The CRA announced updates to the eligibility criteria for Canada’s Disability Tax Credit (DTC) today. As of June 23, the criteria for mental functions and life-sustaining therapy will be expanded to better reflect the realities of people living with a disability.
As a result of these measures, more families and people living with disabilities will qualify for the DTC. The DTC also opens the door to related benefit programs linked to DTC eligibility, such as the Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP) and Canada Worker’s Benefit (CWB), both which provide important financial relief.
The updated criteria will make it easier for individuals to be assessed and give more eligible people access to the DTC and other benefits.
The major changes include:
- More criteria added under the category of mental functions,
- More activities recognized in determining time spent on life-sustaining therapies,
- Required frequency of life sustaining therapy decreased (now required a minimum of two times per week from three),
- People with Type 1 diabetes now deemed to receive life-sustaining therapy.
The eligibility criteria will be updated on the CRA’s newly optimized webpages. The CRA recently revised DTC webpages to make it easier than ever for individuals to review eligibility for the credit, to apply and to learn what other benefits they may have access to if they qualify. You can help your clients learn more by directing them to our Disability Tax Credit web pages at canada.ca/cra-disability-tax-credit to learn more.
Please encourage your contacts and clients to share their feedback with us using the “Did you find what you were looking for” prompt at the bottom of the page. We want to hear what they think!
For Medical Practitioners
The expanded criteria now include more clinically relevant terms within the list of mental functions that the CRA uses to assess a DTC application. This includes the separate consideration of problem solving, goal setting and judgement, which were previously considered together.
The minimum required frequency of life-sustaining therapy is reduced from three times a week to two, but a weekly minimum of 14 hours is still required. Additionally, these changes will expand the list of activities considered to be life-sustaining therapies such as recuperation (when medically required) after therapy, time spent by caregivers supporting therapies, and more.
Finally, people with Type 1 diabetes, because of the requirements of managing their condition, are now considered to meet the required frequency for life-sustaining therapy (as they are likely to receive therapy at least twice a week for a weekly total of 14 hours or more).
Part B of the web application will be updated with the new criteria later this summer so please check back regularly for updates canada.ca/cra-disability-tax-credit. You can access the updated paper form anytime at canada.ca/dtc-paper-form that includes the updated criteria.
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