Can I claim ADHD assessment fees on the Medical Expense Tax Credit?

An ADHD assessment is a diagnostic service, which the CRA treats as a medical service

The fee for an ADHD assessment falls under the medical expense tax credit (METC) because the CRA's own definition of medical services includes diagnosis. Income Tax Folio S1-F1-C1, the CRA's technical interpretation of the credit, states at paragraph 1.26 that medical services are diagnostic, therapeutic or rehabilitative services performed by a medical practitioner acting within the scope of their professional training. An assessment that applies DSM-5-TR criteria, takes a clinical history and uses rating scales to decide whether you meet the criteria for ADHD is a diagnostic service in that sense.

The outcome does not matter. An assessment that concludes you do not have ADHD is still a diagnostic service you paid a practitioner to perform, and the fee is claimable in the same way. What matters is who performed it and where, which the next section covers. The related question of whether the fee is a deduction rather than a credit is answered at Is an ADHD assessment tax deductible as a medical expense in Canada?; the short version is that the METC reduces tax owing by a percentage of the eligible amount rather than reducing your income.

The practitioner must be authorized in the province where the service was delivered, including by video

A fee qualifies only when it was paid to a medical practitioner authorized under the laws of the jurisdiction where the service was rendered. The folio sets this out at paragraph 1.21, and paragraph 1.30.1 confirms that fees for virtual medical services qualify on the same condition. The CRA publishes a table of authorized practitioner types by province; the entries relevant to an ADHD assessment are below.

Because the test is jurisdictional, a video assessment counts when you were physically in a province where the clinician is authorized to practise. Finding Focus confirms your location at booking for that reason. A receipt from a practitioner who holds none of the listed designations, or who is authorized only in another country, does not qualify.

You claim the unreimbursed amount above a threshold on line 33099 or 33199

The credit is calculated on your total eligible medical expenses minus a threshold, so a single assessment fee may or may not produce a credit on its own. For the 2025 tax year the threshold is the lesser of 3% of your net income (line 23600) or $2,834. Someone with net income of $40,000 has a threshold of $1,200; a $399 assessment alone would not clear it, but combined with prescriptions, therapy sessions, dental work and glasses in the same 12 months it often does.

• Line 33099 is for expenses for you, your spouse or common-law partner, and your children under 18.
• Line 33199 is for expenses you paid for other dependants, such as an adult child or a parent, each with their own threshold based on that dependant's income.
• Any 12-month period ending in the tax year can be used, so you can choose the window that captures the assessment and the most other expenses.
• Only unreimbursed amounts count. If an extended health plan paid part of the fee, claim the remainder; if the reimbursement was a taxable benefit on your T4, the full fee can be claimed.
• Provincial credits are calculated separately on the provincial return with their own thresholds, using the same receipts.

The receipt is your proof, and it needs to show four things

The CRA does not require receipts to be filed with an electronic return, but the folio is explicit that medical expenses must be proven by supporting receipts, and a review can come years later. A receipt for an ADHD assessment should show the patient's name, the date of service, a description that makes clear it was a clinical assessment, and the practitioner's name, designation and registration number. The CRA's eligible expenses page adds that receipts must show the name of the company or individual to whom the expense was paid.

Finding Focus issues receipts for the $399 adult assessment and the $699 youth assessment, and for follow-up care and documents, with the clinician's designation on them. Keep the receipt together with any explanation of benefits from an insurer so the unreimbursed portion is easy to show. Six years from the end of the tax year is the usual retention period the CRA expects. The wider set of questions about claiming an assessment, including provincial differences, is at Can I claim an ADHD assessment on my taxes in Canada?.

The disability tax credit is a different credit with a different form

Nothing about the METC requires disability tax credit (DTC) approval or Form T2201, and the two are often confused. The CRA's eligible expenses table marks medical services by a medical practitioner as requiring no prescription, no certification and no T2201. The DTC, by contrast, is a separate non-refundable credit for people with a severe and prolonged impairment; for mental functions the CRA assesses how the person is restricted in daily life, not the diagnosis itself, and a medical practitioner certifies Form T2201.

An ADHD diagnosis on its own does not establish DTC eligibility, and you can claim the assessment fee under the METC whether or not you ever apply for the DTC. Where the two connect is documentation: if you later apply, the practitioner who assessed you may be asked to complete the form, and the folio notes at paragraph 1.26 that the cost of completing health and disability forms is ancillary to medical services and may itself be claimed. The DTC route is explained at What is the Disability Tax Credit (DTC) for ADHD and can I claim it?.

Other ADHD costs can sit on the same claim

Once you are tracking a 12-month window for the assessment, several related costs belong in the same file. Prescription drugs recorded by a pharmacist are eligible, so the unreimbursed share of ADHD medication counts. Therapy from a psychologist or social worker who is authorized in your province is eligible. Follow-up visits with the assessing clinician are medical services in the same way as the assessment. Document fees for letters and forms are treated as ancillary. If an employer wellness account rather than a health spending account paid for any of it, the tax treatment changes, which is covered at Can I use an employer wellness account for ADHD assessment fees?.