Lines 330 and 331: Eligible medical expenses you can claim on your tax return

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Find your eligible medical expenses

This list of common medical expenses shows:

Medical expense Eligible expense? Prescription needed? Certification in writing needed? Form T2201 needed? Keywords
Acoustic coupler Eligible Yes No No
Air conditioner Eligible Yes No No
Air filter, cleaner, or purifier Eligible Yes No No
Altered auditory feedback devices Eligible Yes No No
Ambulance service Eligible No No No
Artificial eye or limb Eligible No No No
Assisted breathing devices Eligible No No No
Athletic or fitness club fees Not eligible N/A N/A N/A
Attendant care expenses See details See details See details See details
Audible signal devices Eligible Yes No No
Baby breathing monitor Eligible Yes No No
Bathroom aids Eligible Yes No No
Birth control devices (non-prescription) Not eligible N/A N/A N/A
Bliss symbol boards Eligible Yes No No
Blood coagulation monitors Eligible Yes No No
Blood pressure monitors Not eligible N/A N/A N/A
Bone conduction receiver Eligible No No No
Bone marrow transplant Eligible No No No
Braces for a limb Eligible No No No
Braille note-taker devices Eligible Yes No No
Braille printers, synthetic speech systems, large print-on-screen devices Eligible Yes No No
Breast prosthesis Eligible Yes No No
Cancer treatment Eligible No No No
Catheters, catheter trays, tubing or other products Eligible No No No
Certificates Eligible No No No
Chair Eligible Yes No No
Cochlear implant Eligible No No No
Computer peripherals Eligible Yes No No
Cosmetic surgery before March 5, 2010 Eligible No No No
Cosmetic surgery after March 4, 2010 See details See details See details See details
Crutches Eligible No No No
Deaf-blind intervening services Eligible No No No
Dental services Eligible No No No
Dentures and dental implants Eligible No No No
Devices or software Eligible Yes No No
Diapers or disposable briefs Eligible No No No
Diaper services Not eligible N/A N/A N/A
Doctor – see Medical services provides by qualified medical practitioners Eligible No No No
Driveway access Eligible No No No
Drugs and medical devices bought under Health Canada’s Special Access Program Eligible No No No
Elastic support hose Eligible Yes No No
Electrolysis Eligible No No No
Electronic bone healing devices Eligible Yes No No
Electronic speech synthesizers Eligible Yes No No
Electrotherapy devices Eligible Yes No No
Environment control system (computerized or electronic) Eligible Yes No No
Extremity pump Eligible Yes No No
Fertility-related procedures See details  See details  See details See details
Furnace Eligible Yes No No
Gluten-free products See details See details See details See details
Group home – see Attendant care or care in a facility See details See details See details See details
Health plan premiums paid by an employer and not included in your income Not eligible N/A N/A N/A
Hearing aids Eligible No No No
Heart monitoring devices Eligible Yes No No
Hospital bed Eligible Yes No No
Hospital services Eligible No No No
Ileostomy and colostomy pads Eligible No No No
Infusion pump Eligible Yes No No
Injection pens (such as an insulin pen) Eligible Yes No No
Insulin or substitutes Eligible Yes No No
In vitro fertility program Eligible No No No
Kidney machine (dialysis) Eligible No No No
Laboratory procedures or services Eligible Yes No No
