Canada – DTC eligibility self-assessment

We are asked very often. Often the answer is not black or white. Here is a self-assessment questionnaire taken from the government website.

Who is eligible for the DTC?

For you to be eligible for the DTC, a medical practitioner must certify that you have a severe and prolonged impairment in physical or mental functions. The medical practitioner also needs to describe the effects of the person’s impairment. Eligibility for the DTC is based on the effects of the impairment, not on the medical condition itself.

If you receive Canada Pension Plan or Quebec Pension Plan disability benefits, workers’ compensation benefits, or other types of disability or insurance benefits, it does not necessarily mean you are eligible for the DTC. These programs have other purposes and different criteria, such as an individual’s inability to work.

For more information about the eligibility criteria for the DTC, go to Disability tax credit.

You can fill out the self-assessment questionnaire to find out if you may be eligible. This questionnaire does not replace Form T2201, Disability Tax Credit Certificate.

Note

Your answers may show that you are not eligible for the DTC. However, you can still send an application.

Self-assessment questionnaire

 
Question Yes No
1. Has your impairment in physical or mental functions lasted, or is it expected to last, for a continuous period of at least 12 months?

If you answered yes, answer questions 2 to 5 below. If you answered no, you are not eligible for the DTC. To claim the disability amount, the impairment has to be prolonged.
2. Are you blind?
3. Do you receive life-sustaining therapy?
4. Do the effects of your impairment cause you to be markedly restricted at least 90% of the time in one or more of the following basic activities of daily living, even with the appropriate therapy, medication, and devices?

  • Speaking
  • Hearing
  • Walking
  • Eliminating (bowel or bladder functions)
  • Feeding
  • Dressing
  • Mental functions necessary for everyday life
5. Do you meet all of the following criteria?

  • Because of the impairment, you are significantly restricted in 2 or more of the basic activities of daily living, or you are significantly restricted in vision and 1 or more of the basic activities of daily living listed in question 4, even with appropriate therapy (other than therapy to support a vital function), medication, and devices.
  • These significant restrictions exist together at least 90% of the time.
  • The cumulative effect of these significant restrictions is equal to being markedly restricted in one basic activity of daily living.

If you answered yes to question 1 and to any one of questions 2 to 5, you may be eligible for the DTC.

If you answered no to all of questions 2 to 5, you are not eligible for the DTC. To be eligible for the DTC, you have to answer yes to at least one of these questions.

How do you apply for the DTC?

To apply for the DTC, you have to send Form T2201, Disability Tax Credit Certificate.

Note

You do not have to send a new Form T2201 if we already approved your application. However, you have to send a new form if the previous period of approval has ended or if we tell you that we need one.