|
Newsletters
>
Attendant care and the DTC
April 13, 2025
When I am reading the CRA guide it says that the
attendant care you can claim only when you can claim
disability tax credit, Is it true?
This is
one question where I always get out my Income Tax Act
because no matter how many ways you try to explain it
and the RC4064, the new one does an admirable job, this
is so confusing.
The short answer is that it
depends on which of the 5 attendant care categories you
fall into. and some of the attendant care categories
aren't about attendant care, so take care.
As you read S. 118.2(2), and I haven’t given
you all of it here, watch for what it says about S.
118.3(1)(c) as that’s how you tell.
If you don’t
have a current ITA, you will find this link on the
Justice website available from my Useful Links webpage
at the top of the webpage just under some articles and
highlighted in pink.
S. 118.3(1)(c) reads: no
amount in respect of remuneration for an attendant or
care in a nursing home in respect of the individual is
included in calculation a deduction under S. 118.2
(otherwise than because of S. 118.2(b.1) for the year by
the individual or by any other person.
What’s
interesting is which of the following 5 types of care
are considered attendant or care in a nursing home. If I
were a senior I would be seriously considering the
option of setting up under the group home option as you
can claim the cost of care and supervision as well as
the DTC. Here's why.
Under (b) you have to
have the DTC, but you can’t claim the DTC because you
claim the cost of the attendant in full
Under (b.1) you have to have the DTC and you
can claim it but are limited to $10,000 or $20,000 in
year of death and you can’t claim under S. 63 or 64
(child care or disability supports if they worked) S.
118.2(b, b.2, c, d,or e) which means that if you have a
transition in the year from this category to any other
category you have to pick one or the other but not both
for that year.
This means a move from
retirement home to nursing home for example, you would
have to decide whether it’s more advantageous to pick
the nursing home or to pick the DTC and $10,000 assuming
they were still alive at the end of the
year.
Under (b.2) group home care it’s for
the patients care and supervision, so is that considered
attendant care? They don’t use those exact words. And in
fact it says that if you are there because you qualify
for the DTC, so it looks like you can claim the DTC if
in a group home (I’ve never been sure but have been
advised that people do claim it because care and
supervision isn't attendant care or nursing
care)
Under (c) the patient must be certified
in writing to be a person who, by reason of mental or
physical infirmity is likely to be dependent on others
for personal needs and care and as a result, requires a
full time attendant, so that’s pretty clearly out of
bounds for a DTC claim because it mentions attendant
care
Under (d) nursing home care by reason
of normal mental capacity, again, out of bounds for a
DTC claim because it mentions nursing
care
Under (e) school, institution, etc., for
care or care and training, again it’s not attendant
care, and in this section I know that it is possible to
make a claim for both (e) and the DTC having done it a
few times for kids enrolled in schools specifically for
autism and dyslexia. That's because care or care and
training isn't the same as attendant care or nursing
care.
Confused? You and me both. Every time
I go through this with a real situation, it's even more
difficult. I've asked the Finance department to consider
what exactly attendant care means and how the definition
of attendant care can vary depending on where the
attendant care is being performed.
For
example, did you know that an attendant in a care
facility can perform duties that relate to house keeping
but an attendant you hire in your home had better be the
same person who does your house keeping or your claim
for the house keeping part of the care will be denied?
You might be wondering where this would apply. If you
are completely wheel chair dependent and hire caregivers
in your home, getting the tub cleaned after your bath
may or may not be considered attendant care depending on
who you pay for the services. Now that is just outright
infuriating.
For a list of what's included in
attendant care check out RC4064 as the latest version
has a great listing of the types of jobs that are
included and those that aren't.
What's also
infuriating is the number of retirement and nursing
homes who aren't up to speed with their receipt
processes. They need a wake up call as CRA isnt' going
to accept a receipt for the total you paid. The total
must be broken out into the attendant care or nursing
care and the non attendant care/non nursing care
component.
Rent, food, management and common
area costs are not eligible costs.
Disclaimer:
Eileen Reppenhagen CGA does
not research or endorse any
product or service appearing in ads
posted on this site.
Please
do NOT rely on or use the
information on this website as a
basis for a course of action without
obtaining appropriate professional
advice
.
Disclaimer: All
Apple®, Windows Mobile®, and
Android® trademarks remain
the property of their
respective holders, and are
used only to describe the
products being provided by
The App Code. Any usage of
the above-mentioned marks
anywhere on The App Code
website in no way indicates
any relationship,
endorsement, or affiliation
with the holders of said
trademarks.
All Intuit®, QuickBooks®
Software,Quicken® Software and Profile®
Software trademarks remain the property
of their respective holders, and are
used only to describe the products
discussed on this website.. Any usage of
the above-mentioned marks anywhere in
this website in no way indicates any
relationship, endorsement, or
affiliation with the holders of said
trademarks other than specifically
stated, for example, Certified
QuickBooks ProAdvisor.
|
|
|
