Disability Tax Credit: How Much You Get Back, by Province

The disability tax credit (DTC) isn’t a cheque or a monthly payment. It lowers your income tax. For 2026 it takes up to $1,448 off your federal tax, or up to $2,292 for someone under 18, and your province adds its own credit on top. If you owe little or no tax, you get less, or nothing, unless a family member can claim it for you.

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has to approve your application first. Approval can cover up to 10 past years, and you need it for other money, including the Canada Disability Benefit and grants in a Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP). The oldest year you can still claim, 2016, closes on December 31, 2026.

How much is the disability tax credit worth in 2026?

The federal disability amount for 2026 is $10,341. You don’t get that amount back. The credit is 14% of it, or up to $1,448, according to Finance Canada (opens in a new tab). Someone under 18 on December 31 can also claim a supplement of up to $6,032 (opens in a new tab). That brings their total to $16,373, worth up to $2,292.

The amounts rise with inflation, but the credit has been shrinking. The lowest federal tax rate fell from 15% to 14% on July 1, 2025 (opens in a new tab), which works out to 14.5% for the whole of 2025, and the credit uses that rate. So an adult’s federal credit was $1,481 for 2024, $1,470 for 2025 and $1,448 for 2026. A calculator that still multiplies by 15% gives too high a figure for 2025 and 2026.

It’s a flat amount. It doesn’t depend on your diagnosis, and it doesn’t go up (opens in a new tab) if you have more than one condition. If your employer already took tax off your pay, the credit shows up as a bigger refund or a smaller amount owing when you file.

How much is the credit worth in your province?

Every province and territory has its own credit, with its own amount and rate. For an adult in 2026, the provincial credit runs from $530 in Ontario to $1,498 in Saskatchewan. With the federal credit, that comes to about $1,800 in Quebec, where the federal credit is lower, up to about $2,950 in Saskatchewan, if you owe enough tax to use all of it.

The adult total adds the federal $1,448 to the provincial credit. The under-18 total adds the federal $2,292 and the province’s supplement, which a parent usually claims. Quebec is lower on both because residents pay 16.5% less federal tax, a cut known as the Quebec abatement (opens in a new tab). That makes the federal credit $1,209. Quebec’s own credit starts at 18.

The amounts come from the CRA’s 2026 TD1 forms (opens in a new tab) and the rates from its 2026 rate tables (opens in a new tab). The CRA hasn’t posted its 2026 provincial worksheets yet, so most under-18 supplements come from KPMG’s 2026 table (opens in a new tab).

A few extras can change your figure:

• Alberta adds 2% on the part of your total credit amounts above $60,000 for 2025 (opens in a new tab), likely about $61,200 for 2026. A parent who also claims amounts for a spouse and a child can reach that.
• Ontario charges higher earners an extra tax called a surtax, worked out after credits, so someone paying all of it gets about $827 (opens in a new tab) instead of $530.
• Manitoba also has a disability benefit in its Family Tax Benefit (opens in a new tab), worth at most $297 ($2,752 at 10.8%) and only at lower incomes.

Why might you get less than the table says?

The credit is non-refundable, so it can only bring your tax down to zero. The CRA doesn’t pay out (opens in a new tab) what’s left over. The amounts in the province table are for someone who owes enough tax, and on a low income you can get much less. These are the approximate incomes where the federal credit starts to save tax and where you get all of it. In between, you save only as much tax as you owed.

This is our math from the CRA’s 2026 amounts (opens in a new tab): the basic personal amount and, where they apply, the Canada employment, age, pension and eligible dependant amounts, plus CPP and EI. Other credits, such as tuition or medical expenses, push the numbers higher. The last row may help explain why one parent on Reddit (opens in a new tab) reports getting $0 after the CRA went back over ten years of returns. Their 2024 income was about $33,000, below where the credit starts to help. It was higher in other years, and the thread doesn’t explain why they got nothing for those years.

