Disability tax credit (DTC)

The federal disability tax credit provides people with a disability or their family some relief from the costs related to the disability by reducing tax payable. The maximum disability amount you can claim for 2021 is $8,662. An additional amount of $5,053 can be claimed as a supplement for persons under 18 years of age.

You can claim the disability amount if the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has an approved T2201 certificate on file for you or for the person for whom you’re claiming the tax credit (such as a dependant or your spouse or common-law partner). Your doctor or nurse practitioner must complete this form, certifying that you have a severe and prolonged impairment and provide related details.

Notes:

If you want to claim the DTC for a dependant, you must be named as the person who can claim the disability amount on the dependant’s approved T2201. Keep in mind, your dependant must first claim the disability tax credit on their return. If they don’t need all of the tax credit to reduce their own taxes to zero, they can transfer the remaining amount to you.

For more information, check out our article Disability amount transferred from a dependant.

Yes, you can transfer your disability tax credit to your spouse, as long as the spouse receiving the tax credit is named on the approved T2201 form, and you don’t need to claim the entire amount on your tax return.

If you’re eligible for the federal disability tax credit, you’ll also be able to claim the corresponding provincial/territorial tax credit, which will vary based on which province or territory you live in. Use this link to read the details about the province where you live.

If you’re a resident of Québec, you can claim the amount for a severe and prolonged impairment in mental or physical functions if you have an approved federal T2201 certificate or TP-752.0.14-V: Certificate Respecting an Impairment. As with the T2201 certificate, your doctor will also need to complete relevant sections of the TP-752.0.14-V form.

Follow these steps to claim the DTC in H&R Block's 2021 tax software:

To claim the DTC for yourself in H&R Block’s 2021 tax software, follow these steps:

  1. Under the PREPARE tab, click the REQUIRED icon.

  2. Navigate to the Special situations page. You’ll find yourself here:



  3. Select Yes to the question Do you have a disability? (an impairment in mental or physical functions) and respond to the subsequent related questions that show up.

To claim the DTC for your spouse in H&R Block’s 2021 tax software, follow these steps when preparing your spouse’s return (if you and your spouse are preparing your returns together):

  1. On the PREPARE tab, click the REQUIRED icon.

  2. Navigate to the Special situations page. You'll find yourself here:



  3. Select Yes to the question Do you have a disability? (an impairment in mental or physical functions) and respond to the subsequent related questions that show up.

  4. Click the Wrap-Up tab and on the OPTIMIZATION icon, go to the Shared credits page.

  5. Select Yes to the question On your approved T2201: Disability tax credit certificate, is {Spouse} named as the person who can claim all or part of the disability amount if you don’t need it?.

If you and your spouse are not preparing your returns together, follow these steps:

  1. On the PREPARE tab, click the REQUIRED icon.

  2. Navigate to the Amounts from {Spouse’s} 2018 return page.

  3. Answer Yes to the questions, Is {Spouse} suffering from a prolonged impairment in mental or physical functions? and Is there a Disability Tax Credit Certificate on file for {Spouse} with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)?.

  4. Click the Wrap-Up tab. Under the OPTIMIZATION icon, proceed to the Shared credits page.

  5. Answer Yes to the question, On {Spouse’s} approved T2201: Disability tax credit certificate, are you named as the person who can claim all or part of the disability amount if {Spouse} doesn’t need it?.

If you want to claim the DTC for a dependant, make sure that you’ve told us about the dependant(s) from whom you’ll be transferring the disability amount.

Once you’ve told us about your dependant(s), follow these steps to transfer the disability amount:

  1. Click the name of your dependant on the left-hand navigation panel. You’ll find yourself here:



  2. Under the Transfer amounts heading, select the checkbox labelled Disability amount, then click Continue.

  3. When you arrive at the Disability amount page, answer the questions to find out if you’re eligible to claim your dependant’s disability amount. Once confirmed, enter your information into the tax software.

  4. Click the Wrap-Up tab and navigate to the OPTIMIZATION icon.

  5. On the Optimized credits page, depending on whether you’re filing your return with your spouse or separately, you’ll need respond to the following questions that appear:
    • Do you want to make any changes in the table above? (such as changing the optimized amounts or choosing not to claim a credit)
    • Who do you want to claim the disability amount transferred from a dependant?