Attendant care or care in a facility

On this page

• What is attendant care and care in a facility?
• Who can claim these expenses?
• What can you claim as medical expenses?
• Are you claiming the disability amount?
• What documents do you need to support your attendant care expenses?

What is attendant care and care in a facility?

Attendant care is care given by an attendant who does personal tasks which a person cannot do for himself or herself. This includes care in certain types of facilities.

You can claim amounts paid to an attendant only if the attendant:

• was not your spouse or common-law partner
• was 18 years of age or older when the amounts were paid

An attendant who is hired privately will probably be considered an employee. For more information, see Guide RC4110, Employee or Self-employed?

Who can claim these expenses?

You can claim attendant care expenses paid for the care of the following persons:

• yourself
• your spouse or common-law partner
• your dependant

A dependant is someone who depended on you for support and is:

• your, or your spouse's or common-law partner's child or grandchild
• your, or your spouse's or common-law partner's parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, nephews, or nieces who lived in Canada at any time in the year

What can you claim as medical expenses?

Full-time care or specialized care

Generally, you can claim the entire amount in the following facilities:

• nursing homes (full-time care)
• schools, institutions, or other places (providing care or care and training)

All regular fees are eligible as medical expenses, including those for the following:

• food
• accommodation
• nursing care
• administration fees
• maintenance fees
• social programming and activities fees

However, extra personal expenses (such as hairdresser fees) are not eligible.

Salaries and wages

You can claim the fees for salaries and wages paid for part-time attendant care.

Also, you can claim the fees for salaries and wages paid for attendant care services or care or supervision for the following facilities:

• self-contained domestic establishments (such as your private home)
• retirement homes, homes for seniors, or other institutions
• group homes in Canada
• nursing homes. Special rules apply to this type of facility, see the chart

Expenses you can claim

You can claim as eligible medical expenses the salaries and wages paid to all employees performing the following duties or services:

• food preparation
• housekeeping services for a resident's personal living space
• laundry services for a resident's personal items
• health care (registered nurse, practical nurse, certified health care aide, personal support worker)
• activities (social programmer)
• salon services (hairdresser, manicurist, pedicurist) if included in the monthly fee
• transportation (driver)
• security for a secured unit

If you are receiving attendant care services in your home, you can only claim for the period when you are at home and need care or help. For the expense to be eligible as a medical expense, you must either:

• be eligible for the disability tax credit
• have a written certification from a medical practitioner that states the services are necessary

Expenses you cannot claim

When claiming the fees for salaries and wages, you cannot claim the cost of:

• rent (except the part of rent for services that help a person with daily tasks, such as laundry and housekeeping)
• food
• cleaning supplies
• other operating costs (such as maintenance of common areas and outside grounds)

• salaries and wages paid to employees such as administrators, receptionists, groundskeepers, janitors (for common areas), and maintenance staff

Are you claiming the disability amount?

There are special rules when claiming the disability amount and attendant care as medical expenses. For information on claiming attendant care and the disability amount, see the chart.

Calculate your net federal tax using Schedule 1, Federal Tax, to find out what is more beneficial for you. You can also see the examples.

If someone claims the fees paid to a nursing home for full-time care as a medical expense on line 330 or 331 of Schedule 1, no one else can claim the disability amount for the same person.

To claim the disability amount, we must approve an application for the disability tax credit.

What documents do you need to support your attendant care expenses?

Receipts

Receipts must show the name of the company or individual to whom the expense was paid. If an individual issues a receipt for attendant care services, the receipt must include his or her social insurance number.

Certification

You may need to provide a certification to claim amounts paid for attendant care as medical expenses. To determine which type of document you need, see the chart.

Detailed breakdown

To claim attendant care expenses paid to a facility (other than full-time care in a nursing home) such as a retirement home, you have to send us a detailed breakdown from the facility.

The breakdown must clearly show the amounts paid for staff salaries that apply to the attendant care services listed under Salaries and wages you can claim.

The breakdown should also take into account any subsidies that reduce the attendant care expenses (unless the subsidy is included in income and is not deductible from income).

Examples of the detailed information we need

Forms and publications

• Guide RC4065, Medical Expenses
• Income Tax Folio S1-F1-C1, Medical Expense Tax Credit

Related links

• Persons with disabilities
• Lines 330 and 331 – Eligible medical expenses you can claim on your tax return

Date modified:

2017-01-03