Social assistance, such as ODSP or AISH, isn’t taxed (opens in a new tab), so someone living only on it owes no tax and gets nothing from the credit directly. The CRA still says to apply (opens in a new tab), because the approval qualifies you for the programs further down.

A family member can claim what you don’t use

You can pass the unused amount to your spouse or common-law partner (opens in a new tab). You can also pass it to a parent, grandparent, child, grandchild, brother, sister, aunt, uncle, niece or nephew (opens in a new tab) who helps you with food, shelter or clothing. Two supporters can split it, unless one of them claims the eligible dependant amount for you. It lowers their tax instead of yours, and outside Quebec the provincial credit moves the same way.

The simple way is to name that person in Part A (opens in a new tab) of the application, Form T2201. If you don’t, they have to send the CRA a signed request (opens in a new tab) that describes the support they give you.

How much back pay can you get?

Up to 10 years of credits, but only for years the CRA approves and only on tax that was actually paid. For all of 2016 to 2025, the federal credit tops out at $13,196 for an adult and $20,894 for someone under 18 in every one of those years.

The amounts are from the CRA’s table (opens in a new tab), and the totals are worked out before rounding.

Back pay by province

Provincial credits come on top. This table adds them to the federal credit for all ten years. It’s the most you could get at each province’s basic credit rate, if the person was approved for every year and whoever claimed it owed enough tax every year to use it all.

We added each year’s federal credit to that year’s provincial credit, worked out from the CRA’s forms and worksheets for each tax year (opens in a new tab), and for Quebec from Revenu Québec’s returns (opens in a new tab) and Finances Québec’s fact sheet (in French) (opens in a new tab). Quebec’s figures use the federal credit after the abatement, and its under-18 figure is federal only.

Real claims can come in well below that. On Reddit, one commenter (opens in a new tab) reports getting about $14,000 and says their numbers are similar to those of an Ontario worker earning about $70,000. Another poster (opens in a new tab) says a brother-in-law received about $9,500. Those are self-reported, so we can’t check them.

Where does the $40,000 figure come from?

It comes from filing firms’ ads, not from a government program. There’s no $40,000 grant. Disability Credit Canada’s home page (opens in a new tab) offers a “refund of up to $40,000,” and Canada Benefit Group (opens in a new tab) uses the same number.

From the credit alone, that’s possible only for a child in Alberta or Saskatchewan, with a parent who paid enough tax in all ten years and no child care claim reducing the supplement. No one who was an adult in all ten years gets there in any province. A family can pass it by adding Child Disability Benefit back payments, which are covered below. At a 25% fee plus 5% GST, $40,000 becomes $29,500.

The 2016 tax year closes on December 31

The CRA’s 10-year limit rolls forward every January 1 (opens in a new tab). Under the Income Tax Act (opens in a new tab), you have to apply by the end of the tenth calendar year after the tax year. So a request for 2016 has to be in by December 31, 2026, and from January 1, 2027, the oldest year is 2017.

The CRA says eligibility can go back 10 years from the date it received the application (opens in a new tab), and an application needs both parts to be complete (opens in a new tab): Part A, which you fill out, and Part B, which a doctor or other medical practitioner fills out. So if you’re hoping to reach 2016, it could be worth getting Part B in well before the end of December. That year is worth up to $1,200 in federal tax for an adult and $1,900 for a child. If a family member is claiming for an adult, or two people are splitting the credit, their own request for 2016 should reach the CRA by then too, because the box in Part A (opens in a new tab), the one that asks the CRA to adjust your past returns, doesn’t cover a family member’s returns. The parent or guardian of a child under 18 can use the box.

The 10 years are a limit, not a promise. The CRA approves the years your practitioner can support, and the notice with its decision, called a notice of determination, lists them (opens in a new tab).

How the money arrives, and how long it takes

If you tick the box in Part A, the CRA redoes your past returns itself (opens in a new tab), a step it calls a reassessment. Provincial credits are included (opens in a new tab), except in Quebec. If you didn’t tick it, you can change each year’s return in your CRA account or by mail. A family member claiming for an adult, or two people splitting it, send Form T1-ADJ or a letter (opens in a new tab) for each year.

