Is it worth claiming medical expenses on taxes in Canada?

The credit only starts above a threshold, so a quick calculation decides whether claiming is worth it

The medical expense tax credit, claimed on line 33099 of the federal return, is non-refundable and applies only to the part of your eligible expenses above a threshold. For the 2025 tax year that threshold is the lesser of 3% of your net income or $2,834. The dollar cap is indexed each year, so check the current figure on the Canada Revenue Agency's page for lines 33099 and 33199 before you file. The federal credit is 15% of the amount above the threshold. Most provinces and territories add a credit of their own with the same structure but their own rate and cap, and Quebec runs a separate calculation, so the real value is somewhat higher than the federal number alone.

Two illustrative examples show why the answer depends on your income as much as on your bills. Someone with net income of $50,000 has a threshold of $1,500. If they paid $399 for an ADHD assessment, $1,600 for sessions with a registered psychologist and $500 for prescriptions, their $2,499 in expenses sits $999 above the line, worth about $150 federally plus the provincial amount. Someone with the same bills and net income of $120,000 hits the $2,834 cap instead, so their claim falls below the line and is worth nothing for that year.

• Below the threshold. Claiming changes nothing, but keep the receipts, because a better-chosen 12-month window next year may capture them.
• Just above the threshold. The credit is small, often tens of dollars, but tax software does the arithmetic for you, so there is little reason not to enter the amounts.
• Well above the threshold. A household with an assessment, ongoing therapy, medication and a share of benefit premiums can be several hundred dollars better off, and the claim is clearly worth the ten minutes it takes.

Pooling the household and choosing the 12-month period can turn a worthless claim into a useful one

Three rules move the line in your favour. First, you can claim expenses for yourself, your spouse or common-law partner and your children under 18 on one return, and either partner can be the one who claims. Because the threshold is calculated on the claimant's net income, it is usually better for the lower-income partner to claim, as long as that person has enough tax payable to use a non-refundable credit. Second, you choose any 12-month period that ends in the tax year, not necessarily January to December, provided the expenses were not claimed before. Third, expenses for other dependants you support, such as a parent or an adult child, go on line 33199 with a separate threshold based on that dependant's income.

ADHD-related costs that count, and the ones the CRA will not accept

The CRA accepts fees paid to a medical practitioner who is authorized to practise in the province where the service was provided, and its province-by-province list includes physicians, nurse practitioners and psychologists in every province, with social workers listed in most. The specifics for assessment fees are on whether you can claim ADHD assessment fees on the medical expense tax credit, and for sessions with a psychologist or social worker on whether ADHD therapy sessions can be claimed on taxes.

• Counts. An ADHD assessment by a physician, nurse practitioner or psychologist, including one delivered by video; therapy with a listed practitioner; prescription medication recorded by a pharmacist; the employee-paid share of premiums for a private health plan; and travel costs when equivalent care was not available within 40 kilometres of home.
• Does not count. ADHD coaching, unless the coach is also a listed practitioner billing as one; over-the-counter supplements, apps, planners and noise-cancelling headphones; gym or wellness memberships; and anything an insurer or a health spending account already paid for. Only the portion you actually paid is eligible, as explained on using a health spending account for an ADHD assessment.

A receipt needs to show the practitioner's name and designation, the date, the service and the amount paid. Online clinics issue these the same way an office does, and the receipt you sent to an insurer can be reused for the unreimbursed part, alongside the insurer's statement showing what it covered.

The refundable supplement and the Disability Tax Credit are separate, and may be worth more than the credit itself

Two other measures are often confused with the medical expense tax credit. The refundable medical expense supplement, on line 45200, is for people with modest employment or self-employment income who are also claiming medical expenses. Because it is refundable, it can be paid even when no tax is owing, which is exactly the situation where a non-refundable credit does nothing. Its income limits and maximum are published by the CRA each year, and tax software checks eligibility automatically once medical expenses are entered.

The Disability Tax Credit is a different thing again. It is not based on what you spent but on whether a medical practitioner certifies, on Form T2201, a severe and prolonged impairment in mental functions, and its value is far larger than a typical medical expense claim. An ADHD diagnosis does not automatically qualify anyone, and the certification standard is explained on what the Disability Tax Credit is for ADHD. You can claim medical expenses with or without the DTC, and the two do not reduce each other.

Claiming takes minutes, and a missed year can be fixed

If you file electronically you do not send receipts with the return, but the CRA can ask for them later, so keep them for six years after the end of the tax year you claim them in. Enter each expense with the date, the practitioner and the amount; the software applies the threshold and calculates the federal and provincial credits. If you find receipts from an earlier year that you never claimed, you can request an adjustment to that year's return through your CRA online account or by submitting Form T1-ADJ, generally for any of the ten previous calendar years.