Tax Time Questions/Venting - Canadians, any helpful suggestions?
Hi fellow Canucks! April 30th is looming ahead and I am new to putting my mom's taxes together. Nobody likes doing taxes, but I thought maybe we could have a thread to ask questions or just complain about them, lol.
I am terrible at this kind of stuff. I have paid a friend do my own taxes for years now. (Nobody should ever have given me POA, lol!) So with mom, I am putting everything together to take to H&R Block. But I'm not sure what all I need to put together, as I've certainly never organized taxes for anyone on a pension before!
Can anyone help me figure out what kind of things mom can claim as medical/disability expenses? Like, she bought a walker that was quite pricey, for example. Can she claim that? How about some of the safety gear we had installed, like grab bars and such? The fee we paid for the handicapped parking placard? Can the fees for home support services be claimed? What about her medications? How about other things that come from the pharmacy, as ordered by the hospital renal unit, like her Ensure and protein powder? Can she claim other things like incontinence supplies? Also, if she's previously claimed the disability tax credit, do I have to keep producing the paperwork on this?
Anyway, if you have any helpful suggestions, or questions others might be able to answer, or if you just want to complain about doing taxes, jump on in!
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I would call your doctor's office and ask to speak to the Office Manager. Ask them what the procedure is to get Rx for tax purposes. Be very clear that the Dialysis nurses gave you the list of things you needed for Mum.
When CRA sees a unexpected change in the medical expenses, they often will request original documentation.
There are quite a number of things on the list cwillie linked to that either mom's dialysis nurses or the occupational therapist told me I HAD to get her. Like, they were snippy and they pretty much ordered me. But I didn't get a doctor's prescription. I had no idea you could even get a 'scrip for some of these things. Some of these items on the list say "prescription required."
Anyone have any thoughts on whether to try to claim them anyway? Or if doctors ever give out retroactive prescriptions for things like that? (Say the walker, for example.)
Let me know if I can help.
M
canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/individuals/topics/about-your-tax-return/tax-return/completing-a-tax-return/deductions-credits-expenses/lines-330-331-eligible-medical-expenses-you-claim-on-your-tax-return/details-medical-expenses.html
(edit)You're in BC, right? There is a provincial Home Renovation Tax Credit for Seniors and Persons with Disabilities
gov.bc.ca/gov/content/taxes/income-taxes/personal/credits/seniors-renovation