Are You Missing Your Medical Expenses?

It pays to hunt down medical expenses and claim them over the best 12-month period ending in the tax year. There are numerous out-of-pocket expenses that qualify, ranging from batteries for hearing aids to driveway alteration costs for disabled family members... and most tax payers miss them.

Millions of taxpayers miss claiming medical expenses every year for themselves, their spouse and other dependants. This includes the costs of getting medical care not available to a patient in the home community. To claim this medical expense, you must travel at least 40 kilometres outside your home area to receive medical care, and at least 80 kilometers to be eligible to claim meals and lodging as well.

Keep a distance log and claim either your actual gas receipts or use a cents-per-kilometer method. For 2016, use 47 cents per kilometer in Manitoba; that compares to 54 cents for taxpayers in Ontario and 43.5 cents in Alberta.  Rates for 2017 will be published by CRA in January, 2018.

Meals and lodging claims are based on receipts. You can also claim the costs of service animals that help to manage severe diabetes, and the design of personalized therapy programs for the disabled.

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