Disability tax credit: who qualifies, what it is worth and back pay

The disability tax credit cuts income tax for people with a severe and prolonged impairment

The disability tax credit (DTC) is a non-refundable tax credit that reduces the income tax paid by a person with a severe and prolonged physical or mental impairment, or by a family member who supports them. According to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), it aims to offset some of the extra costs of living with the impairment.

Getting it takes 2 steps. First you apply on Form T2201, Disability Tax Credit Certificate, with a medical practitioner who certifies the effects of the impairment. Once the CRA approves the application, you claim the disability amount on your tax return each year you are eligible.

Non-refundable means the credit can bring your tax down to zero but the CRA will not pay out what is left. If you owe less tax than the credit is worth, the unused part can be transferred to a supporting family member instead.

To see how much federal and provincial tax you pay now, and so how much of the credit you can use, run your income through the Canada income tax calculator.

The 2026 disability amount is $10,341 federally, plus $6,032 for under-18s

The federal disability amount for the 2026 tax year is $10,341, according to the CRA's indexation table for personal income tax and benefit amounts. A person under 18 at the end of the year can also claim a supplement of up to $6,032, for a total of $16,373.

The disability amount is not the cash you receive. You multiply it by the lowest tax rate to get the credit. The CRA's 2026 federal rate table sets the lowest rate at 14%, so the federal credit is worth up to $10,341 × 14% = $1,447.74. Your province adds its own disability amount at its own lowest rate.

So an approved adult in Ontario can cut their tax by up to $1,447.74 + $529.95 = $1,977.69 for 2026, and an adult in British Columbia by up to $1,447.74 + $555.13 = $2,002.87, as long as they owe at least that much tax.

The under-18 supplement is reduced when someone claims child care or attendant care expenses for the child. For 2026 the CRA's threshold for those expenses is $3,533; care expenses above it reduce the supplement.

For the 2025 tax return you are filing or adjusting now, the federal amounts were $10,138 and $5,914, according to the CRA's claiming page.

Who qualifies for the disability tax credit

You qualify for the DTC if a medical practitioner certifies that you have a severe and prolonged impairment that meets one of 3 routes, according to the CRA. Prolonged means it has lasted, or is expected to last, for a continuous period of at least 12 months.

1. A marked restriction in 1 category. You are unable to do the activity, or it takes you at least 3 times longer than someone of similar age without the impairment, all or substantially all of the time (generally 90% or more), even with therapy, medication and devices. The categories are walking, mental functions, dressing, feeding, eliminating (bowel or bladder functions), hearing, speaking and vision.
2. Cumulative effect of significant limitations. Limitations in 2 or more of those 8 categories that, together and 90% of the time, are as severe as a marked restriction in one.
3. Life-sustaining therapy. Therapy to support a vital function, such as dialysis, insulin therapy or oxygen therapy, needed at least 2 times a week and for an average of at least 14 hours a week. According to the CRA, people with Type 1 diabetes meet this test for 2021 and later years without the practitioner detailing the therapy.

Eligibility depends on the effect of the impairment, not the diagnosis. ADHD, autism, depression, Type 2 diabetes or a knee replacement can qualify only if the practitioner shows the effect meets one of these tests. Being approved for another federal or provincial disability programme, such as ODSP in Ontario, does not make you eligible for the DTC on its own.

Only certain practitioners can certify each category:

How to apply for the disability tax credit on Form T2201

You apply for the DTC on Form T2201, which has 2 parts: Part A, filled in by you as the person with the impairment, and Part B, filled in by the medical practitioner. According to the CRA, both parts must be sent by the same method, or the application cannot be processed.

1. Choose the method. Use the digital form, where you get a reference number to give your practitioner, or the paper form sent by mail to the Jonquière, Sudbury or Winnipeg tax centre. Since 14 July 2026 the CRA no longer accepts DTC applications through "submit documents" in your CRA account, and from 8 September 2026 it rejects paper applications on versions of Form T2201 from before 2023, according to a CRA tax tip of 16 June 2026.
2. Fill in Part A. Name any supporting family member who will claim the credit in question 2, and tick the box asking the CRA to adjust your past returns if you were eligible in earlier years.
3. Book the practitioner. They complete Part B describing the effects of the impairment. If they charge a fee, you may claim it as a medical expense on line 33099 or 33199.
4. Send it before your tax return. The CRA reviews a DTC application before assessing a return sent with it, which can hold up your refund. You can apply at any time of year.
5. Track it. The progress tracker in your CRA account shows the status. If the CRA needs more detail, it writes to the practitioner, who has 60 business days to reply.

The CRA replies with a notice of determination that says which years you are eligible for, whether the approval has an expiry date, or why the application was refused. The CRA does not charge for a DTC application; the only cost is any fee your practitioner charges.

Worked example: the tax saving on a $45,000 salary in Ontario

An Ontario employee earning $45,000 in 2026 who is approved for the DTC saves $1,977.69 in income tax, cutting the bill from $5,243.02 to $3,265.33. The site's Canada income tax engine gives the tax before the credit; the credit itself is worked out by hand, because the engine takes deductions, not extra credits, and a deduction would wrongly change the Ontario Health Premium.

