Double Dip with The New Home Accessibility Tax Credit

A new non-refundable credit is available on the 2016 tax return, which will help families who needed to spend money to make a home accessible to a disabled person.  It’s one of those credits for which you have to dig out receipts, however, but it’s worth up to $1500, and more if you double dip – which is possible and legal!

The Home Accessibility Tax Credit is possible for the cost of renovations or alterations to a home if someone in your family is at least 65 years of age or eligible for the disability amount. You’ll complete new Schedule 12 on the T1 tax return to make the claim.

The expenses must allow the disabled individual to improve their safety or mobility in the home. The maximum credit is 15% of $10,000 or $1,500 in real dollar terms. And there is more good news: where more than one taxpayer qualifies for this credit, it can be split between taxpayers as long as the total cost of the renovations claimed does not go over the maximum $10,000 allowed.

The criteria for the renovations are similar to those claimed as medical expenses for disabled individuals. That’s where the double dip comes in: if the renovations qualify, both credits may be claimed for the same expenses.

An eligible dwelling is a housing unit ordinarily inhabited at any time during the taxation year by the qualifying individual. So if you are supporting a disabled spouse, common-law partner, or infirm adult dependant, keep receipts for renovations to make your home more accessible. The claim is of course also available to individuals who qualify on their own returns.

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