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A federal tax court judge has ruled that a Kelowna resident can't get a tax break for his CPAP machine because it's used while he's asleep and it doesn't take time away from normal day-to-day activities.

Kelowna resident Geoffrey Halvorson had argued he should get a disability tax credit for having to use a CPAP device and took the dispute to the federal tax court.

According to a Sept. 12 Tax Court of Canada decision, Halvorson had applied for disability tax credit, but was refused because using a CPAP machine didn't meet certain criteria.

The decision said to be eligible for the tax credit, a medical therapy has to be used for more than 14 hours per week, along with other requirements.

One of the requirements stated that the time spent on a medical therapy must take time away from "normal everyday activities."

Canadian tax authorities argued that CPAP devices don't take time away from normal everyday activities because the machines are used when sleeping.

The decision said Halvorson, who runs a strata management business, was diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea in 2010.

He bought a CPAP device, which uses a hose connected to a mask to deliver constant and steady air pressure to help an individual breathe while sleeping.

"In time, (Halvorson) noticed a significant improvement in his well-being and health," the decision read.

The decision didn't say how much money he would have gotten back on his tax return, but he applied for the Disability Tax Credit from 2014 to 2023.

As the sticking point in the hearing was how much he used the device while awake, Halvorson submitted numerous logs he had made about his sleep.

He logged the time it took to put the device on and fall asleep.

"His sleep was regularly broken because of the mask, and he would often get up to drink water due to a dry throat and to clean or adjust the mask if it was venting air due to movement during the night," the decision read. "It was not uncommon to lay awake with the mask on trying to get back to sleep for an hour or more after being awakened by the mask."

Logs were presented to the court of time using the device while not sleeping to show the device was in use for more than 14 hours per week when awake.

In the 23-page decision, Justice Perry Derksen weighed all the evidence to decide whether the device took away from doing "normal everyday activities."

Ultimately, the Justice ruled it didn't.

"I am sympathetic to the impact that severe sleep apnea has on (his) life and recognize the challenges that sleeping with a CPAP mask creates... I must find... that the use of the CPAP device while falling asleep and while attempting to fall back asleep following a sleep disruption did not require (him) to take time away from normal everyday activities in order to receive the CPAP therapy," Justice Derksen said.

The appeal was dismissed.

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