Who qualifies for the DTC?
To qualify for the DTC, a person must have a severe and prolonged impairment in physical or mental functions, certified by a qualified medical practitioner on Form T2201. "Severe" and "prolonged" are legal words with specific meanings here, and both must be satisfied. An impairment that is serious but short-lived does not qualify, and neither does a long-lasting impairment whose effects are mild. The CRA looks at function: what the person can and cannot do in everyday life, how long tasks take, and how much of the time the restriction is present.
Prolonged means at least 12 months
Prolonged means the impairment has lasted, or is expected to last, for a continuous period of at least 12 months. A broken bone that heals in three months, however painful, is not prolonged. A condition that has already lasted a year, or that a practitioner expects to last a year or more from its onset, can meet this part of the test. The start date matters a great deal, because it also decides how far back a retroactive claim can go, so the practitioner should record the onset date carefully rather than the date of diagnosis alone, where those dates differ.
Severe means markedly restricted, almost all of the time
Severe means the person is markedly restricted in a basic activity of daily living, all or substantially all of the time. The CRA generally reads "all or substantially all of the time" as at least 90% of the time, even with appropriate therapy, medication, and devices. "Markedly restricted" means the person is unable to perform the activity, or takes an inordinate amount of time to perform it, compared with a person without the impairment. Occasional difficulty, or difficulty only on bad days, does not meet this standard unless the restriction is present at least 90% of the time when the whole picture is considered.
The ten categories
| Category | What the CRA looks at |
|---|---|
| Vision | Seeing, even with glasses, contact lenses, or other devices, where applicable |
| Speaking | Speaking so as to be understood in a quiet setting, with or without aids |
| Hearing | Hearing so as to understand speech in a quiet setting, with or without devices |
| Walking | Walking, including the distance, speed, and need for rests or aids |
| Eliminating | Bowel and bladder functions |
| Feeding | Feeding oneself, including preparing and consuming food where the form requires it |
| Dressing | Dressing oneself, including the time taken and help needed |
| Mental functions | Mental functions necessary for everyday life, such as memory, problem-solving, goal-setting, judgment, and regulating behaviour and emotions |
| Cumulative effect | Two or more significant restrictions whose combined effect is equivalent to one marked restriction |
| Life-sustaining therapy | Therapy needed to support a vital function, for at least 14 hours per week |
The cumulative effect route
Many people do not meet the marked-restriction test in any single category, but still qualify. If a person has two or more significant restrictions, each falling short of "marked" on its own, the combined effect may be equivalent to a marked restriction, and that is enough. The classic example is a person who is significantly restricted in both walking and dressing: neither restriction alone is marked, but together they limit everyday life to the same degree as one marked restriction. The form must describe each restriction separately and show how they add up; a general statement that "everything is difficult" does not do this work.
Life-sustaining therapy
Life-sustaining therapy is assessed under its own criteria. The therapy must be needed to support a vital function, it must be needed at least twice a week, and the time spent on it must total at least 14 hours per week. Time spent on activities such as dietary restriction, exercise, or travel to appointments does not count toward the 14 hours; the counted time is the time the therapy itself requires, including the time needed to administer it and, where the CRA allows it, related monitoring and record-keeping directly tied to the therapy. Since 2021, the CRA has treated a person with type 1 diabetes as meeting the life-sustaining therapy criteria. People receiving other therapies must document the weekly hours.
What does not decide eligibility
Three things that many people assume matter do not decide DTC eligibility. Income does not matter: a high earner and a person with no income face the same functional test, though income affects how much tax the credit can reduce. Employment does not matter: being able to work, with or without accommodations, does not disqualify a person, and being unable to work does not by itself qualify one. And receiving another disability payment does not matter: the CRA has said plainly that eligibility for other programs does not necessarily mean DTC eligibility, because other programs test different things, such as inability to work.
Sources: Canada Revenue Agency, Disability tax credit pages and "Demystifying the disability tax credit" on canada.ca; guide RC4064, Disability-related information.
Photo credits: dt07.jpg — k; dt08.jpg — k; dt09.jpg — k