Benefits Of Disability In Canada

When people you love or care for show signs of mental or physical disability, it can feel quite overwhelming. However, it’s good to know that he or she might be eligible for help from the government. In addition to the local/ provincial resources, people with disabilities might also qualify for CRA Disability Tax Credit.

The Disability Tax Credit, which is almost always referred to as DTC, is a non-refundable tax credit, offered by the Canadian government and the Canada Revenue Agency a.k.a. CRA. It’s designed with a single purpose, to lower the tax burden of Canadians with disabilities and their families, so that it can be of some financial help in meeting the expenses of the disability or the substantial impairment. To add to it, the program offers an extra credit/ refund if the person with disability is found to be under 18 years of age.

The disability credit from CRA consists of two parts - federal and provincial portions, with the former being the same all across the country, while the provincial amount keeps varying from one region to another. That said, to be eligible for the DTC, one has to experience difficulty in performing day to day activities, be it walking, speaking, hearing, and feeding himself/ herself, just to name a few.

If you are a person with disability, receiving the DTC approval can help you unlock different Canada disability benefits, such as the Registered Disability Savings Plan, also known as RDSP, Child Disability Benefit, Canada’s Workers’ Benefit, and more. In fact, availing DTC can be of big help, particularly to those who are facing financial hardships. Moreover, the DTC has been designed to reduce the burden of taxes.

So how does one qualify for this? When it comes to qualifying for DTC, there are two categories to it. The first is, of course, disabled, where the person cannot perform the basic activities of day to day life, and the other is slowed, where the person takes more time to do the regular things in life. Both disabled and slowed individuals can qualify for the CRA Disability Tax Credit. Most individuals who come under the slowed category, do not even consider looking into DTC, because of a common misconception that the program is only for those who are severely disabled, that couldn’t be further from the truth.

Here is the eligibility criteria.

● You have to be a permanent resident of Canada or be a Canadian citizen.

● You would have to be certified by a medical practitioner that you have prolonged and severe impairment or at least somewhat restricted in at least one of the categories.

● You would have to be certified by a medical practitioner that you have limitations in two or more categories.

● It has to be certified that you need life-sustaining therapy to support vital function.

Some of the eligible disability categories include the following.
 

● Mental function

● Walking

● Feeding

● Bladder functions/ Defecating

● Vision

● Speaking

● Hearing

● Dressing

● Life-sustaining therapy

● Cumulative effect of significant limitations

You may have heard the term ‘cumulative effect eligibility’, but most people do not understand what it is. That said, understanding cumulative effect eligibility holds the key to applying for disability credit CRA. 

The term ‘cumulative effect eligibility’ says that even if you don’t have severe restrictions, combined limitations will still qualify you for DTC. So, if you face mild restrictions in two or more areas, it will still be considered equal to having a severe restriction in one area. For example, people with arthritis or diabetes may experience mild restrictions in performing some day to day actions, making them potentially eligible for Canada disability benefits. To know more, you should visit our experts at the Disability Team to help you figure out how you may qualify for DTC.

At Disability Team, our specialists help you apply for DTC. This can be done in two ways, either opting for the online method, wherein we fill out the Form T2201 for the Disability Tax Credit Certificate, or can also go for the offline method, where we have to fill out the PDF manually. However, no matter which method we choose, the form has to be filled right, signed by the applicant, and their medical practitioner, before being shared with the CRA for assessment.

● As a notable DTC firm, we at Disability Team possess a strong understanding of the CRA Disability Tax Creditcriteria and the specific CRA requisites.

● We will review your medical records and communicate with your medical practitioner on your behalf.

● We will fill out the DTC form, and if needed, our team will handle the follow-up questionnaire as well.

● Once the application is approved, we will apply for all the benefits and eligible credits, on your behalf.

At Disability Team, we make sure that the DTC process is a hassle-free experience for you - requiring minimal effort from your end.