Proposed Healthy Homes Renovation Tax Credit

Article posted April 5, 2012

Please make a note of this proposed and very important new tax credit. If you have recently completed or are planning future home modifications which will help seniors stay safely in their homes you could claim this credit. Eligible expenses incurred on or after October 1, 2011 would qualify for the credit.

Hold on to your receipts in order to support any claim you may make.  

The following quotes from the Ontario Ministry of Finance website but please visit this site so that you have the information you need.

http://www.fin.gov.on.ca/en/credit/hhrtc/index.html

The proposed Healthy Homes Renovation Tax Credit would be a new permanent, refundable Personal Income Tax credit to assist with the cost of permanent home modifications that improve accessibility or help a senior be more functional or mobile at home.

The credit would be worth up to $1,500 each year, calculated as 15 per cent of up to $10,000 in eligible home renovation expenses that would help seniors stay safely in their homes. It could be claimed by senior homeowners and tenants, and people who share a home with a senior relative.

Amounts claimed by couples would be subject to a combined maximum of $10,000 in eligible expenses per year. The $10,000 limit would also apply to claims by different people in respect of the same shared home in a year.

Couples who live in separate homes because of medical necessity or because of a breakdown in their marriage or common-law relationship could each claim up to $10,000 of expenses.

For a list of what are and are not eligible expenses please go the website above.

Seniors or family members living with a senior could claim the tax credit on their annual Personal Income Tax return, beginning with the 2012 tax return. If someone not living with the senior or not related to the senior pays for modifications to the senior’s home, the senior could still claim the credit but should keep the supporting receipts.

You would not have to submit any documentation when you file your income tax return. However, you would have to keep the documentation – receipts from suppliers and contractors – in case the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) asks for them to verify your claim. If you file electronically, keep all documentation in case the CRA asks to see it.

Eligible expenses incurred on or after October 1, 2011 would qualify for the credit.

For the 2012 tax year, the $10,000 maximum would apply to expenses paid or payable from October 1, 2011 to December 31, 2012.

For 2013 and all subsequent years, the maximum would apply to expenses paid or payable from January 1 to December 31 of the year.

For information about the Healthy Homes Renovation Tax Credit you can also call

  • 1 800 337-7222 or
  • 1 800 263-7776 for teletypewriter