Medical Expense Tax Credit: What Qualifies and How to Maximize It
- You claim the amount above the threshold, not the whole bill. On line 33099 the threshold is the lesser of 3 percent of your net income (line 23600) and the indexed ceiling.
- CRA's guide RC4065 for 2025 uses $2,834. The Income Tax Folio says that fixed amount is indexed under subsection 117.1(1). Confirm the 2026 dollar on CRA's indexation chart before you file. Do not invent it from a blog, including this one.
- The credit rate is the lowest federal rate. For 2026 that is 14 percent. A $2,500 claimable amount is a $350 federal credit, not $2,500 off your income.
- Expenses for you, your spouse, and your children under 18 go on line 33099 and can be pooled. Other dependants 18 or older go on line 33199, with a threshold based on that dependant's income.
- You may pick any 12-month period ending in the tax year, if you did not claim those expenses before. The lower-income spouse usually gets the larger credit, because 3 percent of a smaller income is a smaller hurdle.
How is the claim calculated?
Add the eligible expenses paid in the period. Subtract the lesser of 3 percent of net income and the dollar ceiling. Multiply the remainder by the lowest federal rate. For 2026 that rate is 14 percent. The credit is non-refundable. If you owe no tax, the federal credit does not create a refund by itself. There is a separate refundable medical expense supplement for lower-income working people who meet CRA's conditions. Read the current guide before you assume you qualify for the supplement. The other credits that get missed are in missed tax credits.
| Piece | What CRA states |
|---|---|
| Who, on line 33099 | You, your spouse or common-law partner, and your dependent children under 18 |
| Who, on line 33199 | Other dependants 18 or older. The threshold uses the dependant's net income. |
| Threshold | Lesser of 3 percent of net income and the indexed ceiling. The 2025 guide prints $2,834. |
| Period | Any 12 months ending in the tax year, not claimed already. For a death in the year, a 24-month period that includes the date of death. |
| Federal rate for 2026 | 14 percent, the lowest personal rate |
Table as of September 2026. Sources: CRA lines 33099 and 33199, guide RC4065 for 2025, and Income Tax Folio S1-F1-C1. Provinces have their own credit and their own ceiling. This page does not quote a provincial ceiling it has not read on that province's form.
Three percent of $50,000 is $1,500. That is less than the $2,834 ceiling CRA printed for 2025, and it is less than that ceiling indexed by the 2.0 percent factor for 2026, so the threshold is $1,500 either way. Claimable amount = $4,000 − $1,500 = $2,500. Federal credit = $2,500 × 14 percent = $350. If the same $4,000 is claimed by a spouse with $120,000 of net income, 3 percent is $3,600, which is above the ceiling, so the threshold becomes the ceiling and the claimable amount shrinks. The $4,000 and the incomes are an illustration. They are not a list of what qualifies.
Which expenses usually qualify?
CRA's list is specific, and it is longer than people think and shorter than a pharmacy flyer. The common items that qualify, when they were paid and not reimbursed, include payments to medical practitioners, dentists, and nurses where the provincial rules recognize them; prescription drugs; eyeglasses and contact lenses prescribed by a medical practitioner; and certain travel for medical care when substantially equivalent care is not available near where you live, on the conditions CRA sets. Premiums paid to a private health-insurance plan can qualify. Amounts a plan reimbursed do not. You claim the unreimbursed part.
Cosmetic procedures generally do not qualify unless they are required for medical or reconstructive purposes. Over-the-counter vitamins, gym memberships, and most non-prescription items do not qualify just because they feel medical. Attendant care and renovations for mobility have detailed conditions and, in some cases, dollar discussion in the folio. The checklist habit, including keeping the receipts, is the tax deduction checklist and the record-keeping guide. A credit you cannot prove is not a credit.
The period does not have to be the calendar year. If a surgery and the related bills fall across December and January, a 12-month period that ends in the tax year and covers both clusters beats two calendar years that each fail the 3 percent test. You cannot claim the same expense twice. Write the start and end dates on the folder.
Who should claim the family's expenses?
CRA says to compare the credit on each spouse's return. The spouse with the lower net income usually wins, because the 3 percent hurdle is smaller, as long as that spouse has enough tax for a non-refundable credit to bite. Splitting the same pool across two returns applies the threshold twice and usually wastes receipts. Line 33199 is different: the threshold follows the dependant's income, not yours, and either supporting person may be able to claim. Do not mix the two lines.
A disability supports deduction and the medical credit can overlap on some expenses. CRA says you can claim an expense on one line or split it, and the total claimed cannot exceed what you paid. Run both if the supports deduction, which reduces income, is worth more than the 14 percent credit. That comparison is arithmetic, not a slogan. The disability credit itself is a different claim and is covered from the benefits side in the disability tax credit guide.
Frequently asked questions
Do I claim every dollar I paid the dentist?
No. You claim eligible expenses minus the threshold. The threshold is the lesser of 3 percent of net income and the indexed ceiling. On a $50,000 income, 3 percent is $1,500, so the first $1,500 of an otherwise eligible pile produces no federal credit. The credit on what remains is 14 percent federally for 2026.
What is the 2026 dollar ceiling?
CRA's 2025 guide RC4065 and the 2025 line 33099 instructions print $2,834. The folio says the fixed amount is indexed annually. CRA's indexing factor for January 1, 2026 is 2.0 percent. This page does not print a 2026 ceiling it has not seen on CRA's indexation chart. If 3 percent of your net income is below both $2,834 and any modest indexation of it, the ceiling does not change your claim. Look the chart up when 3 percent of your income is near the cap.
Can I claim expenses from 13 months ago?
You can choose any 12-month period that ends in the tax year, and you cannot claim an expense that you or someone else already claimed. A period that starts in January of the prior year and ends in December of the tax year is the ordinary choice. A period that ends in the tax year and starts earlier can pull in a cluster of bills. It cannot be longer than 12 months, except the 24-month rule CRA describes when someone died in the year.
Should the higher-income spouse claim the receipts?
Usually the lower-income spouse should, if they have tax to absorb a non-refundable credit. Their 3 percent threshold is lower, so more of the same receipts survive. If the lower-income spouse owes no tax, the credit is wasted there and the higher-income spouse's smaller claim is the one that actually reduces tax.
Do premiums I pay through work count?
Premiums you paid to a private health services plan can qualify, including amounts shown on a T4 that you paid rather than your employer. Amounts your employer paid and that were not a taxable benefit to you generally were not an expense you paid. Reimbursements from the plan reduce the expense. Claim the unreimbursed portion, with the statement that shows it.
Is this the same as the disability tax credit?
No. The disability tax credit is a separate non-refundable credit with its own form and eligibility test. Medical expenses are receipts above a threshold. Some costs of care can interact with the disability supports deduction. They are three different claims. Qualifying for one does not enter the others automatically.
Sources
- CRA: lines 33099 and 33199
- CRA: RC4065, Medical Expenses, 2025 ceiling of $2,834
- CRA: Income Tax Folio S1-F1-C1, Medical Expense Tax Credit
- Department of Finance, June 2026: lowest rate of 14 percent on non-refundable credits
The credit is 14 percent of what clears the threshold, not the receipt total.
Which spouse claims, and which 12 months you use, is the optimization. The 2026 tax guide is the broader filing map, $49 CAD.
Get the 2026 Tax Guide — $49 CAD
