

Premiums paid to a private health plan

Yes

You can claim premiums to medical, dental, and hospitalization plans as long as 90% or more of the premiums paid under the plan are for eligible medical expenses. You can’t claim premiums that were paid by your employer and not included in your income.

Dentist or orthodontist expenses

Yes

Yes, if it was paid to a medical practitioner. Expenses for purely cosmetic procedures are not eligible.

Massage therapy, physiotherapy, or chiropractic expenses

Yes

Yes, if it was a medical service by a medical practitioner.

Expenses that you have received a reimbursement for

No

You can only claim an expense that has not and will not be reimbursed. In other words, if your health plan covers 90% of your expense, only claim the 10% you paid out of pocket.

Additionally, the CRA has two great search tools that you can use to determine if your medical expenses are eligible.

Categories of medical expenses and their meaning

Below are categories of medical expenses that you may see when claiming them on your return: 

Category

Explanation

Attendant care expenses

Amounts paid for attendant care. Limitations apply.

Adapted van expenses

Expenses incurred “to permit a person confined to a wheelchair to gain independent access to and drive the vehicle, prescription required.”

Moving expenses

These are “reasonable moving expenses (that have not been claimed as moving expenses on anyone’s income tax and benefit return) to move a person who has a severe and prolonged mobility impairment, or who lacks normal physical development, to housing that is more accessible to the person or in which the person is more mobile or functional.”

Regular expense

All other eligible medical expenses.
Note: If you had to travel to obtain medical aid, you may be able to claim certain travel expenses as medical expenses.

Quebec residents covered by a private medical insurance plan for part of the year

If you are a Quebec resident and were only covered by a private medical insurance plan for part of the year, follow the tips below:

  1. Answer No to the question “Did you have basic prescription drug insurance through a group insurance plan throughout 2023?” in the About You section.
  2. Answer Yes to the question “Are there any months of the year for which you don’t need to pay a premium?” in the Premium Payable Under the Québec Prescription Drug Insurance Plan (Schedule K) section.
  3. Check off that “You were covered by basic prescription drug insurance provided by a group insurance plan of which you, your partner, your father, or your mother was a member; and this plan covered the cost of medications.”
  4. Check off the months that you were covered by a private medical insurance plan.

Frequently asked questions

I have linked my return with a partner, why don’t my medical expenses appear on my return?

When you link your return to your partners', we allocate medical expenses to one of you based on the information you've entered in your tax returns at that point. Once you’ve both finished your returns and have run the optimizer, we’ll allocate them to the person who benefits the most from claiming them. If you like, you can change the optimization results.

Why do my Québec and federal medical expenses differ?

In Québec, you claim your Premium Payable under the Québec Prescription Drug Insurance Plan (calculated on Schedule K) as a medical expense for the year that you paid it (i.e. you can claim the 2022 premium on your 2022 tax return).

However, since the 2022 premium is paid in 2023, you can only claim it as a medical expense on your 2023 federal return. If you filed last year’s tax return using Wealthsimple Tax, we’ll claim this for you automatically on your 2023 federal return.

Was this article helpful?

Have more questions? Submit a request

Comments

0 comments

Please sign in to leave a comment.

Medical expenses

Want to talk to a human?

Our Client Success team is here to help.