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Taxes & Finances

GEM Healthcare Services > Blog > Taxes & Finances
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Home care, Taxes & Finances

Disability Tax Credit reforms to make access easier

The federal government’s Disability Tax Credit (DTC) provides significant financial relief for persons with disabilities and their supporting family members. This non-refundable tax credit helps offset some of the extra costs associated with living with a disability. For 2026, the disability amount is $10,341, providing up to $1,448 in federal tax relief. Eligibility for the DTC also serves as a requirement for access to seventeen other key federal supports, including the Canada Disability Benefit, the Child Disability Benefit, the Registered Disability Savings Plan, and the Canada Disability Savings Grant and Bond. 

This year, the application process has been updated to improve the DTC application process for persons with disabilities, and to reduce paperwork for medical practitioners. The specific changes include:

  • Streamlining the DTC application process for individuals diagnosed with certain long-term medical conditions. Rather than having to provide detailed assessments about how a condition affects daily functioning, medical practitioners will only need to confirm the diagnosis.
  • Expanding the list of medical practitioners who can certify eligibility for the DTC to include podiatrists (for impairments affecting walking) and broadening the types of impairment that can be certified by physiotherapists, speech-language pathologists and occupational therapists. 
  • Recognizing provincial or territorial public guardians and trustees as being qualified to certify applications for the DTC for adults in their care for property matters who have a valid certificate of incapacity. 

In addition to the proposed changes listed above, on September 1, 2026, the federal government will also provide an automatic supplemental payment of $150 to all Canada Disability Benefit recipients to help reduce the costs of obtaining the disability tax credit (DTC).

GEM Health Care Services has always encouraged its clients to take advantage of existing tax benefits to offset the costs of home health care services, including the DTC. “We welcome these proposed improvements that we believe will simplify the application process,” says Gaye Moffett, founder, president and CEO of GEM. “By expanding the list of health professionals who can certify the DTC forms plus increasing the number of disabilities that qualify for permanent DTC approval, the needs of Canadians will be better served in the future,” she adds. 

For more details, visit: Help speed up your DTC application – Canada.ca. In addition, you can learn about support for individuals preparing DTC and CDB applications here: Organizations providing disability benefits navigation services.

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Advocacy, Home care, Taxes & Finances

Canada Disability Tax Credit offers key financial relief for seniors and their families

Did you know there is a little-known federal benefit available across Canada for individuals with medically-verified disabilities? Qualifying for the Canadian Disability Tax Credit (DTC) opens access to several other significant federal, provincial, and territorial programs, benefits, and tax deductions. By reducing the amount of income tax payable, the DTC aims to offset some of the extra costs related to impairment, thereby offering an important way to extend one’s resources and potentially access additional help as needed. Read an overview of the program here. 

At GEM Health Care, we have significant experiencing helping clients, or their family members, apply for the DTC. We’re happy to share some details of the program with you:

Eligibility

You may be eligible for the DTC if a medical practitioner certifies that you have a severe and prolonged impairment in one of the approved categories (e.g. walking, mental functions, vision and more), or significant limitations in two or more approved categories, or receive therapy to support a vital function. Read more about the eligibility criteria here. 

Applying for the credit

The individual, or their legal representative, initiates the application by completing Part A of form T2201 online, by phone or with paper forms. Once a reference number for the application has been issued, the appropriate medical practitioner (e.g. physician, nurse practitioner, optometrist, psychologist, etc.) completes Part B online. Find details about the application process here. 

When to apply

You may apply for the DTC at any time during the year. However, to avoid a possible delay, it is better to submit your application before you file your tax return. If you intend to split or transfer the credit, it will save you time to include the supporting family member information in Part A, question 2 of the DTC application.

Key advantages

Financial Relief and Tax Savings: these include a non-refundable federal tax credit; provincial tax credits (e.g. Ontario Disability Support Program) may also be available. The credit is transferable, so if the person with the disability doesn’t need the full credit, it can be transferred to a supporting family member. This is defined as someone who the person with the impairment depends on for at least one of the basic necessities of life.

Retroactive Refunds: If eligible, you can apply for up to 10 previous years and potentially receive a lump-sum refund for previously unclaimed credits.

Access to other financial programs: Being eligible for the DTC may help you access other federal programs such as:

Simplified Tax Planning

Once approved, the DTC can be claimed annually without reapplying unless the impairment condition changes.

Summary

If you or someone in your family has a severe and prolonged impairment, applying for the DTC could unlock thousands of dollars in savings and support.  For additional information, we encourage you to contact us so we can help guide you through the process of applying for and receiving the Disability Tax Credit.