Principal Issues: Whether services provided in Ontario by a practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine are eligible medical expenses for the purposes of the medical expense tax credit.
Position: No
Reasons: Subsection 118.4(2) states that where the reference to a medical practitioner is used in respect of a service rendered to a taxpayer, that reference is to a person authorized to practice as such pursuant to the laws of the jurisdiction in which the service is rendered. A practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine is not currently authorized in the province of Ontario.
2010-035924
XXXXXXXXXX Chrys Tzortzis, CA
(613) 957-2082
May 5, 2010
Dear XXXXXXXXXX :
Re: Services of a Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioner as Eligible Medical Expenses
This is in response to your letter inquiring about whether amounts paid to a practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine ("TCM") in Ontario are eligible medical expenses for the purposes of the medical expense tax credit ("METC").
It is not this Directorate's practice to comment on proposed transactions involving specific taxpayers other than in the form of an advanced income tax ruling. For more information about how to obtain a ruling, please refer to Information Circular 70-6R5, Advanced Income Tax Rulings, dated May 17, 2002. This Information Circular and other Canada Revenue Agency publications can be accessed on the CRA Web site at www.cra-arc.gc.ca. Since your inquiry concerns an actual situation involving questions of fact, it should be dealt with by your local tax services office. If you wish to have the CRA review your actual situation, you should submit all of the relevant information and documentation to the particular tax services office serving your area, a list of which is available on the "Contact Us" page of the CRA Web site. Although we cannot comment on your specific situation, we are prepared to provide the following general comments, which may be of assistance.
Medical expenses which are eligible for the METC are limited to those described in subsection 118.2(2) of the Income Tax Act ("Act"). If a particular expenditure is not described as an eligible medical expense in subsection 118.2(2) of the Act, or if the conditions under which the expenditure would qualify are not met, the expenditure does not qualify for purposes of the METC, even though the expenditure may have been incurred for medical reasons.
Under paragraph 118.2(2)(a) of the Act, qualifying medical expenses include payments made to a medical practitioner, dentist or nurse or a public or licensed private hospital when the payments are made in respect of medical or dental services provided to the individual, the individual's spouse or a dependant of the individual. Paragraph 118.4(2)(a) of the Act provides that where the reference to a medical practitioner is used in respect of a service rendered to an individual, that reference is to a person authorized to practice as such pursuant to the laws of the jurisdiction in which the service is rendered. Therefore, in order to determine whether a particular medical practitioner qualifies as such under the Act, one must look to the relevant provincial legislation to determine whether the particular practitioner is authorized under the laws of that province.
In Ontario, a medical practitioner includes those practitioners of health professions governed by the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991 (the "RHPA"). It is our understanding that the TCM profession is in the process of establishing self regulation in order to meet the requirements to be authorized under the RHPA. As it appears that the practice of TCM and its practitioners are not yet authorized under the laws of Ontario, the amounts paid for services provided by such practitioners in Ontario do not currently qualify as eligible medical expenses under the Act. You may want to visit the Web site of the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care for any updates. In addition, the CRA Web site provides a summary chart identifying those health care professionals authorized to practice as medical practitioners by province or territory for the purposes of claiming medical expenses. Further information on medical expenses may be found in Interpretation Bulletin IT-519R2 (Consolidated), Medical Expense and Disability Tax Credits and Attendant Care Expense Deduction, which is available on the CRA Web site.
We trust that these comments will be of assistance.
Yours truly,
G. Moore
For Director
Business and Partnerships Division
Income Tax Rulings Directorate
Legislative Policy and Regulatory Affairs Branch