Large print-on-screen devices Eligible Yes No No
Laryngeal speaking aids Eligible No No No
Laser eye surgery Eligible No No No
Lift or transportation equipment (power-operated) Eligible Yes No No
Liver extract injections Eligible Yes No No
Medical marihuana Eligible No No No
Medical services provided by qualified medical practitioners Eligible No No No
Medical services provided outside Canada Eligible No No No
Moving expenses Eligible No No No
Needles and syringes Eligible Yes No No
Note-taking services Eligible No Yes No
Nurse Eligible No No No
Nursing home – see Attendant care or care in a facility See details See details See details See details
Optical scanners Eligible Yes No No
Organic food Not eligible N/A N/A N/A
Organ transplant Eligible No No No
Orthodontic work Eligible No No No
Orthopedic shoes, boots, and inserts Eligible Yes No No
Osteogenesis stimulator (inductive coupling) Eligible Yes No No
Over-the-counter medications Not eligible N/A N/A N/A
Oxygen and oxygen tent Eligible Yes No No
Oxygen concentrator Eligible No No No
Pacemakers Eligible Yes No No
Page-turner devices Eligible Yes No No
Personalized therapy plan Eligible Yes No Yes
Personal response systems such as Lifeline an Health Line Services Not eligible N/A N/A N/A
Phototherapy equipment Eligible No No No
Premiums paid to private health services plans Eligible No No No
Pre-natal and post-natal treatments Eligible No No No
Prescription drugs and medications Eligible Yes No No
Pressure pulse therapy devices Eligible Yes No No
Provincial and territorial plans Not eligible N/A N/A N/A
Reading services Eligible No Yes No
Real-time captioning Eligible No No No
Rehabilitative therapy Eligible No No No
Renovation or construction expenses Eligible No No No
Respite care expenses – see Attendant care or care in a facility See details See details See details See details
School for persons with a physical or mental impairment Eligible No Yes No
Scooter Eligible No No No
Service animals Eligible No No No
Sign-language interpretation services Eligible No No No
Spinal brace Eligible No No No
Standing devices Eligible Yes No No
Supplements and vitamins Not eligible N/A N/A N/A
Talking textbooks Eligible Yes No No
Teletypewriters Eligible Yes No No
Television closed caption decoders Eligible Yes No No
Tests Eligible Yes No No
Therapy Eligible Yes No Yes
Training Eligible No No No
Travel expenses (less than 40km) Not eligible N/A N/A N/A
Travel expenses (at least 40 km) See details See details See details See details
Travel expenses (at least 80 km) See details See details See details See details
Travel expenses (outside of Canada) See details See details See details See details
Treatment centre Eligible No Yes No
Truss for hernia Eligible No No No
Tutoring services Eligible No Yes No
Vaccines Eligible Yes No No
Van Eligible No No No
Vehicle modification Eligible Yes No No
Vision devices Eligible Yes No No
Visual or vibratory signaling device Eligible Yes No No
Vitamin B12 Eligible Yes No No
Vitamins – see Supplements and vitamins Not eligible N/A N/A N/A
Voice recognition software Eligible No Yes No
Volume control feature (additional) Eligible Yes No No
Walking aids Eligible Yes No No cast
Water filter, cleaner, or purifier Eligible Yes No No
Wheelchairs and wheelchair carriers Eligible No No No
Whirlpool bath treatments Eligible No No No
Wigs Eligible Yes No No

