An aging workforce means aging parents of those employees as well. As more and more employees find themselves in the caregiver role, employers are put in a tough spot at times.
All that can be realistically expected of employers is to be sympathetic to their employee’s situation and allow for flexible hours.
Some relief came in the 2011 federal budget, however, with the Medical Expense Tax Credit and the Family Caregiver Tax Credit
“Budget 2011 proposes to provide assistance to caregivers by ensuring that the extraordinary medical and disability-related expenses they incur for dependent relatives are fully recognized by the tax system,” says the official report presented by Jim Flaherty in the House of Commons today.
The Family Caregiver Tax Credit allows for a 15% non-refundable credit on an amount of $2,000 for those with infirm dependents. Under the medical expense tax credit, workers can claim eligible expenses that exceed the lesser of 3% taxpayer’s net income for the year and $2,052 (in 2011). There is no limit on the amount of eligible expenses a taxpayer can claim for himself or herself, a spouse or common-law partner or a dependent child under 18.