Reader submitted question:
Q – Me, my sister and my uncle are sharing the cost of keeping my father housed in a care facility because his gov’t monies & pension do not cover the monthly fee. My understanding is that we cannot claim our contributions because my father is not a dependent who resides with any of us. Is this true? Thanks!
Answer provided by Intuit’s Ask A Task Expert:
A – There may be a few things that you are allowed to claim. You should be able to claim amount paid to the care facility as a medical expense. CRA publishes a guide for Medical and disability-related information. It states that you can claim attendant care expenses as medical expenses that include your share of salaries and wages paid to employees performing different kinds of duties – see the guide for the criteria. You may also be able to claim the Amount for Infirm dependants, depending on the amount of income your father receives in the year.
Readers: I think this is going to be an increasing issue for many of us. If you’re comfortable doing so, I’m interested in hearing your thoughts — do you think we Canadians have factored in that we may need to start helping out our parents financially in an ongoing way? Or is that just not in our consciousness yet?
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