Medical expenses can add up to a significant total, so if you or a family member paid out money for medical reasons this year, be sure to claim the costs on your income tax return.
“You are entitled to claim a credit for your own medical expenses, as well as those of your spouse/common-law partner or others who may be dependent on you for support, including a child, grandchild, parent or grandparent,” says Chartered Accountant John Wonfor, National Tax Partner, BDO Dunwoody LLP, National Office in Toronto.
“Medical expenses can be claimed for any 12-month period ending in the taxation year, as long as they have not been used in a prior year's medical expense tax credit. When filing a tax return, make sure to use the most beneficial 12-month period when determining the credit.”
Each spouse can claim his/her own expenses, or the couple can choose to consolidate them. If both spouses file a return, it may be advantageous to have the lower-income spouse claim medical expenses. Then the expenses will be reduced by three per cent of net income, to a maximum reduction of $1,962 in 2008 for federal tax purposes.
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The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario is the qualifying and regulatory body of Ontario’s 33,000 Chartered Accountants and 5,000 CA students. Since 1879, the Institute has protected the public interest through the CA profession’s high standards of qualification and the enforcement of its rules of professional conduct. The Institute works in partnership with the other provincial Institutes of Chartered Accountants and the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants to provide national standards and programs that are used as examples around the world. </em>
