Do you voluntarily care for a spouse, relative, friend, or neighbor who lives at home in Manitoba? As their primary caregiver, you can claim a refundable credit for the help you’ve provided, for up to three people in your care at a time.
People requiring your care must be:
- A resident of Manitoba at the end of the year
- An injured person as defined in the Health Services Insurance Act
- Assessed as requiring care at Level 2 or higher under the Manitoba Home Care Program guidelines
As a primary caregiver, you need to live in Manitoba and you (or your spouse) must not have been paid for the help you provide. You also need to be the primary caregiver for at least three months in order to claim the full credit amount. For example, if you start caring for someone on October 1st, you can claim the full credit as long as you continue caring for them into the new year. If you start later, you’ll only be able to claim part of it. Visit the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) website or the Manitoba Tax Assistance Office website for more information on eligibility.
Both you and the person in your care (or their parent, if they’re under 18) need to complete the primary caregiver tax credit application. Once that’s done, you’ll also need to get the approval of the regional health authority (RHA) or the Manitoba Family Services and Labour Department before you can begin providing care.
Once your application has been approved, you’ll receive a copy of your approved application (to be kept with your records), the care level equivalency guideline (if required), as well as log sheets. Log sheets are used to document the date you started providing care to the recipient, as well as the type(s) of care provided. If required, you can print a copy of the primary caregiver’s log by visiting the government of Manitoba’s website.
Where do I claim this?
Follow these steps in H&R Block's tax software to file your 2016 taxes:
Before you begin, make sure you tell us that you lived in MANITOBA on December 31, 2016.
- On the PREPARE tab, click the OTHER icon. You'll find yourself here:
- Under the OTHER DEDUCTIONS heading, select the checkbox labelled Manitoba primary caregiver tax credit, then click Continue.
- When you arrive at the page for the Manitoba primary caregiver tax credit, enter your information into the tax software.
