Lines 33099 and 33199 – Eligible medical expenses you can claim on your tax return

To know for whom you can claim medical expenses, see How to claim eligible medical expenses on your tax return.

You can claim only eligible medical expenses on your tax return if you, or your spouse or common-law partner:

paid for the medical expenses in any 12-month period ending in 2023
did not claim them in 2022

Generally, you can claim all amounts paid, even if they were not paid in Canada.

For all expenses, you can only claim the part of the expense that you or someone else have not been and will not be reimbursed for. However, the expense can be claimed if the reimbursement is included in your or someone else's income (such as a benefit shown on a T4, Statement of Remuneration Paid (slip), and the reimbursement was not deducted anywhere else on the tax return.

List of common medical expenses

This list of common medical expenses shows:

types of medical expenses
if the expense is eligible
if you need any supporting documents (such as Form T2201, Disability Tax Credit Certificate)

This list is not exhaustive. You can use the search feature of this list to quickly find a specific medical expense. For more information on eligible medical expenses, see Income Tax Folio S1–F1–C1 , Medical Expense Tax Credit.

Medical expense	Eligible expense?	Prescription needed?	Certification in writing needed ?	Form T2201 needed?
Acoustic coupler	Eligible	Yes	No	No
Air conditioner	Eligible	Yes	No	No
Air filter, cleaner, or purifier	Eligible	Yes	No	No
Altered auditory feedback devices	Eligible	Yes	No	No
Ambulance service	Eligible	No	No	No
Artificial eye or limb	Eligible	No	No	No
Assisted breathing devices (CPAP, ventilator)	Eligible	Yes	No	No
Athletic or fitness club (gym) fees	Not eligible	N/A	N/A	N/A
Attendant care and care in a facility (group home, nursing home, respite care)	See details	See details	See details	See details
Audible signal devices (bells, horns, visible signals)	Eligible	Yes	No	No
Baby breathing monitor	Eligible	Yes	Yes	No
Bathroom aids (grab bars, grips, rails)	Eligible	Yes	No	No
Birth control devices (non-prescription)	Not eligible	N/A	N/A	N/A
Bliss symbol boards	Eligible	Yes	No	No
Blood coagulation monitors	Eligible	Yes	No	No
Blood pressure monitors	Not eligible	N/A	N/A	N/A
Bone conduction receiver	Eligible	No	No	No
Bone marrow transplant	Eligible	No	No	No
Braces for a limb (stockings, walking cast, boots)	Eligible	No	No	No
Braille note-taker devices	Eligible	Yes	No	No
Braille printers, synthetic speech systems, large print-on-screen devices	Eligible	Yes	No	No
Breast prosthesis	Eligible	Yes	No	No
Cancer treatment	Eligible	No	No	No
Catheters, catheter trays, tubing or other products	Eligible	No	No	No
Certificates	Eligible	No	No	No
Chair (power-operated)	Eligible	Yes	No	No
Cochlear implant	Eligible	No	No	No
Computer peripherals	Eligible	Yes	No	No
Cosmetic surgery	See details	See details	See details	See details
Cosmetic surgery solely for cosmetic procedures (liposuction, hair replacement procedures, filler injections (for removing wrinkles), teeth whitening)	Not eligible	N/A	N/A	N/A
Crutches	Eligible	No	No	No
Deaf-blind intervening services	Eligible	No	No	No
Dental services	Eligible	No	No	No
Dentures and dental implants	Eligible	No	No	No
Devices or software	Eligible	Yes	No	No
Diapers or disposable briefs	Eligible	No	No	No
Diaper services	Not eligible	N/A	N/A	N/A
Driveway access	Eligible	No	No	No
Drugs and medical devices bought under Health Canada’s Special Access Program	Eligible	No	No	No
Egg and sperm freezing and storage	Eligible	No	No	No
Elastic support hose	Eligible	Yes	No	No
Electrolysis	Eligible	No	No	No
Electronic bone healing devices	Eligible	Yes	No	No
Electronic speech synthesizers	Eligible	Yes	No	No
Electrotherapy devices	Eligible	Yes	No	No
Environment control system (computerized or electronic)	Eligible	Yes	No	No
Extremity pump	Eligible	Yes	No	No
Fertility-related procedures (donor of sperm, ova (eggs), or embryos, surrogate mother)	See details	See details	See details	See details
Furnace	Eligible	Yes	No	No
Gluten-free food products	See details	See details	See details	See details
