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 Department.
Prenez note que ce document, bien qu'exact au moment émis, peut ne pas représenter la position actuelle du ministère.
February 15, 1994
XXXXXXXXXX District Office Head Office
Client Assistance Rulings Directorate
Sandra Short
Attention: XXXXXXXXXX (613) 957-8953
940182
Paragraph 118.2(2)(m) of the Income Tax Act and paragraphs 5700(i) and (m) of the Regulations
This is in response to your enquiry of January 1, 1994 which asks whether a snowmobile can qualify as a medical device or equipment as contemplated in paragraph 118.2(2)(m) of the Act. Specifically, you have queried whether a snowmobile, if prescribed by a physician, can satisfy the requirements of either paragraphs 5700(i) or (m) of the Regulations in the following situation:
1. XXXXXXXXXX
such that his ability to walk is limited. The child is able to walk with difficulty on a smooth surface such as a floor or pavement. He is unable to cope on rough or uneven surfaces.
2.The patient's home is located up a steep incline approximately 200 yards from the highway. As a result, it is not possible for snow removal equipment to plough snow from the driveway. The taxpayer states that the patient's home is not accessible by a wheeled vehicle when there is snow on the ground.
3.The patient must meet the school bus each morning and evening at the foot of the driveway. The patient, until recently, has been transported to and from the bus stop by a parent pulling him on a toboggan; however, the patient's weight is increasing as he matures and the parents can no longer manage the steep incline.
4.The patient's parents have purchased or will purchase a snow machine to assist the child to travel to or from the bus stop each day.
The Memo for file from you, attached to the taxpayer's statement of facts, states that the snow machine referred to by the taxpayer is a snowmobile.
Regulation 5700(i) refers to a "device that is designed to assist an individual in walking where the individual has a mobility impairment". Formerly, this reference read as follows: "device not described in subparagraph 110(1)(c)(ix) of the Act that is designed to assist a crippled individual in walking". As you are aware, subparagraph 110(1)(c)(ix) of the Act (now paragraph 118.2(2)(i)) referred to items such as a wheel chair, crutches, braces for a limb and so forth.
It is our view that a snowmobile is not designed for the purpose of assisting an individual in walking. The purposes of Regulation 5700(i) is to allow, as a medical expense, an amount expended for a walker or other device not already covered under the Income Tax Act which assists a mobility impaired individual to walk.
Regulation 5700(m) states that for the purposes of paragraph 118.2(2)(m) of the Act, a device or equipment is prescribed if it is a "power-operated lift or transportation equipment designed exclusively for use by, or for, a disabled individual to allow the individual access to different areas of a building or to assist the individual to gain access to a vehicle or to place the individual's wheelchair in or on a vehicle". We believe that a snowmobile fails to meet the requirement that it be "designed exclusively for use by, or for, a disabled individual".
We have reviewed the provisions for medical expenses generally and could not find any provision which could accommodate a snow machine such as a snowmobile as a medical expense for the purposes of the Income Tax Act.
P.D. Fuoco
Section Chief
Personal and General Section
Business and General Division
Rulings Directorate
Legislative and Intergovernmental
Affairs Branch
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