The figures before the credit come from the Canada income tax calculator with province Ontario and salary $45,000, which includes CPP, EI, the basic personal amount and the Canada employment amount. The Ontario surtax does not apply at this income, and the Ontario tax reduction stays at zero, because Ontario basic tax after the credit ($924.87) is still above $600, twice the $300 basic reduction in the CRA's payroll formulas. The Ontario income tax page shows the same baseline.

The credit is worth the same at higher incomes, because it is always calculated at the lowest rate, not your marginal tax rate. See Canada's tax brackets for how the rates step up. At low incomes it is worth less: someone whose tax is already close to zero after the basic personal amount can use only part of it, and should transfer the rest.

Retroactive disability tax credit: claims go back up to 10 years

If you were eligible for the DTC in past years but did not claim it, the CRA can reassess your returns for up to 10 years back, according to its claiming page. A credit for a past year can produce a refund, even though the credit is non-refundable, because it lowers tax you already paid.

There are 2 ways to get the back years:

• tick the box in Part A of Form T2201 asking the CRA to adjust your previous returns; the CRA then reassesses each eligible year and sends a notice of reassessment;
• if you did not tick it, write to the CRA asking it to adjust the returns, or change each return yourself online through your CRA account.

The retroactive amount depends on the years the notice of determination approves and on how much tax you paid in each. The table uses the CRA's federal disability amounts and the lowest federal rate for each year: 15% up to 2024, and 14.5% for 2025 because the rate fell from 15% to 14% on 1 July 2025.

So an adult approved back to 2016 who paid enough federal tax every year could receive up to $13,195.96 from the federal credit alone, plus the provincial credit for each year. In a year with little or no tax, the refund for that year is smaller or nil, unless a supporting relative can use the credit instead. This is the working behind a "retroactive disability tax credit payment calculator": disability amount × lowest rate for each approved year, capped at the tax you actually paid.

Transferring the disability tax credit to a spouse, parent or other supporting relative

If the person with the impairment does not need the whole disability amount to reduce their own tax, they can transfer some or all of it to a supporting family member. According to the CRA, this is someone they depend on for at least one basic necessity of life: food, shelter or clothing.

The supporting person can be a spouse or common-law partner; a child or grandchild; a parent, grandparent, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, niece or nephew; or those same relatives of the spouse or partner. Each claims on a different line:

• Line 31600: the person with the impairment, for themselves;
• Line 31800: a supporting family member other than a spouse, such as a parent claiming for a child;
• Line 32600: a spouse or common-law partner.

Two people who support the same dependant can split the claim, as long as the total does not exceed the maximum. If the supporting person was not named in Part A question 2 of the application, they must send the CRA a signed written request describing the support they provide.

Example: a parent supporting a 10-year-old approved for the DTC, with no child care or attendant care expenses claimed, can transfer $10,341 + $6,032 = $16,373 for 2026. At 14% that cuts the parent's federal tax by up to $2,292.22, before the provincial credit.

DTC approval is the entry test for the RDSP and two disability benefits

Several federal programmes accept only people approved for the DTC, and some pay more each year than the credit itself. According to the CRA and Employment and Social Development Canada:

The Canada Disability Benefit is income tested. For July 2026 to June 2027 it uses your 2025 adjusted family net income, and up to $10,210 of working income is ignored for a single person ($14,294 for a couple). In the 2025-26 rules on the Government of Canada site, a single person got the maximum if their income after that exemption was $23,000 or less, with the benefit reduced by 20 cents for each dollar above. From fall 2026 the CDB also pays a one-off $150 supplement per approved DTC certificate that qualifies you for a monthly payment, to help with the cost of getting the DTC. Back payments for the CDB go back up to 24 months, but not before June 2025.

The RDSP grant is matched to contributions: depending on family income, a $1,500 contribution in a year can attract the full $3,500 grant.

If your DTC application is refused or has an expiry date

A refused DTC application can be reviewed, and the CRA's notice of determination explains the reasons. Compare those reasons with what your practitioner wrote on Part B, then choose one of the CRA's options: ask for a review and send new documents, file a formal objection, or call the CRA to discuss the decision. The same options apply if you think the approved period is too short.

An approval can be permanent or temporary. If your notice shows an expiry date, the CRA says it will remind you on your notice of assessment 1 year before and in the year it expires, and you can reapply at any time in that year to avoid a gap. If the notice has no expiry date, you do not need to reapply unless the CRA asks.

You must tell the CRA in writing if your condition improves so that you no longer meet the criteria. If you are not eligible, other disability-related deductions and credits, such as medical expenses, may still apply.

What to do next

1. Read the category that fits your impairment on the CRA's eligibility pages and check the 12-month and 90% tests.
2. Start Form T2201 digitally, tick the box to adjust past returns, and name any supporting relative in Part A.
3. Give your practitioner the reference number, and ask them to describe the effects on daily activities, not only the diagnosis.
4. Once approved, check how much tax the credit removes with the Canada income tax calculator, and compare provinces on the Canada income tax hub.
5. Open an RDSP and apply for the Canada Disability Benefit if you are 18 to 64.