The Manitoba government is doubling the tax credit available to families and individuals trying to have a baby with the help of fertility treatments.
Right now, Manitobans pursuing assisted fertility treatments, such as in-vitro fertilization (IVF), can apply to get up to $8,000 back on their taxes through the fertility treatment tax credit.
Under a change in the NDP government’s first budget, tabled on Tuesday, that will now be increased to $16,000.
“Everyone in Manitoba is dealing with the rising cost of living today,” Premier Wab Kinew said during a Wednesday press conference at Heartland Fertility Clinic in Winnipeg.
“We think that your decision to start a family should be based on what’s in your heart, not what’s in your bank account.”
Manitoba has earmarked $1.3 million in the 2024-25 provincial budget for the tax credit, a government spokesperson said.
The party pledged last fall to prioritize reproductive health care on various fronts, including birth control and abortion access.
The fertility tax credit is a refundable personal tax credit that is equal to 40 per cent of treatments the individual or family spends on a licensed fertility medical expert or clinic, according to the province. It also applies to prescription drugs that aren’t covered through private health coverage.
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Until now, the credit would mean someone or a family trying to conceive via IVF or other treatments would only have up to $8,000 in costs reimbursed on expenses up to $20,000.
With the new changes, those who spend up to $40,000 on treatment would be eligible for a maximum of $16,000.
“It can be a very stressful time for families. It can be emotionally draining, it can be physically painful and too often it can be very, very expensive for families,” Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said at Wednesday’s news conference.
“It’s not an easy journey for a lot of families who navigate this, but cost should not be one of those challenges or barriers that people face.”
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Manitoba Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara explains on Wednesday why it was a priority for the NDP to include changes to the fertility tax credit in its first budget, tabled one day earlier.
They said the province will also expand the list of different kinds of expenses that may be claimed, including money paid to surrogates and donors for medical expenses incurred. Some payments to donor and fertility clinics will also become eligible.
Asagwara said the tax credit can also be layered with existing federal tax credits to lower cost.
Demand for fertility services increasing: doctor
Heartland Fertility Clinic has been providing reproductive fertility treatments for Manitobans since 1997.
Dr. Gordon McTavish, medical director of Heartland, said demand for services has significantly increased over the past 27 years, and expanding the team of experts was necessary to keep up. The clinic also had to move from a 6,500-square-foot space to a 15,000-square-foot space, he said.
“You don’t have to go too far to talk to someone in your family or in your inner circle to see someone struggling with infertility and the difficulties that brings,” Dr. McTavish said.
“I’m very thankful to this NDP government for realizing that the cost of reproductive care has gone up, the pressures on families to … try and achieve that goal has gone up, and that financial burden had been holding a lot of people back.”
WATCH | Premier on doubling of Manitoba fertility tax credit:
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew announces on Wednesday at Heartland Fertility clinic in Winnipeg that a provincial fertility tax credit will be doubled this year. People trying to conceive via IVF or through other medical interventions will now be eligible to be reimbursed up to $16,000 on expenses of $40,000, up from being eligible for $8,000 in reimbursement on costs up to $20,000.
Dr. McTavish said one in six people struggle with infertility, and it can take more than one cycle of IVF to get pregnant.
That’s one reason why he said he prefers the annual Manitoba fertility tax credit to some in other jurisdictions that only grant residents subsidies or coverage for one IVF cycle in their lives.
“If you’ve only been given that one opportunity and it doesn’t work, then it’s really difficult to overcome those financial burdens,” said Dr. McTavish.
“The lovely things about ours is that it’s an annual tax credit that’s available to Manitobians that they can go forward on a regular basis if they’re needing the services for fertility … which I think is the envy of Canada,” he said.
“I’ve had colleagues at meetings come up to me and say, ‘We wish that we could have that same tax credit that you have in Manitoba,’ so I think we need to be very proud.”