17 May 2002 External T.I. 2002-0129485 - MEDICAL EXPENSES DRIVING THERAPY

Please note that the following document, although believed to be correct at the time of issue, may not represent the current position of the CRA.
Prenez note que ce document, bien qu'exact au moment émis, peut ne pas représenter la position actuelle de l'ARC.

Please note that the following document, although believed to be correct at the time of issue, may not represent the current position of the CCRA.

Prenez note que ce document, bien qu'exact au moment émis, peut ne pas représenter la position actuelle de l'ADRC.

Principal Issues: whether payments for driving therapy are "medical expenses"

Position: no

Reasons:

1. not paid to a medical practitioner or hospital
2. Although the payment is for training relating to a mental handicap, the payment is not for "care and training" so 118.2(2)(e) does not apply
3. 118.2(2)(l.9) does not apply because the taxpayer is not entitled to the disability tax credit
4. if conditions satisfied, tuition credit per 118.5 may be available

XXXXXXXXXX 2002-012948

Denise Dalphy, LL.B.

May 17, 2002

Dear XXXXXXXXXX:

Re: Driving Therapy and Medical Expenses

We are writing in reply to your letter dated January 8, 2002 wherein you enquired whether amounts that you paid as driving therapy are deductible as "medical expenses" for the purposes of the Income Tax Act (the "Act").

Written confirmation of the consequences inherent in particular transactions are given by this directorate only where the transactions are proposed and are the subject matter of an advance ruling request submitted in the manner set out in Information Circular 70-6R4. Where the particular transactions are partially completed or completed, the enquiry should be addressed to the relevant Tax Services Office. Notwithstanding the foregoing, we are providing the following comments.

Our understanding of the facts is as follows:

XXXXXXXXXX.

OUR COMMENTS

We do not have any information that would permit the amounts that you paid to XXXXXXXXXX to qualify as deductions for "medical expenses" under paragraph 118.2(2)(a) of the Act, nor would the amounts appear to qualify as medical expenses under any other provision in the Act.

However, depending on all of the relevant facts, the amounts that you paid to XXXXXXXXXX may qualify for the tuition tax credit. We have enclosed a copy of Interpretation Bulletin IT-516R2, Tuition Tax Credit, ("IT-516R2") which explains the criteria that must be satisfied in order to qualify for this tax credit. In particular, we wish to draw two requirements to your attention. Firstly, it will be necessary for you to ascertain whether XXXXXXXXXX has been certified by the Minister of Human Resources Development to be an educational institution providing courses, other than courses designed for university credit, that furnish a person with skills for, or improve a person's skills in, an occupation.

Should you wish to obtain information on certification requirements and procedures for purposes of subparagraph 118.5(1)(a)(ii) of the Act, your inquiries should be directed to:

Certification of Private Educational Institutions
Human Resources Development Canada
Phase IV, 4th Floor
Place du Portage
140 Promenade du Portage
Hull, Quebec, K1A 0J9

In the second place, it will be necessary to demonstrate that the reason why you enrolled with XXXXXXXXXX was to improve your skills in your occupation (Please refer to paragraph 8 of IT-516R2 for additional information about this requirement). From the information that we have, we cannot determine whether this is or is not the case.

The foregoing comments represent our general views with respect to the subject matter. As indicated in paragraph 22 of Information Circular 70-6R4, the above comments do not constitute an income tax ruling and accordingly are not binding on the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency. Our practice is to make this specific disclaimer in all instances in which we provide an opinion.

Yours truly,

Steve Tevlin
for Director
Business and Partnerships Division
Income Tax Rulings Directorate