You get one notice of reassessment for each tax year. There’s no payment calendar for this money, because it’s a tax refund that follows the reassessment. One person on r/cantax (opens in a new tab) quotes the note on their notices: “The notice for the latest tax year will show your combined total refund or balance due. We will send you any refund you are entitled to after we reassess all your returns.” If yours says that, don’t add those notices together. Another commenter there (opens in a new tab) says the CRA can also pay the refund in several sums, a few tax years at a time, so you may get more than one payment. Any refund interest appears on the notices. If you owe the CRA, the refund goes to that debt first.

The CRA’s target for an application is 8 weeks (opens in a new tab), and it met that 49% of the time in 2025-26 (opens in a new tab). The past years take longer. The Taxpayers’ Ombudsperson reported (opens in a new tab) in November 2025 that 60% of those adjustments were processed right away and the rest took another 16 to 50 weeks. The CRA’s current target (opens in a new tab) is up to 36 weeks for a request that covers several tax years, or years past the normal three-year limit. So plan for anything from a few months to over a year.

How much is the credit worth for a child?

The credit usually goes to a parent, because a child owes no tax. For 2026 that’s up to $2,292 off the parent’s federal tax, plus the provincial credit in the table. The Child Disability Benefit then adds up to $3,480 a year (opens in a new tab), or $290 a month per child, paid with the Canada Child Benefit. It starts to shrink once family net income passes $82,847.

A few rules change what a family gets:

• Who claims it. The parent or guardian named on the application (opens in a new tab) claims it. A parent who pays child support generally can’t.
• Child care. The supplement shrinks (opens in a new tab) if anyone claims child care or attendant care for the child above $3,533 (opens in a new tab), and it’s gone at $9,565 ($3,533 plus the $6,032 supplement). The child care deduction limit (opens in a new tab) also rises to $11,000 for a child who qualifies.
• Caregiver amount. A parent may also be able to claim the Canada caregiver amount for a child under 18 (opens in a new tab), $2,740 for 2026, on line 30500. It isn’t part of the DTC, so it won’t be added for you.

How far back does the Child Disability Benefit go?

The CRA automatically works out the current and two previous benefit years (opens in a new tab). For older years, you have to send a written request to your tax centre. The 10-year limit in the Income Tax Act (opens in a new tab) appears to cover this benefit too, so it could be worth sending that request before the end of the year.

The CRA’s published maximums rose from $2,730 for July 2017 to June 2018 (opens in a new tab) to $3,411 for July 2025 to June 2026 (opens in a new tab), and they add up to $27,025 over those nine years. Together with the $20,894 federal credit, that could pass $47,000 before any provincial credit, for a family under the income limit every year with enough tax to use the credit.

Does ADHD, autism or type 1 diabetes qualify?

A diagnosis of ADHD or autism doesn’t qualify you on its own, and it doesn’t rule you out. The CRA says (opens in a new tab) eligibility is based on the effects of an impairment, “not a diagnosis or the presence of a medical condition.” For ADHD or autism, that usually means the mental functions category, which covers things like attention, concentration, memory and adapting to change.

To qualify through mental functions alone, the person has to be unable to do those things, or take three times as long as someone of similar age, at least 90% of the time, for at least 12 months, even with therapy and medication. There’s a second route: limits in two or more categories (opens in a new tab), such as mental functions and speaking, can count together if their combined effect is as severe.

That’s a high bar when medication helps. The CRA’s own video (opens in a new tab) shows a child on medication and therapy who is doing better at home than at school, and it concludes “this child would not qualify.” The CRA decides from what the practitioner writes (opens in a new tab) in Part B, so every detail there counts.

Type 1 diabetes works differently. People with it meet the criteria (opens in a new tab), and the practitioner doesn’t have to detail the therapy for 2021 and later years.

