Suggestion:
The medical expense schedule in taxcycle is actually 2 schedules.
I find it onerous to have to repeat input on both schedules multiple times.
For example: I have a client who makes a trip to the dentist 50 miles away.
He pays the dentist 100.00. So, when I complete the med schedule, I have to report the 100.00 payment, filling in all the details, date, patient, reason for claim on the amount.
Then I have to go to the second part of the medical schedule and reenter all the detail for date, patient, purpose, etc…
This happens over and over day after day.
To resolve this I would suggest 2 possibilities. Someone else out there may have another.
My suggestion:
On the travel schedule, add a input line to enter the charge by the doctor.
or
On the first part of the schedule, add an indicator that there is medical travel and either pop up the travel detail input line or have the program input the detail into the travel schedule.
This goes to show that there are as many ways of doing things as there are users.
We rarely add detail to the medical schedule. Most of the time we put one number on the schedule that includes everything, including travel. We keep the details in our DoxCycle file so when CRA asks we can send the details from there. (We do run a tape for the reviewer to use to verify, which is where the total comes from.)
Sometimes we will do a spreadsheet and import it to TaxCycle for the travel, but the spreadsheet goes into DoxCycle.
Same here. Unless there is only a handful of medical receipts, it all goes on one line, with the details kept in DoxCycle. We usually run an tally in Excel, and save that to PDF in DoxCycle to get the total medical claimed.
Thanks for your input.
So, what you are saying is the taxcycle medical schedules are useless to you and you prefer not to use them.
Suggestion: wouldn’t it be great if you could use them and they saved you some time?
I’m saying it’s easier to compile, review and amend if necessary when it’s simply an excel table. Medical is one of those though area… you can have so much volume to process, but it can be worth so little. We actually encourage our clients to do the tally up themselves and provide that tally.
That does not always happen, so what we’d like to explore this year is creating an Excel template that can be used as an import in TaxCycle. See if that makes this area any more efficient.
Each practitioner receives one input line per individual in TaxCycle.
Source documents may consist of individual bills, individual receipts, billing statements, insurance reimbursement statements, and ineligible medical amounts.
Practitioner type and license # are entered if and when applicable.
Individual name, medical claim line 330 and 331, DTC status, caregiver, nursing home split, medical premiums, medical travel, and source document type are noted as well in the excel.
This method has improved qualtiy, completeness, timing for both tax preparation and CRA pre and post-assessment review document readiness.
@dharnish
I agree it is tedious to retype the same info repeatedly. But, isn’t this the same as entering each line on the “main” medical schedule? For example, if a patient has several prescription receipts, and you want to enter each one on its own line, you have to retype a lot of the same info on each line. Many of us are too “lazy” to spend our time doing that so - yes - the medical worksheets are somewhat useless to keep track of all the detail unless you are importing it (i.e. using DoxCycle or an Excel template). And, if you ARE importing it, it means you already have the detail in some kind of convenient format for summarizing, so why bother copying all of it to your tax software?
When I worked at MNP, it was common practice to simply add up all the receipts on a paper tape (i.e. adding machine), staple that tape to the stack of receipts, and enter a single total on the medical worksheet (in Profile) with a comment “per summary”.
Now that I am self-employed, I still do something similar. I don’t use the “Travel” worksheet very often - I usually just enter a line for “Travel” on the main medical worksheet.
Has anyone ever had to provide an itemized list of each medical expense to CRA? (That is, as an accountant on behalf of a client.)
I will report individual items on separate lines when people don’t have tons of receipts. Otherwise, I use a method between the detailed reporting and the one-line summary.
I summarize all prescriptions, all dental, etc. and report the totals on separate lines. I also put medical travel on its own line. I find it easier to review, easier to look at later, and provides a comparison with the types of medical expenses incurred in the prior year. When summarizing, I do it on a spreadsheet that lists the expenses and provides a total for each type of expense (by column). Unless there are just a few medical travel trips, I find it easier to do the calcs in a spreadsheet than using the TaxCycle calcs.
They do ask for scanned copies of receipts every once and a while. Just dealing with one right now actually. It was one of my clients that didn’t actually give me all the receipts to start with - just handwritten notes so tracking everything down was a bit of a pain.
@laurie
Thanks! Good to know!
In such cases, what do you say to the client? Do you warn them before filing their return? I mean, if you haven’t seen the receipts yourself, do you still take responsibility for them?
I tell them the CRA sometimes asks for the receipts and if they can’t produce them the expense will be disallowed. If that happens they are responsible for any taxes and interest. Most clients send me everything already scanned so I have receipts and just upload them but this particular client didn’t.
Nice to hear all the different ways the med schedule is being used and not used.
However, I go back to my original post.
Sure would be nice right in taxcycle to be able to attach travel expenses to the actual doctor charge or the doctor charge to the travel expense, ie make one entry for each medical trip.
Having said that, and assuming taxcycle will not make this small change, and based on some of your comments, would anyone be willing to share your xcel medical template?
Putting the data in excel and then putting it in taxcycle is an extra step but only 1 step. It is better than the alternative of repeating the doctor visit info twice for each doctor visit.
Our office is in rural Nova Scotia and we complete about 850 T1’s.
About 90% of all our T1’s have trips for dentist, eye care, and on and on. Each visit has a doctor charge and a medical trip attached.
We will move on to excel if taxcycle will not address this.
Laurie personally I would never put myself in that position. All my clients know that in order for me to record a medical expense I must see the receipt or statement and it must be retained by me in the event that CRA asks to see it. I never rely on my client producing receipts, which they may or not have, after the fact. You do not want CRA disallowing claims since it likely will increase the probability of them assessing your client again in subsequent years. Something you don’t want to happen.
@laurie@alcotaxprep
Yes, that’s the concern I was getting at. But, I often do the same as Laurie, when I am confident the client is trustworthy, and can produce their own receipts. In such cases, I normally let the client respond to CRA on their own, unless they ask me to do it (and then I bill them for the extra work). When a taxpayer deals with CRA directly, CRA tends to be more lenient (most of the time). CRA expects more from an accountant than from the general public.
That said, I have never yet had the CRA ask me for medical receipts on behalf of a client. (knock on wood)
I scan all receipts brought in by clients, claimed for any expense, and return them the originals. Any CRA request
for copy is my client’s responsibility unless they require my help @ regular billing fee.
so - yes - the medical worksheets are somewhat useless to keep track of all the detail unless you are importing it (i.e. using DoxCycle or an Excel template). And, if you ARE importing it, it means you already have the detail in some kind of convenient format for summarizing, so why bother copying all of it to your tax software?