Making a home easier and safer to move around in costs money, and some of that cost comes back as a credit. The Home Accessibility Tax Credit (HATC) is a non-refundable tax credit designed to help homeowners cover the costs of renovations that make their home more accessible and safer. The claim goes on line 31285 as home accessibility expenses.
This is one of the few personal-return lines where a contractor's invoice really is the evidence — and the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is specific about what that invoice has to show.
Who can claim it
Generally, you can claim home accessibility expenses if two things are true. You are a qualifying individual, or an eligible individual making the claim for one. And you incurred eligible expenses for a qualifying renovation to an eligible dwelling.
A qualifying individual is someone eligible for the disability tax credit at any time in the year. It is also someone who is 65 years of age or older at the end of the year.
An eligible individual is the spouse or common-law partner of a qualifying individual. It is also a close relative who claimed — or could have claimed — one of the dependant or caregiver amounts for that person. The CRA's page sets out the full list of relationships and conditions.
An eligible dwelling is a housing unit in Canada owned by the qualifying individual or the eligible individual. The qualifying individual has to ordinarily inhabit it in the year. Generally the land it stands on, including adjacent land up to half a hectare, is part of the eligible dwelling.
What you can claim
A qualifying renovation is a renovation or alteration of an enduring nature that is integral to the dwelling. It has to do one of two things:
- allow the qualifying individual to gain access to, or be mobile or functional within, the dwelling
- reduce the risk of harm to the qualifying individual within the dwelling, or in gaining access to it
Eligible expenses are outlays made or incurred during the year that are directly attributable to that renovation. The work must be performed and the goods acquired in the tax year.
Paid work completed by a professional — an electrician, plumber, carpenter, or architect — generally qualifies. If you do the work yourself, eligible expenses include building materials, fixtures, equipment rentals, building plans, and permits.
For a condominium or a co-operative housing corporation, your share of the cost of eligible expenses for common areas qualifies.
If an eligible expense also qualifies as a medical expense, you can claim it as both a medical expense and a home accessibility expense.
What does not qualify
The value of your own labour or tools. If you do the work yourself, your time and your tools cannot be claimed at all. The materials, fixtures, rentals, plans, and permits still count.
Work by a related person who is not registered for GST/HST. Say a relative of the qualifying individual or the eligible individual does the work. Those expenses are not eligible unless that person is registered for goods and services tax/harmonized sales tax (GST/HST) under the Excise Tax Act. If they are registered, and all the other conditions are met, the expenses may be eligible. You can check a registration in the GST/HST Registry.
Items that will not become a permanent part of the dwelling. An item you buy that does not become permanent is generally not eligible, and there is no other line for it. The CRA also names these as not eligible for the HATC:
- amounts paid to acquire a property that can be used independently of the qualifying renovation
- the cost of annual, recurring, or routine repairs or maintenance
- amounts paid to buy household appliances
- amounts paid to buy electronic home-entertainment devices
- the cost of housekeeping, security monitoring, gardening, outdoor maintenance, or similar services
- financing costs for the qualifying renovation
- the cost of a renovation incurred mainly to increase or maintain the value of the dwelling
The income-earning share of a home you also earn from. If you earn business or rental income from part of an eligible dwelling, you can only claim the eligible expenses incurred for the personal-use areas. Some work benefits the housing unit as a whole — a ramp or handrails, say. You divide that expense between personal use and income-earning use, and the income-earning share belongs on your business or rental statement instead.
Two things do not reduce the claim. The credit is not reduced by government assistance, including grants, forgivable loans, or tax credits from the federal or a provincial or territorial government. And eligible expenses are generally not reduced by reasonable rebates or incentives offered by the vendor or manufacturer.
What your invoice or receipt must show
Eligible expenses must be supported by acceptable documentation, such as agreements, invoices, and receipts. They must clearly identify the type and quantity of goods bought or services provided, including the following, as applicable:
- information that clearly identifies the vendor or contractor, their business address, and, if applicable, their GST/HST registration number
- a description of the goods and the date when they were bought
- the date when the goods were delivered, or when the work or services were performed
- a description of the work done, including the address where it was done
- the amount of the invoice
- proof of payment — the receipt or invoice must show that bills were paid in full, or be accompanied by other proof of payment, such as a credit card slip or a cancelled cheque
Keep your delivery slip as proof of the delivery date.
For work on common areas as a condominium owner, you also need a statement from the co-operative housing corporation or condominium corporation, signed by an authorized individual, identifying the amounts incurred for the renovation or alteration work and your part of those expenses.
What to keep
Do not send any supporting documents when you file your tax return. Keep them in case the CRA asks to see them later.
For this line that means the agreements, invoices, and receipts described above, your delivery slips, and your proof of payment. Add the condominium or co-operative corporation's signed statement if common-area work is part of the claim.
Dossier flags an invoice that is missing one of the fields the CRA lists — a contractor's address, a GST/HST number, a description of the work. That way you can go back for it early, rather than at review time.
The claim itself is worked out on the chart for line 31285 in the 5000-D1 Federal Worksheet when you file.
Official CRA sources
Source: Canada Revenue Agency (canada.ca). Not tax advice.