The disability tax credit
The DTC lowers the income tax of a person with a severe and prolonged impairment, or of the family member who supports them, and it is the key to several federal benefits.
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The federal disability amount is $10,341 for 2026, and a person under 18 at the end of the year can add a supplement of up to $6,032, for a total of $16,373. The disability tax credit is non-refundable: those amounts are multiplied by the lowest federal tax rate, 14 % for 2026, so the federal tax saved is at most $1,447.74 for an adult and $2,292.22 for a child, and only if there is enough tax to absorb it. The unused part can be transferred to a spouse or a supporting family member. Eligibility is not based on income: it depends on a severe and prolonged impairment certified by a medical practitioner on form T2201, which the CRA must approve. That approval matters well beyond the tax return. It is the entry ticket to the child disability benefit, the disability supplement of the Canada workers benefit and the Canada Disability Benefit, which pays up to $204.20 a month to adults aged 18 to 64. Past years can be claimed back up to 10 years.
What the disability amount saves in federal tax
Federal tax reduction, at most
$1,447.74
| Disability amount | $10,341 |
| Supplement for under 18 | $0 |
| Rate applied | 14 % |
Non-refundable: the saving cannot exceed the federal tax owed, but the unused part can be transferred. Provincial credit not included.
Amounts for 2026
| Item | 2026 |
|---|---|
| Federal disability amount | $10,341 |
| Supplement for a person under 18, maximum | $6,032 |
| Care expense threshold that reduces the supplement | $3,533 |
| Lowest federal tax rate | 14 % |
| Federal tax saved, adult, at most | $1,447.74 |
| Federal tax saved, under 18, at most | $2,292.22 |
The disability amount rose from $10,138 in 2025, by the general indexation of federal tax amounts. The tax value went the other way at the margin: the lowest federal rate used to convert credits into tax savings is 14 % for 2026, so the credit is worth $1,447.74 for an adult who has enough tax to absorb it. Provincial and territorial credits, where they apply, are calculated separately and are not in the table.
What the disability amount saves in federal tax
Federal tax reduction, at most
$1,447.74
| Disability amount | $10,341 |
| Supplement for under 18 | $0 |
| Rate applied | 14 % |
Non-refundable: the saving cannot exceed the federal tax owed, but the unused part can be transferred. Provincial credit not included.
What “non-refundable” means for you
A non-refundable credit can bring your federal tax down to zero but never below. A person whose income is covered by the basic personal amount and other credits gets no direct benefit from the disability amount. That is common, since many people with a severe impairment have modest incomes, and it is the reason the law lets the unused part move to someone else in the family. The person with the impairment claims on line 31600. A spouse or partner picks up the unused part on line 32600, and another supporting relative, such as a parent or an adult child, on line 31800.
For a child, the full $16,373 usually goes to the parent who supports them. A parent paying tax at the lowest federal rate then saves up to $2,292.22 of federal tax each year, before the provincial credit.
Getting form T2201 approved
The credit is not claimed by simply ticking a box. The CRA must first approve a Disability Tax Credit Certificate, form T2201. Part A is completed by you, the applicant. Part B is completed by a medical practitioner, who certifies the impairment. The certificate can go to the CRA through the digital application, which practitioners can also use, or by mail; the CRA no longer takes it through the document submission service of its online accounts. The CRA reviews the certificate and notifies you of its decision.
Approval comes before any money. Put the figures side by side for a low-income adult aged 18 to 64 who works a little: the credit itself may save nothing, but the approval can open up to $2,450.40 a year of Canada Disability Benefit, the one-time $150, and up to $860 of workers benefit supplement, about $3,460 in the first year at the maximums.
The benefits that open with the DTC
- The child disability benefit, paid with the Canada child benefit, up to $3,480 a year per eligible child from July 2026.
- The disability supplement of the Canada workers benefit, up to $860 for 2026 for a worker approved for the credit.
- The Canada Disability Benefit, up to $204.20 a month from July 2026 for adults aged 18 to 64, with a one-time $150 from fall 2026 for the cost of obtaining the credit.
For many households these programs are worth far more than the tax saving itself. A low-income adult who owes no tax gains nothing from the credit on the return, but the approval can bring in the Canada Disability Benefit, and the workers benefit supplement if they have some earnings.
Going back in time
When the CRA approves the certificate for years already filed, the way to benefit is to ask for an adjustment of each of those returns. The CRA allows claims going back up to 10 years. A family that learns of the credit when a child is twelve can therefore recover the disability amount and the child supplement for the earlier years covered by the approval, at the amounts of each year: for 2025, $10,138 plus $5,914, the $16,052 the CRA uses in its own example.
Provincial support and the DTC
Provincial disability assistance does not rely on the federal credit. Ontario’s ODSP and Alberta’s AISH and ADAP have their own medical tests and their own applications. The two tracks are worth running in parallel. The figures on this page are federal; your notice of assessment shows what the CRA actually allowed. Sources: CRA, Disability tax credit (DTC) and form T2201, CRA, Indexation of personal income tax and benefit amounts for 2026 (modified 2026-03-12), CRA, Claiming the disability amount (modified 2026-01-20) and CRA, Tax rates and income brackets for the current year, 2026 (modified 2026-06-25).