Health plan premiums paid by an employer and not included in your income	Not eligible	N/A	N/A	N/A
Hearing aids (personal assistive listening devices)	Eligible	No	No	No
Heart monitoring devices	Eligible	Yes	No	No
Hospital bed	Eligible	Yes	No	No
Hospital services	Eligible	No	No	No
Ileostomy and colostomy pads	Eligible	No	No	No
Infusion pump	Eligible	Yes	No	No
Injection pens (such as an insulin pen)	Eligible	Yes	No	No
Insulin or substitutes	Eligible	Yes	No	No
In vitro fertility program (ova (eggs), sperm)	Eligible	No	No	No
Kidney machine (dialysis)	Eligible	No	No	No
Laboratory procedures or services (including COVID-19 tests)	Eligible	Yes	No	No
Large print-on-screen devices	Eligible	Yes	No	No
Laryngeal speaking aids	Eligible	No	No	No
Laser eye surgery	Eligible	No	No	No
Lift or transportation equipment (power-operated)	Eligible	Yes	No	No
Liver extract injections	Eligible	Yes	No	No
Medical cannabis (marihuana)	Eligible	No	No	No
Medical services by medical practitioners (doctor, specialist)	Eligible	No	No	No
Medical services outside Canada	Eligible	No	No	No
Mobile applications that help a person manage their blood glucose level (without actually measuring it)	Not eligible	N/A	N/A	N/A
Moving expenses	Eligible	No	No	No
Needles and syringes	Eligible	Yes	No	No
Note-taking services	Eligible	No	Yes	No
Nurse	Eligible	No	No	No
Optical scanners	Eligible	Yes	No	No
Organic food	Not eligible	N/A	N/A	N/A
Organ transplant	Eligible	No	No	No
Orthodontic work	Eligible	No	No	No
Orthopaedic shoes, boots, and inserts	Eligible	Yes	No	No
Osteogenesis stimulator (inductive coupling)	Eligible	Yes	No	No
Over-the-counter medications	Not eligible	N/A	N/A	N/A
Oxygen and oxygen tent	Eligible	Yes	No	No
Oxygen concentrator	Eligible	No	No	No
Pacemakers	Eligible	Yes	No	No
Page-turner devices	Eligible	Yes	No	No
Personalized therapy plan	Eligible	Yes	No	Yes
Personal response systems such as Lifeline an Health Line Services	Not eligible	N/A	N/A	N/A
Phototherapy equipment	Eligible	No	No	No
Premiums paid to private health services plans	Eligible	No	No	No
Pre-natal and post-natal treatments	Eligible	No	No	No
Prescription drugs and medications	Eligible	Yes	No	No
Pressure pulse therapy devices	Eligible	Yes	No	No
Provincial and territorial plans (health care plans, medical services plans)	Not eligible	N/A	N/A	N/A
Radon testing	Not eligible	N/A	N/A	N/A
Reading services	Eligible	No	Yes	No
Real-time captioning	Eligible	No	No	No
Rehabilitative therapy	Eligible	No	No	No
Renovation or construction expenses	Eligible	No	No	No
School for persons with a mental or physical impairment	Eligible	No	Yes	No
Scooter	Eligible	No	No	No
Service animals	Eligible	No	No	No
Sign language interpretation services	Eligible	No	No	No
Spinal brace	Eligible	No	No	No
Standing devices	Eligible	Yes	No	No
Supplements and vitamins	Not eligible	N/A	N/A	N/A
Talking textbooks	Eligible	No	Yes	No
Teletypewriters	Eligible	Yes	No	No
Television closed caption decoders	Eligible	Yes	No	No
Tests	Eligible	Yes	No	No
Therapy	Eligible	Yes	No	Yes
Training	Eligible	No	No	No
Travel expenses (less than 40km)	Not eligible	N/A	N/A	N/A
Travel expenses (at least 40 km)	See details	See details	See details	See details
Travel expenses (at least 80 km)	See details	See details	See details	See details
Travel expenses (outside of Canada)	See details	See details	See details	See details
Treatment centre	Eligible	No	Yes	No
Truss for hernia	Eligible	No	No	No
Tutoring services	Eligible	No	Yes	No
Vaccines	Eligible	Yes	No	No
Van	Eligible	No	No	No
Vehicle device	Eligible	Yes	No	No
Vision devices (eyeglasses, contact lenses, prescription swimming goggles)	Eligible	Yes	No	No
Visual or vibratory signalling device	Eligible	Yes	No	No
Vitamin B12	Eligible	Yes	No	No
Voice recognition software	Eligible	No	Yes	No
Volume control feature (additional)	Eligible	Yes	No	No
Walking aids (canes, walkers)	Eligible	Yes	No	No
Water filter, cleaner, or purifier	Eligible	Yes	No	No
Wheelchairs and wheelchair carriers	Eligible	No	No	No
Whirlpool bath treatments (hot tub)	Eligible	No	No	No
Wigs	Eligible	Yes	No	No

How to claim eligible medical expenses on your tax return

You can claim eligible medical expenses on line 33099 or line 33199 of your tax return (Step 5 – Federal tax).

