Christopher Liew: Here are some of the most surprising tax claims that are absolutely legitimate

A Canada Revenue Agency sign in Ottawa is shown on Monday, March 1, 2021. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang)

Christopher Liew is a CFP®, CFA Charterholder and former financial advisor. He writes personal finance tips for thousands of daily Canadian readers at Blueprint Financial.

Most Canadians approach their tax return the same way every year: plug in the T4, claim the basics, and hope for a decent refund. But buried inside the Canada Revenue Agency’s massive list of eligible expenses are some deductions and credits that sound like they can’t possibly be real.

Below, I’ll walk you through some of the strangest, most surprising things the CRA actually lets you claim on your return, and how to make sure you’re doing it right.

The CRA’s list is wilder than you think

Every year, H&R Block Canada publishes a list of the most unusual deductions Canadians can claim, and every year, the list gets weirder. For the 2026 filing season, it includes everything from psychic consultations to body glitter. The key principle behind all of them is the same: if an expense is reasonable, directly tied to earning income, and properly documented, the CRA will generally allow it.

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“Weird” doesn’t mean “free pass,” though. You still need receipts, a clear connection to your work, and the willingness to defend the claim if the CRA comes knocking. With the April 30 filing deadline approaching, here are some of the most surprising claims that are absolutely legitimate.

1. Gluten-free groceries (if you have celiac disease)

This one surprises almost everyone. If you’ve been diagnosed with celiac disease, the CRA lets you claim the extra cost of buying gluten-free food as a medical expense under the Medical Expense Tax Credit. You can’t claim the full price of your gluten-free bread, but you can claim the difference between the gluten-free version and a regular loaf. So if regular bread costs $3 and the gluten-free version is $6, you can claim that $3 difference.

You’ll need a letter from a medical practitioner confirming the diagnosis, plus receipts and a summary of everything you purchased. It’s admittedly a paperwork headache, but it can add up to hundreds of dollars over a year. This issue is getting more attention, too: more than 33,000 Canadians recently signed a federal petition calling on Ottawa to simplify the process and make the credit more accessible for low-income households.

2. Medical cannabis

No, your weekend dispensary purchase doesn’t count. But if you have a valid medical document from a health-care practitioner and you buy your cannabis from a federally licensed seller with whom you’re registered, the CRA considers it an eligible medical expense. This has been on the books for years, but a lot of Canadians still don’t realize it qualifies. Conditions like chronic pain, epilepsy, anxiety, and arthritis are among those for which a practitioner may issue a medical document.

If you’re registered and buying from a licensed producer, keep those receipts. The costs can be significant, and they count toward your total medical expenses, which must exceed three per cent of your net income or $2,834 for the 2025 tax year, whichever is less, before you can claim them.

3. Your dog’s food and vet bills (if it’s a service animal)

This is one of my favourites. If you have a service animal that’s been specially trained to assist with a qualifying condition, including blindness, profound deafness, severe autism, severe diabetes, severe epilepsy, and other qualifying conditions, the CRA allows you to claim the cost of the animal’s care as a medical expense. That includes food, veterinary bills, and even reasonable travel expenses for training.

The animal has to be provided by a person or organization specializing in training service animals, so your emotional-support golden retriever probably won’t qualify. But for Canadians with eligible service dogs, this can easily run into thousands of dollars a year. Keep your documentation airtight: receipts, the training organization’s details, and ideally a letter from your medical practitioner confirming the need.

4. Wigs for medical hair loss

Here’s where things get truly strange. The CRA allows you to claim the cost of a wig as a medical expense if you’ve experienced abnormal hair loss due to a disease, accident, or medical treatment. You’ll need a prescription from a medical practitioner, but the expense itself is 100 per cent legitimate. For anyone going through chemotherapy, dealing with alopecia, or recovering from a medical procedure that caused hair loss, this can provide meaningful relief.

5. Makeup, music subscriptions, and even psychic advice

For self-employed Canadians and gig workers, things get even more creative. According to H&R Block Canada’s 2026 list, makeup and beauty products can be deductible for models and content creators whose appearance is directly tied to their work, music subscriptions may qualify for fitness instructors, and yes, paying a psychic for business advice could be claimed as a professional service fee if properly invoiced.

The key for all of these is that you’re self-employed and the expense is directly connected to earning your income. General grooming and personal subscriptions won’t fly. But if you wouldn’t buy it without the job, it may well be eligible. I recently walked through the biggest red flags that trigger a CRA audit in a recent Blueprint Financial video, and creative deductions without proper documentation is near the top of the list.

Final thoughts

The Canadian tax system has more room for creativity than most people realize, but the golden rule never changes: document everything, claim honestly, and don’t be afraid to dig into the fine print. If you’re looking for more ways to keep money in your pocket this tax season, I recently wrote about five credits and deductions Canadians are consistently missing and the biggest tax and benefit changes for 2026. You might be leaving money on the table.

Read more from Christopher Liew:

• What happens if you miss the tax deadline in Canada?
• Consistently large refunds could be signal your tax strategy needs work
• The biggest tax and benefit changes for 2026 you shouldn’t be sleeping on
• Here are 5 tax credits and deductions Canadians are missing out on
• Canada tax brackets 2026: What’s changed and how to pay less