I have a disabled brother who is disabled. I recently bought an escooter for him to use for exercise to help with his mobility. Can I declare this as an expense?

[jeremiahjones]

My brother uses the pedals of the escooter to pedal around and it helps him a great deal as he feels he is accomplishing something with the scooter and it helps motivate him.  If the escooter was roughly $1,500 can I declare it as a medical expense for him to help him with his disability?  He is already registered as a disabled person and I declare him as my dependant as well.

[TurbotaxRobert]

In addition to allowing a wheelchair as a medical expense, the Tax Act also permits the cost of a “device that is exclusively designed to assist an individual in walking where the individual has a mobility impairment” as well as “power-operated … transportation equipment designed exclusively for use by, or for, a disabled individual to allow the individual access to different areas of a building” to be claimed as valid medical expenses.  Whether your brother's situation would apply here is a matter of opinion, however, you can also try to support this claim by getting a letter from his medical practitioner indicating that this device is being used by your brother for medical reasons.