2. Learn about the disability tax credit

The disability tax credit helps people who have disabilities or a family member who supports them. It can reduce the amount of income tax they have to pay. And it lets people access government benefits like the Canada Disability Benefit (CDB).

If you have a prolonged and severe disability, you can apply to the (CRA) for the disability tax credit. The CRA must approve your application before you can apply for the CDB.

Getting the credit for past years

If you were eligible for the disability tax credit before you applied, you may be able to claim it going back up to 10 years. This means that the CRA gives you a refund for taxes you paid in those years, up to a certain amount.

Who can apply

A medical practitioner must say that you have a prolonged and severe disability.

Prolonged disability

To be prolonged, you must have had your disability for 12 months or longer. Or a medical practitioner must expect your disability to last that long.

Severe disability

There are 3 ways your disability can be severe.

The first 2 ways are about how much your disability affects how you do the following daily activities. The government has more details about each one:

First way

You cannot do one or more daily activities at all. Or doing them takes you more than 3 times longer than it takes someone who does not have a disability.

This must be true all the time or at least 90% of the time. And taking medication or getting other support does not change it. This is called having a “marked restriction”.

Second way

You have a hard time with 2 or more daily activities. And this has the same effect as if you had a marked restriction in one daily activity.

This must be true all the time or at least 90% of the time. And taking medication or getting other support does not change it.

For example, you have trouble walking and dressing. When you do each one on its own, you take less than 3 times as long as someone who does not have a disability. But the extra time it takes to do both is the same as if you took 3 times longer to do one of them.

Third way

You get life-sustaining therapy at least 2 times a week. And that therapy takes 14 or more hours a week.