6 May 2004 External T.I. 2004-0065621E5 - Medical Expense

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.

Principal Issues: Whether the cost of sending an autistic child to an integrated day care would qualify as a medical expense under paragraph 118.2(2)(e) of the Income tax Act.

Position: No

Reasons: The certification does not clearly indicate that the Centre has specialized equipment, facilities, or trained personnel to provide care, or care and training, of a person with an autistic disorder.

XXXXXXXXXX 2004-006562
Shaun Harkin, CMA
May 6, 2004

Dear XXXXXXXXXX:

Re: Technical Interpretation Request: Medical Expense

This is in response to your letter dated February 29, 2004 and further to our letter of January 6, 2004. In your letter, you requested an opinion as to whether the cost of sending your child to the XXXXXXXXXX (the "Centre") would qualify as a medical expense under paragraph 118.2(2)(e) of the Income Tax Act (the "Act"). Your son suffers from an autistic disorder known as Asperger Syndrome and qualifies for the Disability Tax Credit.

In addition to the documentation provided in your original letter of October 2, 2003, you provided a letter from XXXXXXXXXX recommending an integrated day care setting and describing her understanding of the care provided by the Centre to your child, and a letter from the Centre describing their staff and the type of program followed by your child.

Written confirmation of the tax consequences inherent in a particular transaction or series of transactions are given by this Directorate only where the transaction(s) are proposed and are the subject matter of an advance ruling request submitted in the manner set out in Information Circular 70-6R5. Notwithstanding the foregoing, we are prepared to provide the following comments.

Our Comments

We have considered the additional information provided. Based upon our review we could not conclude that the Centre provides the specialized equipment, facilities or personnel for the care, or care and training, of an individual with the particular condition suffered by your child. It appears your child followed the same curriculum as all other Centre students, as the letter from the Centre states that your child follows the Kindergarten program. Although your child received special attention, it is not clear, from the information provided, that the type of special attention provided could be distinguished from that which would be beneficial to other children within the Centre that are experiencing difficulty in social skill development. In our view, an integrated setting and individualized attention focused on social skill development are not determinative factors in deciding whether a school, institution or other place is a facility for the purposes of paragraph 118.2(2)(e) of the Act. The certification would need to clearly indicate that the Centre has specialized equipment, facilities, or trained personnel to provide care, or care and training, of a person with an autistic disorder.

The foregoing comments represent our general views with respect to the subject matter. As indicated in paragraph 22 of Information Circular 70-6R5, the above comments do not constitute an income tax ruling and accordingly are not binding on the Canada Revenue Agency. Our practice is to make this disclaimer in all instances in which we provide an opinion.

We trust the above comments are of assistance.

Yours truly,

Wayne Antle, CGA
for Director
Business and Partnerships Division
Income Tax Rulings Directorate

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