Claim medical expenses on lines 330 and 331

You may claim eligible medical expenses on your tax return if you or your spouse or common-law partner:

You may only claim an expense that you haven’t been, or won’t be, reimbursed for. However, you may claim a reimbursed expense if:

Line 330: Medical expenses for self, spouse or common-law partner, and dependant children

Use line 330 to claim eligible medical expenses that you, or your spouse or common-law partner paid for the following people:

Line 330 calculations
Step 1

On the first line of line 330 of Schedule 1, Federal Tax, enter the total amount that you, or your spouse or common-law partner paid in 2018 for eligible medical expenses.

Example – Step 1

Richard and Pauline have 2 children, Jen and Rob. They have decided to use the following period to calculate their claim: July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2018. In that time, they had the following expenses:

  • Richard – $1,500
  • Pauline – $1,000
  • Jen (their 16-year-old daughter) – $1,800
  • Rob (their 19-year-old son) – $1,000

Rob is over 18, so his medical expenses should be claimed on line 331.

Jen is under 18, so Richard and Pauline can add her medical expenses to theirs. The total is $4,300. Either Richard or Pauline can claim this amount on the first line of line 330 of their Schedule 1.

In most cases, it’s better for the person with the lower net income (line 236) to claim the expenses. In this example, Pauline has the lower net income.

Total medical expenses for the first line of Line 330 = $4,300

Step 2

On the second line of line 330, enter the lesser of the following amounts:

Example – Step 2

Pauline's net income (on line 236 of her return) is $32,000. She calculates 3% of that amount, which is $960.

Step 3

Subtract the amount in Step 2 from the amount on line 330, and enter the result on the last line of line 330 of Schedule 1.

Example – Step 3

Pauline’s result in Step 2 is less than $2,302, so she subtracts $960 from $4,300. The difference is $3,340. Pauline could claim this amount on the last line of line 330 of her Schedule 1.

Step 4

Claim the corresponding provincial or territorial non-refundable tax credit on line 5868 of your provincial or territorial Form 428.

Example – Step 4

Pauline lives in Nova Scotia, so she consults the details for line 5868 for Nova Scotia, and fills out that line.

Line 331: Medical expenses for other dependants

Use line 331 to claim eligible medical expenses that you or your spouse or common-law partner paid for people who depend on you for support. This can include:

Line 331 calculations

You must do the following calculation for each dependant.

Step 1

Add up the total amount that you, or your spouse or common-law partner paid in 2018 for eligible medical expenses.

Example – Step 1

Richard and Pauline have 2 children, Jen and Rob. They have decided to use the following period to calculate their claim: July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2018. In that time, they had the following expenses:

  • Richard – $1,500
  • Pauline – $1,000
  • Jen (their 16-year-old daughter) – $1,800
  • Rob (their 19-year-old son) – $1,000

Jen is under 18, so Richard and Pauline can add her medical expenses to theirs. The total is $4,300. Either Richard or Pauline can claim this amount on the first line of line 330 of their Schedule 1.

Rob is over 18, so either Richard or Pauline can claim this amount on line 331 of their Schedule 1.

In most cases, it’s better for the person with the lower net income (line 236) to claim the expenses. In this example, Pauline has the lower net income.

Total medical expenses for the first line of Line 331 = $1000

Step 2

Find out which amount is less between:

Example – Step 2

Rob’s net income is $20,000. Pauline calculates 3% of that amount, which is $600.

Step 3

Subtract the lesser amount in Step 2 from the amount from Step 1. Enter the result on line 331 of Schedule 1, Federal Tax.

Example – Step 3

Pauline subtracts $600 from $1000. The difference is $400. Pauline could claim this amount on line 331 of her Schedule 1

Step 4

Claim the corresponding provincial or territorial non-refundable tax credit on line 5872 of your provincial or territorial Form 428.

Example – Step 4

Pauline lives in Nova Scotia, so she consults the details for line 5872 for Nova Scotia, and fills out that line.

Keep your supporting documents, and only send us Form T2201 if needed

Each expense claimed may need supporting documents.

The Find your eligible medical expenses table lists the documents you may need.

Supporting documents to keep

Do not send these documents with your claim. Keep them in case we ask for them later.

Supporting document you may need to send in

If your medical expense needs the Disability Tax Credit Certificate (T2201) form, you may need to send it to us.

You do not need to send this form again if you’re already approved for the Disability Tax Credit for 2018. For more information, see Disability Tax Credit.

Claim expenses for someone who died within 24 months

You may make a claim for expenses paid in any 24-month period that includes the date of death. You must not have claimed these expenses for any other year.

Additional deductions for individuals with disabilities or low incomes

Line 215 Disability supports deduction

If you have an impairment in physical or mental functions, you may be able to claim some medical expenses as a disability supports deduction (line 215 or 330).

You may also split the claim between these two lines if the total amount you want to claim is not more than the total expenses paid. Claim whichever is better for you. For more information, see Line 215.

Line 452 Refundable medical expense supplement

If you have a low income and high medical expenses, you may be able to get more support. To read about the refundable medical expense supplement, see Line 452.

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