You can use your HSA toward any eligible health or dental expenses under Canada’s Income Tax Act – for example, extra drug costs above the plan limits or additional paramedical services.

The money in your HSA is pre-tax, so it goes a lot further. For Quebec residents, it’s a taxable benefit like your regular health benefits.

If you don’t use your full HSA balance by December 31 of a given plan year, it will be carried forward to the next year. If you don’t spend that carryover by the end of year two, you lose it!

You must submit a claim through the AGA members portal to utilize your Health Spending Account.

AGA offers a 60-day period at the beginning of the year to submit HSA claims for expenses incurred in the previous year. After this grace period, no claims from the previous year can be reimbursed under the HSA, and the remaining amount will be used for claims incurred in the current year.
Click here for more information.

Note:  How much is deposited in your HSA each year depends on which of the three medical options you choose. Level 1 = $780, Level 2 = $300, Level 3 = $120.

There are literally hundreds of eligible health, dental and prescription drug expenses, which aren’t covered or are only partly covered by the Samuel, Son & Co. plan. For example, you can use the money in your HSA for:

dental work – everything from root canals to braces;

hearing aids – including repairs and batteries;

paramedical services – including the services of a registered massage therapist, chiropractor, acupuncturist, and physiotherapist;

vision care – such as contact lenses, laser eye surgery, and even prescription sunglasses;

MRI exams – when conducted at a private clinic; and

travel and transportation –when required to receive necessary medical care.

You’ll find a complete list of eligible expenses on the Canada Revenue Agency website.

Keep in mind that purely cosmetic procedures, such as teeth whitening, are not eligible expenses. To qualify, the service, procedure or supply claimed must be provided or prescribed by a medical professional who is licensed according to the laws in the province where he or she is practicing.

One of the key advantages of the HSA is that it covers not only you and your spouse, but an expanded list of dependents. This includes children, grandchildren, parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews of you or your spouse – as long as they:

- are dependent on you for financial support and can be claimed as a dependent on your tax return; and

- have lived in Canada at some point during the year (this residency requirement does not apply if the eligible dependent is your spouse or a grandchild).