Claiming Medical Expenses: Free Healthcare?

Free Health Care? Did you know that Canadians spend on average more than $1,000 on medical expenses each year? It’s estimated that government programs, via our taxes, cover about 72% of medical expenses, which means that we pay for the rest. Your clients may be over-paying on their taxes because they don’t know about medical expense deductions. 

NEW RRSP MAXIMUMS FOR 2009 Plan now to make your RRSP maximum contribution in 2009ó18% of earned income to a maximum of $21,000 (this is possible when earned income in 2008 was $116,667). MEAL AND VEHICLE RATES FOR 2008 CRA has released the new rates for meal and vehicle expenses. For meal expenses, the simplified rate is unchanged from 2007, a flat rate of $17 a meal or $51 per day, per person is allowed without receipts. For the simplified method of claiming vehicle expenses, the number of kilometres driven during the year may be multiplied by the appropriate cents/km rate below for the province in which travel begins. Province or territory Cents/kilometre Alberta 53.0 British Columbia 54.0 Manitoba 50.5 New Brunswick 52.0 Newfoundland and Labrador 55.5 Northwest Territories 64.0 Nova Scotia 52.5 Nunavut 64.0 Ontario 55.5 Prince Edward Island 52.5 Quebec 58.0 Saskatchewan 49.5 Yukon 66.0