Out of country medical expenses are eligible, as long as the expenses fall within the CRA’s eligibility guidelines for in-Canada expenses!
Medical supplies and items (such as glasses, orthotics, etc.) purchased outside of Canada are also eligible (again, as long as they meet those in-Canada guidelines).
What’re those eligibility guidelines? Well, this is where we throw a bunch of links at you!
- HSA eligibility guidelines
- Eligible Providers (these rules still apply for out of country claims!)
- Ineligible Providers
Submitting a claim in a foreign currency
When submitting an out-of-country claim, we will reimburse the amount claimed in $CAD funds which means you should submit the amount paid for the service in Canadian funds.
Pro-tip: if you paid by credit card, they’ll list amounts in both $CAD and the foreign currency for you on your online account or statement.
Remember eligible medical expenses are tax free. If you pay for medical services in another country in cash, we recommend you keep the exchange receipt on file in case of a review by CRA. If they get nosy during an audit, you might just have to back up how you came up with the Canadian value.
We like to help you avoid adverse tax issues so, we like to review the amount paid in the foreign currency to validate the amount you claim for reimbursement.
If you don’t provide one, we might ask anyway so to avoid any delays. The easiest route is to upload an image of the foreign receipt when claiming online, then in the amount to be claimed box, provide the Canadian equivalent.
Members are responsible to provide translation of receipts in a foreign language to assist in the adjudication of any claims.