The federal government has also proposed a shorter form (opens in a new tab) for 43 long-term conditions, including level 3 autism, Down syndrome, schizophrenia and cystic fibrosis. ADHD isn’t on the list. The change would apply to certifications for 2026 and later, but it isn’t law yet. Draft legislation came out in July (opens in a new tab), and Budget 2026 confirmed the plan (opens in a new tab) on November 5.

What else does approval get you?

You need DTC approval for several other programs, and for many people on a low income, they pay more than the credit does.

Approval also removes the first-time buyer test for the RRSP Home Buyers’ Plan (opens in a new tab) and the home buyers’ amount (opens in a new tab), if the home is more accessible or better suited to the person’s needs. British Columbia has passed (opens in a new tab) a children’s disability supplement (opens in a new tab) of up to $6,000 a year, planned for July 2027.

The Canada Disability Benefit pays its full amount (opens in a new tab) to a single person with up to about $23,500 of income, not counting the first $10,210 of work income, and the yearly benefit drops by 20 cents for each dollar above that. It can pay up to 24 months back, though no further than June 2025. The government’s page still shows last year’s $23,000 in its worked examples.

Why the RDSP can be the biggest number here

A Registered Disability Savings Plan is a long-term savings account where the government adds money. In 2026, a family with net income up to $117,045 gets $3 for each of the first $500 contributed and $2 for each of the next $1,000 (opens in a new tab). So a $1,500 contribution brings a $3,500 grant. At up to $38,237 of family income, the $1,000 bond arrives with no contribution at all.

Unused grants and bonds carry forward for up to 10 years, for years you were approved for the DTC. The catch-up is capped at $10,500 of grant a year, and the bond can reach $11,000 when you open the plan. So if back pay lands in your account, an RDSP could be the first place to look. The money is meant to stay in the plan. If you withdraw, you may have to repay $3 of grants and bonds for every $1 you take out (opens in a new tab), up to what was paid in the last 10 years.

You’re approved. What do you do next?

Approval doesn’t start everything on its own. These are separate steps:

1. Check your notice. It lists the years you were approved for and any expiry date.
2. Fix the past years, if you didn’t tick the box. Use Change my return (opens in a new tab) in your CRA account, or a letter or Form T1-ADJ if a family member is claiming.
3. Parents: ask for older benefit years. Write to your tax centre for Child Disability Benefit years the CRA didn’t pay automatically.
4. Apply for the Canada Disability Benefit, if you’re 18 to 64. It doesn’t start by itself.
5. Open an RDSP at a bank or investment firm that offers one, to start the grants and bonds.
6. See if a family member can claim the caregiver amount on their own return.
7. Claim the disability amount every year. Enter it on line 31600, or 31800 or 32600 if someone else claims it.

Are filing companies worth the fee?

For a straightforward claim, probably not. Filing the form costs nothing, and the firms that publish a price mostly charge about 25% of what you get back, plus tax, and nothing if you lose. A firm or tax professional can earn that on a refused or complicated claim, though free help exists for those too.

These are the fees each company published as of November 2026. We couldn’t find a published fee for other firms, including National Benefit Authority. Federal regulators said in 2021 (opens in a new tab) that firms charge 15% to 40%, most commonly 30%. The same document estimates about $15,700 of refunds over 10 years for an Ontario adult. At 25%, that’s $3,925, or $4,435 with 13% HST.

The main cost of doing it yourself is the fee for the medical form. A 2026 federal notice (opens in a new tab) says it “usually ranges around $125-$150,” and some practitioners don’t charge. You may be able to claim it as a medical expense (opens in a new tab). Part A can be done in your CRA account or by phone (opens in a new tab), and the form has a box to fix your past years.

A federal regulation (opens in a new tab) sets a cap of $100 for the eligibility request and $100 for each tax year adjusted, plus inflation. A B.C. court suspended it in 2021 (opens in a new tab) until a constitutional challenge is decided. The CRA says (opens in a new tab) it’s suspended until further notice, so firms can still charge a percentage.

