Getting help with your Disability Tax Credit application
Most people looking for help with the Disability Tax Credit are stuck on one of three things. Which one you are stuck on decides where you should go, and for two of them the best answer costs nothing.
The three places people get stuck
1. The wording
You know how your impairment affects you, but the form asks the question in a way that does not match how you would describe your own life. People write their diagnosis and the CRA is not assessing the diagnosis. It assesses function: how long things take, how often, how much help you need, and whether that is the case substantially all of the time over a period of at least twelve months.
This is the most common stuck point and the one preparation actually helps with.
2. The practitioner
Your practitioner is hesitant, too busy, unfamiliar with the form, or unsure about attesting to something they feel they cannot judge. This is extremely common and it is usually about the form rather than about you. What to do when your practitioner is hesitant.
3. The denial
You applied, it was refused, and the reason is not obvious. There are separate routes with different clocks, and most people do not realise the two are different. Your options after a denial.
Free help, first
Start here. If one of these fits your situation, it is a better answer than paying anyone, including us.
- The CRA, directly The CRA answers Disability Tax Credit questions by phone at 1-800-959-8281, and publishes the full eligibility criteria and application steps at no cost. This is the general individual tax enquiries line, not a dedicated DTC line.
- Access DTC (Disability Alliance BC) Free, step-by-step support through Disability Tax Credit applications, renewals, denials and appeals. They also run a fund that helps cover the fee a medical practitioner may charge. British Columbia residents. By appointment. A national affiliate, Disability Alliance Canada, also operates.
- Free tax clinics (CVITP) Volunteers file income tax returns at no cost, which is the step where an approved Disability Tax Credit is actually claimed, including adjustments to earlier years. Modest income and a simple tax situation. Volunteers file returns; they do not complete Form T2201.
Access DTC does more than we do. It covers renewals, denials and appeals, and it runs a fund that helps with the fee a practitioner may charge. If you are in British Columbia, try them before you try us.
When paying for help makes sense, and when it doesn't
It can be worth paying if
- You have tried to put your situation into words and it did not come out right, and you would rather someone did that part properly.
- Your practitioner is willing but wants something organized to work from instead of a blank form during a short appointment.
- Your situation spans several categories and you are not sure how they add up. The CRA assesses the cumulative effect of significant restrictions in two or more categories separately, and it is easy to under-describe.
- You have been refused once and do not want to repeat whatever went wrong.
It is probably not worth paying if
- You are eligible for free help and can wait. The service is at least as good and it costs nothing.
- Your situation is clear-cut and your practitioner is confident. Plenty of applications succeed with no help at all. The CRA's own guidance is free and thorough.
- You have no practitioner willing to certify Part B. No amount of paid preparation fixes that, because without a practitioner there is no application. Solve that first.
- You mainly want someone to deal with the CRA for you. That is a different service. Firms that manage the file and represent you through objections exist, and they charge a percentage of your refund for it.
On percentages
Most firms in this market charge a contingency fee, typically between 23% and 25% of whatever the CRA pays you. Because the credit can be claimed retroactively for up to ten years, that can be a large amount from a single determination. It is not hidden, but it is often not obvious until late in the process. What each firm publishes, with sources.
What preparation actually involves
Whether you do it yourself, use a free service, or pay someone, the work is the same. It is worth knowing what it is.
- Describing function, not diagnosis. How long an activity takes, how often you can do it, what help or equipment you need, and what a bad day looks like. Assessed as you are with your usual medication, therapy and devices in place.
- Mapping that onto the CRA's categories: walking, feeding, dressing, eliminating, mental functions, speaking, hearing, vision, life-sustaining therapy, and cumulative effect.
- Getting Part A right, including whether to name a supporting family member. The credit is non-refundable, so with little or no tax payable it is worth nothing unless a supporting relative is named.
- Giving your practitioner something usable so completing Part B is a review rather than an interrogation.
Part B is your practitioner's alone. Only a medical practitioner may complete it, and the CRA will not process an application where the applicant filled it in themselves. A medical doctor or nurse practitioner may certify all impairments; other practitioners are limited to their own area, so a physiotherapist can speak to walking and a psychologist to mental functions, but neither can certify everything.
Where to start
The self-check walks through the CRA's categories and gives you an organized summary in your own words. It is free, it runs in your browser, and you can take the result to your practitioner or to a free service without ever speaking to us.
If you would rather we prepared the full package, it is a flat CAD299. What that includes and excludes. We do not determine eligibility, provide medical opinion, or guarantee approval, and nothing on this page is legal, medical, or tax advice.