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New Member
posted Oct 30, 2019 12:47:16 PM

My Mother is in a retirement residence. Where do I claim her attendant care expenses? Housekeeping,dietitian, chef and activities director?

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6 Replies
Level 13
Oct 30, 2019 12:47:18 PM

What province are you in?

New Member
Oct 30, 2019 12:47:18 PM

Ontario

Level 13
Oct 30, 2019 12:47:19 PM

You claim under Medical Expenses - please see link from the CRA below:

Attendant care or care in a facility
https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/individuals/topics/about-your-tax-return/tax-re...

Also review the excerpt from the CRA:
"What is a nursing home? – A nursing home is generally considered to be a facility that gives full-time care, including 24-hour nursing care, to individuals who are unable to care for themselves. Any facility could be considered a nursing home if it has the same features and characteristics as a nursing home.

All regular fees are eligible as medical expenses, including those for the following:

  • food;
  • accommodation;
  • nursing care;
  • administration fees;
  • maintenance fees; and
  • social programming and activities fees.

However, extra personal expenses (such as hairdresser fees) are not eligible.

Salaries and wages

You can claim the fees for salaries and wages paid for part-time attendant care.

Also, you can claim the fees for salaries and wages paid for attendant care services or care or supervision in the following facilities:

  • self-contained domestic establishments (such as your private home);
  • retirement homes, homes for seniors, or other institutions;
  • group homes in Canada; and
  • nursing homes. Special rules apply to this type of facility. See the chart.

Expenses you can claim  – You can claim as medical expenses the salaries and wages paid to all employees that do the following duties or services:

  • food preparation;
  • housekeeping services for a resident’s personal living space;
  • laundry services for a resident’s personal items;
  • health care (registered nurse, practical nurse, certified health care aide, personal support worker);
  • activities (social programmer);
  • salon services (hairdresser, manicurist, pedicurist) if included in the monthly fee;
  • transportation (driver); and
  • security for a secured unit.

If you are receiving attendant care services in your home, you can only claim for the period when you are at home and need care or help. For an expense to be eligible as a medical expense, you must:

  • be eligible for the disability tax credit; or
  • have a written certification from a medical practitioner that states the services are necessary.

Expenses you cannot claim  – You cannot claim the cost of:

  • rent (except the part of rent for services that help a person with daily tasks, such as laundry and housekeeping);
  • food;
  • cleaning supplies;
  • other operating costs (such as the maintenance of common areas and outside grounds); or
  • salaries and wages paid to employees such as administrators, receptionists, groundskeepers, janitors (for common areas), and maintenance staff.

 Here is the link for more details:

Medical Expenses 2017

https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/forms-publications/publications/rc4065/medical-expe...

New Member
Apr 29, 2021 2:04:06 PM

Ontario

New Member
Apr 29, 2021 2:07:47 PM

That is where I put in the expense,  but there are a couple of issues:

1: the patient name list only options for myself or wife by default not my mothers name

2: turbotax is listing the amount of the expense as a red flag because it is over $5000

New Member
Apr 15, 2024 12:08:22 PM

So if you are in Ontario, like me, how do you enter the attendant care amount in the T1 and the ON428 when the T1 is up to a max of $10000 and the ON limit is $16408? I have not found a way to do that! I also had the DTC personal amount!