Line 33099 – Medical expenses for self, spouse or common-law partner, and your dependant children under 18

Use line 33099 to claim the total eligible medical expenses that you or your spouse or common-law partner paid for any of the following persons:

yourself
your spouse or common-law partner
your or your spouse or common-law partner's children who were under 18 years of age at the end of the tax year

Line 33199 – Allowable amount of medical expenses for other dependants

Use line 33199 to claim the part of eligible medical expenses that you or your spouse or common-law partner paid for any of the following persons who depended on you for support:

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

Amounts you can claim

Follow these steps to find out how to calculate the amount to enter on lines 33099 and 33199 of your tax return.

Line 33099

Step 1

On line 33099 of your tax return (Step 5 – Federal Tax), enter the total amount that you or your spouse or common-law partner paid in 2023 for eligible medical expenses.

Step 2

On the line below line 33099, enter the lesser of the following amounts:

Step 3

Subtract the amount of step 2 from the amount on line 33099, and enter the result on the following line of your tax return (Step 5 – Federal tax ) .

Step 4

Claim the corresponding provincial or territorial tax credits for individuals on line 58689 of your provincial or territorial Form 428 . If you live in Quebec, visit Revenu Québec.

Tax tip

Compare the amount you can claim with the amount your spouse or common-law partner would be able to claim. It may be better for the spouse or common-law partner with the lower net income (line 23600) to claim the eligible medical expenses.

Line 33199

You have to do the following calculation for each dependant.

Step 1

Add up the total amount that you, or your spouse or common-law partner paid in 2023 for eligible medical expenses.

Step 2

Find out which amount is less between:

3% of your dependant's net income (line 23600)
or
$2,635

Step 3

Subtract the lesser amount from Step 2 from the amount from Step 1. Enter the result on line 33199 of your tax return ( Step 5 – Federal Tax) .

Step 4

Claim the corresponding provincial or territorial tax credits for individuals on line 58729 of your provincial or territorial Form 428. If you live in Quebec, visit Revenu Québec.

Tax tip

Richard and Pauline have two children, Jen and Rob. They have reviewed their medical expenses and decided that the 12-month period ending in 2023 they will use to calculate their claim is July 1, 2022, to June 30, 2023. They had the following expenses:

Richard – $1,500
Pauline – $1,000
Jen (their 16-year-old daughter) – $1,800
Rob (their 19-year-old son) – $1,000

Total medical expenses = $5,300

Since Jen is under 18, Richard and Pauline can combine her medical expenses with theirs, for a total of $4,300. Either Richard or Pauline can claim this amount on line 33099 of their tax return (Step 5 – Federal tax). Since Rob is over 18, his medical expenses should be claimed on line 33199.

Pauline’s net income (on line 23600 of her return) is $32,000. She calculates 3% of that amount, which is $960. Because the result is less than $2,635, she subtracts $960 from $4,300. The difference is $3,340, which is the amount she could claim on her tax return.

Richard’s net income is $48,000. He calculates 3% of that amount, which is $1,440. Because the result is less than $2,635, he subtracts $1,440 from $4,300. The difference is $2,860, which is the amount he could claim on his tax return.

In this case, it is better for Pauline to claim all the expenses for Richard, herself, and their daughter Jen on line 33099.

To decide who should claim the medical expenses for Rob on line 33199, Richard and Pauline will have to make the same calculation using Rob’s net income.

Documents you need to support your medical expenses claim

Do not send any documents with your tax return. Keep them in case the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) asks to see them later.

Receipts – Receipts must show the name of the company or individual to whom the expense was paid.
Prescription – The List of common medical expenses indicates if you need a prescription to support your claim. A medical practitioner can provide the prescription.
Certification in writing – The List of common medical expenses indicates if you need a certification in writing to support your claim. A medical practitioner can provide the certification.
Form T2201, Disability Tax Credit Certificate – The List of common medical expenses indicates if you need to have this form approved by the CRA for your claim. For more information about this approval process, see Disability Tax Credit.
If the person for whom you are claiming the medical expense is already approved for the disability tax credit for 2023, you do not need to send a new Form T2201.

Claiming medical expenses for a person who died

A claim can be made for expenses paid in any 24-month period that includes the date of death. It only applies if the expenses were not claimed for any other year.

Credits and deductions related to medical expenses

Disability supports deduction (line 21500)

If you have an impairment in physical or mental functions, you may be able to claim some medical expenses as a disability supports deduction. You can claim these expenses on line 21500 or line 33099. You can also split the claim between these two lines, as long as the total of the amounts claimed is not more than the total expenses paid. You may claim whichever is better for you. For more information, go to Line 21500 – Disability supports deduction.

Refundable medical expense supplement (line 45200)

The refundable medical expense supplement is a refundable tax credit available to working individuals with low incomes and high medical expenses. For more information, go to Line 45200 – Refundable medical expense supplement.

Doing taxes for someone who died

Forms and publications

Get a T1 Income tax package
Guide RC4065, Medical Expenses
Income Tax Folio S1-F1-C1, Medical Expense Tax Credit
Form T2201, Disability Tax Credit Certificate
Guide RC4064, Disability-Related Information