DISABILITY TAX CREDIT

The disability tax credit (DTC) reduces tax for people with a severe and prolonged impairment in physical or mental functions, and for those who support them. Eligibility is also the gateway to many other programs, including the Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP), the Child Disability Benefit, the Canada Disability Benefit, and the Canada Workers Benefit disability supplement.

ELIGIBILITY

• The impairment must be prolonged: it has lasted, or is expected to last, at least 12 continuous months.

• It must be severe: the person is markedly restricted in at least one basic activity of daily living (speaking, hearing, walking, eliminating, feeding, dressing, mental functions necessary for everyday life), or significantly restricted in two or more, or blind, or receives life-sustaining therapy at least three times a week for an average of at least 14 hours a week.

• A qualified medical practitioner must certify the impairment on Form T2201, Disability Tax Credit Certificate. The CRA must approve the application before the credit can be claimed.

TRANSFERRING THE CREDIT

• The credit can be transferred to a spouse or common-law partner on line 32600.

• It can also be transferred to a supporting relative (parent, grandparent, child, sibling, aunt, uncle, niece or nephew) who provided basic necessities such as food, shelter or clothing, on line 31800.

RETROACTIVE CLAIMS

The CRA can apply an approved DTC to previous years (up to ten years under taxpayer relief rules) and reassess those returns, which can produce substantial refunds.

RECENT CHANGES

• Since 2026, a streamlined process applies to certain long-lasting medical conditions, and provincial public guardians and trustees can apply on behalf of adults in their care.

• From 2027, podiatrists are proposed as additional practitioners able to certify certain impairments.