The disability supplement of the Canada workers benefit
Workers approved for the disability tax credit receive a second layer of the workers benefit, which starts at a lower income and fades out later.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method
The disability supplement of the Canada workers benefit is worth up to $860 for 2026, up from $843 for 2025, and it is added to the basic amount of up to $1,665 for a single worker or $2,869 for a family. Only a person approved for the disability tax credit can receive it. It builds up at 27 % of working income above $1,150, a much lower starting point than the $3,000 required for the basic amount, so the full supplement is reached at about $4,335 of earnings. The reduction starts later too: at $38,495 of adjusted net income for a single person and $50,377 for a family, with a rate of 15 %, or 7.5 % when both spouses are approved for the credit. By our arithmetic the supplement disappears near $44,228 for a single person and $56,110 for a family with one eligible member. It is claimed on Schedule 6 with the basic amount, on line 45300, and half of it can be paid in advance.
Your CWB disability supplement for 2026
Disability supplement
$860.00
| Basic amount | $1,228.80 |
| Total workers benefit | $2,088.80 |
| Income used for the reduction | $30,000 |
When both spouses have the DTC, each is assumed to earn the amount entered. Quebec, Alberta and Nunavut are not modelled.
A second layer with its own curve
The workers benefit has two parts. The basic amount rewards any low-income worker. The disability supplement is reserved for workers approved for the disability tax credit, the federal recognition of a severe and prolonged impairment certified on form T2201. The supplement has its own formula in section 122.7 of the Income Tax Act, with three numbers that differ from the basic amount: a lower starting income of $1,150, a lower maximum of $860, and higher reduction thresholds of $38,495 for a single person and $50,377 for a family.
Those thresholds sit just above the point where the basic amount runs out. For a single worker, the basic amount is gone at about $38,492 of adjusted net income by our arithmetic, and the supplement only starts shrinking at $38,495. A worker with a disability therefore keeps a few hundred dollars of workers benefit over an income range where a worker without one gets nothing at all.
The supplement across incomes
| Situation | Basic amount | Supplement | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single, net income $20,000 | $1,665 | $860 | $2,525 |
| Single, net income $40,000 | $0 | $634 | $634 |
| Single, net income $43,000 | $0 | $184 | $184 |
| Family, one with the DTC, $54,000 | $0 | $317 | $317 |
| Family, both with the DTC, $72,000 | $0 | $984 | $984 |
At $20,000 the single worker collects both maximums. At $40,000 the basic amount has vanished but the supplement is only slightly cut, and at $43,000 a small supplement still remains. The family with one approved member keeps a reduced supplement at $54,000, an income where the family basic amount has long reached zero. The last row shows the halved rate at work: with both spouses approved and $72,000 of family income, which includes $25,000 of earnings each, the secondary earner exemption of up to $16,714 lowers the income used and each spouse keeps a supplement.
Your CWB disability supplement for 2026
Disability supplement
$860.00
| Basic amount | $1,228.80 |
| Total workers benefit | $2,088.80 |
| Income used for the reduction | $30,000 |
When both spouses have the DTC, each is assumed to earn the amount entered. Quebec, Alberta and Nunavut are not modelled.
Thresholds and end points for 2026
- Single person: reduction from $38,495, at 15 %, supplement gone near $44,228.
- Family, one person with the disability tax credit: reduction from $50,377, at 15 %, gone near $56,110.
- Family, both spouses with the credit: reduction from $50,377, at 7.5 % for each supplement, each gone near $61,844.
The thresholds come from the CRA indexation table for 2026. The end points are our own arithmetic, threshold plus maximum divided by the rate; the CRA page on amounts still showed 2025 figures when we checked, when the maximum was $843.
Small earnings, real money
The low starting point is what makes the supplement matter for people who can only work a little. Take a single worker approved for the credit who earns $2,500 in the year from a few shifts: the basic amount is still zero, because earnings are below $3,000, yet the supplement already pays $365. At $6,000 of earnings the same person receives $1,670 in total, the supplement at its maximum and the basic amount still climbing. For someone whose disability limits the hours they can work, these first few thousand dollars of earnings are where the benefit grows fastest.
The income that counts
Two different incomes are used, and mixing them up is the usual mistake. Working income, meaning employment earnings and net self-employment income, decides how much of the supplement you build up. Adjusted net income, line 23600 of your return plus your spouse’s, minus the secondary earner exemption when it applies, decides how much is taken away. Disability payments such as the Canada Disability Benefit or CPP disability are not working income, so they never help you build the supplement, but any of them included in net income can reduce it.
Claiming it as a couple
The claim is made on Schedule 6, step 3, and the result goes on line 45300 with the basic amount. The CRA gives three cases. If only one spouse is approved for the disability tax credit, that person claims the basic amount and the supplement. If both are approved, one claims the basic amount for the family, and each claims a supplement on their own Schedule 6. A single person claims both parts alone.
Before you count on it
Getting the disability tax credit approved comes first. When the approval covers past years, the CRA lets you claim the disability amount back up to 10 years, so earlier returns are worth a second look. Source: CRA, Claiming the disability amount (modified 2026-01-20). Quebec, Alberta and Nunavut use their own Schedule 6, so the figures above do not apply there. The amount you receive is the one on your notice of assessment. Sources: CRA, Indexation of personal income tax and benefit amounts for 2026 (modified 2026-03-12), Income Tax Act, section 122.7 (Canada workers benefit) and CRA, Line 45300, Canada workers benefit: how to claim (modified 2026-06-12). The workers benefit calculator combines both parts for any income.