How can a senior resident of a nursing home pay their rent? Should someone in Canada withdraw all their RRSPs to pay for it?

As an assistant, you can use your care expenses (including costs given to a nursing home) as medical cost deductions on the tax return if you want to. To claim these expenses, you need to report the nursing home costs and include every little detail in it. It’s only possible to deduct the portion of your monthly bill used for paying attendant care wages.
A licensed and qualified medical practitioner must provide you with a completed Form T2201, which you will need to claim attendant care expenses. You can’t claim every single nursing home expense. It’s not allowed to deduct operating costs and administrative or rent expenses. The only exception to the rent costs is when a share of the Rent is used for assisting a person in their daily tasks by providing services like housekeeping and laundry.

Claimable Expenses
It might be attainable to claim all the salaries paid to the workers who provide such services as eligible medical costs:
• Activities (social programmer)
• Helping with the resident’s laundry
• Security for a secured unit
• Doing housework for the resident’s dwelling
• Preparing food
• Salon services (pedicuring, manicuring, hairdressing) as long as it’s covered in the monthly fee transportation (driver)
• Health care (personal support worker, practical nurse, registered nurse, certified health care aide)

If an assistant provides you with care and services in your residence, you can claim the period you spend at home and require their help. To make sure that the expense is recognized as a medical cost, you must either be qualified for the disability tax credit or ask a doctor to write a statement claiming that the assistance you received was needed and not unnecessary.

Unclaimable Expenses
None of the following costs are claimable when claiming the expenses for wages and salaries:
• Cleaning supplies
• Salaries and wages are given to employees and maintenance staff
• Food
• Rent (excluding Rent for services that are for one’s everyday tasks like housekeeping and laundry)
• Other operating expenses (like maintenance of outside and common areas)