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Line 58400 Provincial/Territorial Caregiver Amount Tax Credit

Note: Before tax year 2019, line 58400 was line 5840.

Also described as In-Home Care of Relative Credit

This credit is available in all provinces and territories except for BC, Ontario and Yukon. Federally, the credit that can be claimed is the Canada Caregiver Credit. BC, Ontario and Yukon caregiver credits are based on the federal credit.

The Federal 2017 Budget eliminated the 3 existing caregiver credits, which include the Caregiver Amount, Infirm Dependant Amount, and Family Caregiver Amount, and replaced them with the new Canada Caregiver Credit, effective for 2017 and later years. All provinces and territories have kept their existing versions of this credit, except for BC, Ontario and Yukon.

The non-refundable personal tax credit tables reflect the status of these credits for each province/territory.

If you or anyone else is able to claim the line 58160 eligible dependant/equivalent to spouse credit for a person, then line 58400 caregiver amount may not be claimed for that person.

The caregiver amount tax credit can be claimed in the Detailed Canadian Income Tax & RRSP Savings Calculator, starting with the 2016/2017 version.

This credit is claimed on the provincial/territorial Form 428 on Line 58400.

Line 58400 tax credit may be available if non-infirm parent/grandparent lives with you

This tax credit may be available if parent or grandparent (over 65) lives with you, even if they are not your dependant and are not infirm - but 2016 was the last year for this federally and for Ontario and Yukon, 2017 for BC. For their credits see Canada Caregiver Credit. For other provinces and territories, the credit is still available in the Line 58400 tax credit.

If, at any time in the tax year, you (either alone or with another person) maintained a dwelling and your or your spouse or common-law partner's parent or grandparent aged 65 or older lived with you, you may be able to claim the Line 58400 Caregiver Amount tax credit. Although they may not be financially dependent on you, in income tax software their information will be entered in the dependants area.

This tax credit can be claimed in the Detailed Canadian Income Tax & RRSP Savings Calculator, starting with the 2016/2017 version. If the parent/grandparent is infirm, select "Caregiver - in Home, Infirm Adult" instead of "Parent/Grdprnt 65+ in Your Home-not infirm", in order to make the appropriate claim.

The Caregiver Amount is reduced when the net income of the parent or grandparent exceeds a certain threshold, and is eventually eliminated. Check the tables of non-refundable personal tax credits for the provincial tax credit amounts and income threshold levels.

The parent or grandparent must at the time have been a resident of Canada, and the tax credit is not available if they were just visiting you.

This tax credit is also available when certain other dependent relatives are living with you (see below), but for other relatives the tax credit is not available unless the relative is dependent on you due to mental or physical infirmity.

If you are able to claim the caregiver amount for a dependent relative, and the dependant is eligible for the disability tax credit, any unused portion of this credit may be transferable to you. If you cannot claim the caregiver amount because the dependent's income is too high, you may still be able to transfer any unused portion of the disability tax credit.

Line 584000 tax credit may be available if infirm dependent relative lives with you

If, at any time in the tax year, you (either alone or with another person) maintained a dwelling where you and a dependent relative lived, you may be able to claim the Caregiver Amount tax credit, in the amount indicated above. The dependent must have been 18 years of age or over, and dependent on you due to a mental or physical infirmity. This tax credit is reduced if the dependant's income exceeds a certain level. The dependant must be your child or grandchild, or your or your spouse or common-law partner's sibling, niece, nephew, aunt, or uncle (for parent or grandparent see above). They must have been a resident of Canada, and the tax credit is not available if they were just visiting you.

CRA may ask for a signed statement from a medical practitioner showing when the impairment began, and the expected duration of the impairment. This would not be needed if a form T2201, Disability Tax Credit Certificate, has already been provided for the dependant.

This tax credit can be claimed in the Detailed Canadian Income Tax & RRSP Savings Calculator, starting with the 2016/2017 version.

What if the relative doesn't live with the supporting person?

The caregiver amount has been denied when the supporting person and the dependent relative do not ordinarily reside in the same home. See the 2010 Tax Court case Solanki v. The Queen. A 2004 Tax Court case, Vaynshteyn v. The Queen, allowed the claim by the daughter, when the daughter resided with the parent during 3 separate periods of at least one month each during the year.

If a supporting person is assisting with attendant care expenses or with the costs of assisted living, see our article on attendant care expenses.

Claiming the caregiver amount

If someone else has claimed the line 305 eligible dependant tax credit for a person, you cannot claim the caregiver tax credit for that person. If anyone, including you, can claim the caregiver tax credit for a dependant, then no person can claim the line 306 infirm dependant tax credit for that dependant.

The caregiver amount tax credit can be split if more than one person supports the same dependant, but the total claim made cannot exceed the maximum amount for that dependant.

Other tax credits that may be available for someone living with you:

Canada Caregiver Amount Tax Credit (Line 30500, was line 367) - for infirm dependent children under 18 at the end of the tax year - Federal and Yukon only.

Folio S1-F4-C1, Basic Personal and Dependant Tax Credits

Amount for infirm dependants age 18+ (prov/terr line 58200)

Amount for infirm dependants age 18+ Federal, BC, ON, YT

Eligible Dependant Tax Credit (Line 30400, was line 305) - for a dependent child, or other dependent relatives.

Medical expense tax credit for other eligible dependants (Line 33199, was line 331)

Disability tax credit (Line 31800, was line 318)

TaxTips.ca Resources

See our tables of non-refundable tax credits for the caregiver tax credit amounts federally and by province/territory.

Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) Resources

Line 315 - Caregiver amount - from 2016 General Tax and Benefit Guide

See also - links to all information on TaxTips.ca related to persons with disabilities

Revised: September 20, 2024