Can I claim an ADHD assessment on my taxes in Canada?

The Medical Expense Tax Credit is the main way to claim an ADHD assessment

Canada's Medical Expense Tax Credit (METC) is a non-refundable credit that reduces the tax you owe when your family's eligible medical expenses pass a threshold: the lesser of 3% of your net income and a dollar amount the CRA updates each year. Most provinces layer a similar provincial credit on top.

You claim the credit on your income tax return using line 33099 for expenses paid for yourself, your spouse or common-law partner, and children under 18, and line 33199 for other dependants. Helpfully, you can choose any 12-month period ending in the tax year, so an assessment paid late in one calendar year can be grouped with expenses from early the next to clear the threshold.

Because the credit is non-refundable, it reduces tax owing rather than generating a refund on its own, and because of the threshold it rewards grouping. A single $399 assessment may or may not clear your threshold by itself; combined with dental work, glasses, therapy, and prescriptions from the same 12 months, it often does.

What qualifies: the practitioner, not the condition, decides

The CRA does not keep a list of claimable diagnoses. What matters is that the amount was paid to a medical practitioner authorized to practise in the province where the service was provided. Physicians, psychologists, and nurse practitioners are authorized in most provinces, which is why ADHD assessment fees are generally claimable whichever of those professionals conducts the assessment.

• ADHD assessment and diagnosis fees paid to an authorized practitioner
• Psychotherapy or counselling delivered by a provider your province authorizes
• Prescription medications prescribed by an authorized prescriber and dispensed by a pharmacist
• Certain travel costs, in limited situations where equivalent care is not available near home

How to claim it, step by step

1. Collect itemized receipts showing the date, the amount, the service, and the practitioner's name and professional designation.
2. Choose the 12-month period ending in the tax year that captures the most eligible expenses.
3. Total the eligible expenses for your household, including your spouse or common-law partner and children under 18.
4. Consider claiming on the lower-net-income spouse's return, since the 3%-of-net-income threshold is smaller there and the claim often goes further.
5. Enter the totals on lines 33099 and 33199, and keep your receipts for six years in case the CRA asks for them.

Only the portion you actually paid is claimable. If workplace benefits or a Health Spending Account reimbursed part of the fee, you can claim only the unreimbursed remainder. If you discover you missed claiming a past expense, the CRA allows adjustments to prior-year returns, which a tax professional can handle for you.

Do not confuse the METC with the Disability Tax Credit

The METC reimburses a slice of what you spent on eligible care. The Disability Tax Credit (DTC) is a separate program that reduces tax for people living with a severe and prolonged impairment; it requires a certified application form and CRA approval, and having an ADHD diagnosis does not automatically qualify a person. Some adults with significant, long-lasting impairment do qualify, and the two credits can coexist on the same return. For how the DTC applies to ADHD specifically, see what is the disability tax credit for ADHD.

Paperwork from an online assessment works the same way

A fee paid to an online clinic is treated no differently from one paid to a bricks-and-mortar office: what matters is the practitioner's authorization and your receipt. Finding Focus provides itemized receipts naming the assessing clinician and their designation; see can I get a receipt for insurance for an online ADHD assessment. Adult assessments start at $399, one-time, including the video assessment and a personalized treatment plan, for adults in eligible Canadian provinces; the current list is on the areas served page. For a shorter companion piece, see is an ADHD assessment tax deductible in Canada.

This article is general education, not tax or medical advice. Confirm your tax situation with a qualified tax professional, and speak with a licensed clinician for advice about your own health.