Service Animals

Are service animals CRA eligible in Canada?

Yes. The costs of acquiring, training, and caring for a service animal are CRA-eligible medical expenses, which means they're reimbursable through your HSA. No prescription or certification is required. The animal must come from an organization one of whose main purposes is training such animals, and must assist a person with a qualifying impairment (blindness, profound deafness, severe autism, severe diabetes, severe epilepsy, severe limb impairment, or severe mental impairment post-2017). Emotional support animals do not qualify.

What Qualifies

• Purchase price and training fees for a guide dog for a person who is blind, from an organization one of whose main purposes is training such animals
• Acquisition and training costs for a hearing-ear dog for a person who is profoundly deaf
• Service animal for a person with severe autism, severe diabetes, or severe epilepsy
• Service animal specially trained to perform specific tasks for a person with a severe mental impairment (expenses incurred after 2017 only -- emotional support animals do not qualify)
• Service animal for a person with a severe and prolonged impairment that markedly restricts the use of their arms or legs
• Veterinary care, food, and other ongoing maintenance costs for a qualifying service animal

Good to Know

• Guide dogs and hearing-ear dogs are specifically named in the Income Tax Act (paragraph 118.2(2)(l)) and have the longest-standing eligibility. A guide dog for a blind person or hearing-ear dog for a profoundly deaf person qualifies on its own — no additional documentation beyond proof of the impairment and the training organization is typically required.
• Other service animals (for severe autism, severe diabetes, severe epilepsy, severe and prolonged limb impairment, or severe mental impairment) are covered under a broader provision. For the severe mental impairment category (post-2017), the CRA requires that the animal be specially trained to perform specific tasks — emotional support alone does not qualify. Claimants in this category should retain documentation of the animal's task-specific training.
• All qualifying animals must come from an organization one of whose main purposes is the training of such animals. A privately trained pet does not qualify, even if it performs similar tasks.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are service animals CRA eligible?

Yes. Service animals qualify under paragraph 118.2(2)(l) of the Income Tax Act for guide dogs and hearing-ear dogs, and under a broader provision for animals assisting with severe autism, diabetes, epilepsy, limb impairment, or mental impairment (post-2017). Acquisition, training, and ongoing care costs are all eligible.

Can I claim service animal expenses through my HSA?

Yes. Submit receipts for acquisition, training, and ongoing care. No prescription is needed.

Source

Based on the CRA's official eligible medical expenses list and Income Tax Folio S1-F1-C1, "Guide and hearing-ear dogs and other animals".