Authorized Medical Practitioners in Newfoundland and Labrador

If you are claiming the Medical Expense Tax Credit, the medical practitioners’ fees you can claim vary depending on where you live. If you live in Newfoundland and Labrador, it’s important to ensure the fees you are claiming are from practitioners who are considered authorized in your province.

Residents of Newfoundland and Labrador are allowed to claim fees from a number of medical practitioners on their income tax returns. When it comes to general health care, you can claim fees from a range of nursing professionals including licensed practical nurses, registered practical nurses, registered nurses and registered nurse practitioners.

Additionally, you can claim fees from physicians and surgeons on your income tax return.

When claiming your medical expenses, ensure that they don’t appear on the CRA’s list of prohibited medical expenses. For example, the CRA does not allow you to claim most cosmetic surgeries on your return. This is the case even if the procedure is done by a surgeon, who is considered an authorized medical practitioner in every province and territory.

In Newfoundland and Labrador, you are also allowed to claim fees from a range of specialists who work with everything from helping people rehabilitate after a car accident to designing weight loss strategies for patients.

In particular, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, physical therapists and respiratory therapists are considered authorized. Similarly, audiologists, hearing aid practitioners and speech language pathologists are also considered authorized. Finally, if you have fees from seeing a dietitian or a medical lab technologist, you can also take these into account when completing your income tax return.

If you want to include fees from seeing vision and dental care providers on your income tax return, you are in luck. In Newfoundland and Labrador, most dental and vision care providers are considered authorized.

The list of authorized practitioners includes dental assistants, dental hygienists, dental technicians and dental technologists. It also includes dental therapists, denturists, dental mechanics and denturologists. Of course, dental fees are also eligible.

For vision care, you can claim fees from opticians and optometrists.

In the realm of alternative care, residents of Newfoundland and Labrador may include fees from acupuncturists, chiropractors, registered massage therapists and massage therapists on their returns.

If you see a medical care provider who is not authorized in your province, you unfortunately cannot include these fees when claiming the Medical Expense Tax Credit. However, you can advocate for change.

Individuals cannot petition the CRA to add practitioners to the list of authorized practitioners. However, you can ask representatives from the Newfoundland and Labrador government to request to have a certain professionals added to the list. Additionally, representatives of medical professional boards can also request to have practitioners added to the list.