The taxpayer is a 74 year old female who is unable to care for herself due to severe arthritis and is confirmed to a wheelchair and needs constant attention. She is currently living in a frail care unit at an old age home. Can we claim the costs of housin
Important:
This answer is based on tax law year ending 28 February 2017.
Answer:
The first requirement that is relevant to your request is found in the definition of ‘dependant’ in section 6B(1) of the Income Tax Act. We copy the relevant part for your convenience:
A “dependant” means … “a person’s spouse”. The spouse may well not be a person with a disability, but that would be irrelevant if the taxpayer (the husband) is over the age of 65. The tax rebate is the same for persons over 65 or where the person (the dependent or spouse) is someone with a disability – one third of the expenses will be a rebate.
The next issue is that the expenses must be ‘qualifying medical expenses’. This is defined in section 6B(1) of the Act. We copied the part we think may be relevant below:
“qualifying medical expenses” means—
(a) any amounts (other than amounts recoverable by a person or his or her spouse) which were paid by the person during the year of assessment to any duly registered—
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medical practitioner, dentist, optometrist, homeopath, naturopath, osteopath, herbalist, physiotherapist, chiropractor or orthopedist for professional services rendered or medicines supplied to the person or any dependant of the person;
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nursing home or hospital or any duly registered or enrolled nurse, midwife or nursing assistant (or to any nursing agency in respect of the services of such a nurse, midwife or nursing assistant) in respect of the illness or confinement of the person or any dependant of the person;
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pharmacist for medicines supplied on the prescription of any person mentioned in subparagraph (i) for the person or any dependant of the person;”
The accommodation costs would then only qualify under item (ii) – we agree that it may not. Put differently, the frail care must be a ‘nursing home’ and the spouse must be there because of illness or confinement. The SARS guide doesn’t provide detail on what is meant with confinement.
Even where the spouse is someone with a disability, duly diagnosed as such (the ITR-DD form), the accommodation cost may also not qualify.