Healthcare professionals
The supply of medical and certain other healthcare services are tax-exempt when they are rendered to individuals by regulated healthcare professionals who are identified in the Excise Tax Act and the Act respecting the Québec sales tax. For purposes of the GST/HST and QST, a "medical practitioner" means a person who is licensed under the laws of a province (or territory) to practise the profession of medicine or dentistry.
In addition, certain services provided by registered nurses, social workers, and dental hygienists are also exempt.
Exempt services
The supply of a consultative, treatment, diagnostic or other healthcare service rendered by a medical practitioner to an individual is generally exempt. Healthcare services rendered by a practitioner to an individual are also exempt. A practitioner is defined to mean a person who practises the profession of any of the services listed below and who is licensed or otherwise certified to practise that profession (if required in the province where the service is supplied) or has the qualifications equivalent to those necessary to be so licensed or certified in another province (if not required in the province where the service is supplied).
Services provided by any of the following are tax exempt (this list is non-exhaustive):
- optometrists
- chiropractors
- physiotherapists
- chiropodists
- podiatrists
- osteopaths
- audiologists
- speech-language pathologists
- occupational therapists
- psychologists
- dieticians
- midwives
Nursing services are generally exempt when they are rendered to an individual by a registered nurse or a nursing assistant. Social work services rendered to an individual within a professional-client relationship are also generally exempt when the services are rendered by a licensed or otherwise certified social work professional. If the social worker is not required to be licensed or certified in the province where the service is supplied, then the social worker must have the qualifications equivalent to those necessary to be so licensed or certified in another province.
There are also exemptions for services that are paid for under a provincial health insurance plan and for radiological, laboratory and other similar diagnostic services rendered to an individual when the service is supplied on the order of a medical practitioner or practitioner, or on order from a nurse authorized by the laws of a province to order such a service, provided the order is given within a professional-client relationship.
Taxable services
Other healthcare services are not exempt. While there are many professionals who work in fields relating to healthcare, they are not medical practitioners or practitioners for GST/HST and QST purposes. As a result, their services are not exempt supplies even where, for example, the service is similar to a service that may be performed by a nurse or a physiotherapist. The following is a non-exhaustive list of therapists and other healthcare workers whose services are taxable:
- Note
- Please note that the service providers must determine if their supplies are exempt.