Claiming Medical Expenses on Your Tax Return: Eligible Costs and the Threshold

What this is and who administers it

The medical expense tax credit is a non-refundable tax credit administered by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). It reduces the tax you paid or may have to pay. If you or your spouse or common-law partner paid for healthcare expenses, you may be able to claim them as eligible medical expenses on line 33099 or line 33199 of your tax return, under Step 5 – Federal tax.

Which expenses can be claimed

The CRA publishes a list of common medical expenses showing whether each item is eligible, whether a prescription is needed, whether written certification is needed, and whether Form T2201 (Disability Tax Credit Certificate) is required. The list is not exhaustive.

According to the official list, the following are eligible and do not require a prescription:

• Ambulance service
• Artificial eye or limb
• Dental services
• Dentures and dental implants
• Hospital services
• Hearing aids
• Laser eye surgery
• Vision devices (eyeglasses, contact lenses, prescription swimming goggles)
• Wheelchairs and wheelchair carriers
• Walking aids (canes, walkers)
• Orthopaedic shoes, boots, and inserts
• Breast prosthesis
• Cancer treatment
• Organ transplant
• Laboratory procedures or services (including COVID-19 tests)
• Premiums paid to private health services plans

The following are eligible but require a prescription:

• Prescription drugs and medications
• Insulin or substitutes
• Injection pens
• Oxygen and oxygen tent
• Heart monitoring devices and certain other monitoring equipment
• Wigs
• Vitamin B12
• Vaccines

The following are explicitly listed as not eligible:

• Athletic or fitness club (gym) fees
• Birth control devices (non-prescription)
• Blood pressure monitors
• Over-the-counter medications
• Supplements and vitamins
• Organic food
• Cosmetic surgery solely for cosmetic procedures (liposuction, hair replacement, filler injections for wrinkles, teeth whitening)
• Health plan premiums paid by an employer and not included in your income
• Provincial and territorial plans
• Radon testing
• Travel expenses less than 40 km
• Diaper services

Some items are marked "See details," including attendant care and care in a facility, cosmetic surgery, fertility-related procedures, gluten-free food products, travel expenses of at least 40 km, at least 80 km, and outside Canada.

The period you can claim

You can claim eligible medical expenses paid in any 12-month period ending in 2025 and not claimed by you or anyone else in 2024.

For a person who died in 2025, a claim can be made for expenses paid in any 24-month period that includes the date of death, if the expenses were not claimed for any other year.

How the threshold is calculated

Line 33099: self, spouse or common-law partner, and children under 18

• Step 1: Enter the total eligible medical expenses you or your spouse or common-law partner paid in 2025.
• Step 2: Enter the lesser of 3% of your net income (line 23600) or $2,834.
• Step 3: Subtract the Step 2 amount from the Step 1 amount and enter the result.
• Step 4: Claim the corresponding provincial or territorial tax credits on line 58689 of your provincial or territorial Form 428. If you live in Quebec, visit Revenu Québec.

Line 33199: other dependants

Calculate separately for each dependant:

• Step 1: Add up the total eligible medical expenses you or your spouse or common-law partner paid in 2025.
• Step 2: Find the lesser of 3% of the dependant's net income (line 23600) or $2,834.
• Step 3: Subtract the Step 2 amount from the Step 1 amount and enter the result on line 33199.
• Step 4: Claim the corresponding provincial or territorial tax credits on line 58729 of your provincial or territorial Form 428. If you live in Quebec, visit Revenu Québec.

The official page states that you can compare the amount you can claim with the amount your spouse or common-law partner could claim, and that it may be better for the spouse or common-law partner with the lower net income (line 23600) to claim the eligible medical expenses.

Who can claim

Line 33099 covers eligible medical expenses paid by you or your spouse or common-law partner for:

• Yourself
• Your spouse or common-law partner
• Your or your spouse's or common-law partner's children who were under 18 at the end of the tax year

Line 33199 covers eligible medical expenses paid by you or your spouse or common-law partner for dependants who depended on you for support:

• Your or your spouse's or common-law partner's children who were 18 or older at the end of the tax year, or grandchildren
• Your or your spouse's or common-law partner's parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, nephews, or nieces who were residents of Canada at any time in the year

Reimbursement and documents

The official page states that generally you can claim all amounts paid, even if they were not paid in Canada. For all expenses, you can only claim the part that you or someone else have not been and will not be reimbursed for. If the reimbursement is included in your or someone else's income (such as a benefit shown on a T4 slip) and was not deducted elsewhere on the return, the expense can be claimed.

The CRA notes that certain medical expenses must be certified by a medical practitioner. Medical practitioners include a wide range of health professionals, such as doctors, pharmacists, and nurses.

Related credits

Refundable medical expense supplement: available to working individuals with low incomes and high medical expenses. The official conditions include: you claimed medical expenses on line 33200 or the disability supports deduction on line 21500; you were resident in Canada throughout 2025; you were 18 or older at the end of 2025; and you must also meet income-related criteria.

Disability supports deduction: a person with an impairment in physical or mental functions may be able to claim some medical expenses as a disability supports deduction on line 21500 or line 33099, or split the claim between the two lines, as long as the total is not more than the expenses paid.

Official sources

• https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/individuals/topics/about-your-tax-return/tax-return/completing-a-tax-return/deductions-credits-expenses/lines-33099-33199-eligible-medical-expenses-you-claim-on-your-tax-return.html
• https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/forms-publications/publications/rc4065/medical-expenses.html