What to read before you sign

• What the percentage covers. Some agreements cover only the retroactive refund. Check whether the fee also applies to Child Disability Benefit back payments, and whether anything applies to future years.
• Whether you can leave. One agreement (opens in a new tab) makes the firm your exclusive agent and, for 24 months, stops you from filing your own application for the period it covers unless the firm agrees. Another (opens in a new tab) gives you 14 days to cancel, and after that you still owe its fee if you apply on your own for the same period.
• What the fee is based on. One firm (opens in a new tab) charges on the full refund the CRA assesses, even when the CRA keeps part of it against a debt you owe.
• Who pays the doctor, and what late interest applies. Two agreements we read charge 2% a month.
• What access you’re giving. The CRA’s authorization form (opens in a new tab) says you’re responsible for “monitoring and understanding what your representative is doing on your accounts.”

When paying can make sense

Paying can be worth it if the CRA has already refused you, if your practitioner doesn’t know the form or won’t fill it out, if the credit has to be split among family over many years, or if the paperwork is too much to take on. A flat fee or an hourly professional can cost much less than a percentage of a large refund.

The CRA accepted 299,220 of the 327,100 T2201 forms (opens in a new tab) it decided in 2024, or about 91%, with or without a firm. Only complete refusals count as refused in that figure, and it doesn’t show who would have been approved without a firm.

Free help to try first

• Federally funded navigators (opens in a new tab) help one-on-one with applications.
• Plan Institute’s helpline (opens in a new tab), 1-844-311-7526, is free.
• Inclusion Canada (opens in a new tab) also helps people appeal decisions.
• My DTC (opens in a new tab), from Disability Alliance BC, builds a letter for your doctor. It doesn’t file for you.
• Volunteer tax clinics (opens in a new tab) prepare simple returns for people with a modest income.

How does the credit work in Quebec?

Quebec has its own credit on top of the federal one. For 2026 it’s 14% of $4,208 (opens in a new tab), or up to $589. The federal credit is lower for Quebec residents because of the abatement: $1,209 instead of $1,448. Together, the two credits come to $1,798. Most of the rules below differ from the rest of the country.

• The form. The first time you claim, send Revenu Québec (opens in a new tab) Form TP-752.0.14-V or a copy of your federal T2201. You need the Quebec form if you qualify through essential therapy, or if someone claims the caregiver credit for you. If you file online, you still mail it (opens in a new tab).
• Two decisions. The CRA and Revenu Québec apply separate laws, and Revenu Québec has said (in French) (opens in a new tab) it can refuse the credit even with a signed T2201, so one could accept you and the other refuse.
• Age. Revenu Québec’s amount is for people 18 or older, and it has no supplement for children.
• Transfers. The unused Quebec amount can’t go to a parent or other relative (opens in a new tab). A spouse can get it, through line 431 (opens in a new tab). The federal transfers above still work on the federal return.
• Past years. Revenu Québec generally goes back ten calendar years (opens in a new tab) as well, but the box on its form generally covers only the three previous years (opens in a new tab). Years before 2022 take Form TP-1.R-V (opens in a new tab) by mail, one per year, and a request for 2016 has to be made by December 31, 2026, there too.

Quebec families also have a provincial benefit. Retraite Québec pays a Supplement for Handicapped Children (opens in a new tab) of $241 a month in 2026, with no income test, up to age 18. A child who needs exceptional care can also get $1,215 or $808 a month (opens in a new tab). You apply to Retraite Québec separately, and its criteria differ (opens in a new tab) from the CRA’s, so a child can qualify for one and not the other. For free help in Quebec, the Office des personnes handicapées (opens in a new tab) answers questions about tax measures, and Finautonome (in French) (opens in a new tab), 1-833-866-7334, is one of the federally funded navigators.

If some of the money can stay in savings

This money is there to help with the extra costs of a disability, so most of it will go to those. An RDSP comes first if you can use one, since nothing else here adds $3,500 to a $1,500 contribution.

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This article is general information, not tax advice. Your amount depends on your province, your income and the years the CRA approves, so your notice of determination and your CRA account are the places to confirm it.

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