Modernize Disability Tax Credit

AI summary

Petitioners ask Canada to modernize the Disability Tax Credit by revising eligibility and administrative interpretation to recognize episodic disabilities like multiple sclerosis and align DTC’s definition with the Accessible Canada Act and Canada Disability Benefit Act. The government responds that it will not change eligibility but will streamline applications and expand certifiers.

AI summaries describe petitioners’ requests and claims. Consult the official record for the full text.

Official petition

Petition to the Government of Canada Canada has one of the highest rates of multiple sclerosis (MS) in the world, with more than 90,000 Canadians living with this unpredictable, episodic yet progressive disease; Canadians with disabilities, including those with MS, face disproportionate financial challenges due to reduced employment opportunities and the high costs of medications, rehabilitation, mobility aids, and other essential supports; The Disability Tax Credit (DTC) is a cornerstone of federal disability support, and is the gateway to the Registered Disability Savings Plan and the new Canada Disability Benefit; The Canada Revenue Agency applies an administrative interpretation to the DTC criteria, requiring individuals to experience impairment “all or substantially all of the time” – a definition not consistent with other legislation, including the Accessible Canada Act; The interpretation does not recognize the fluctuating nature of episodic disabilities like MS, where a multitude of severe and prolonged symptoms significantly impact daily life; and As a result, many Canadians living with MS are denied the DTC and therefore excluded from the RDSP and the CDB, despite the Accessible Canada Act and the Canada Disability Benefit Act both explicitly recognizing episodic disabilities. We, the undersigned, citizens and residents of Canada, call upon the Government of Canada to modernize the Disability Tax Credit by revising its eligibility criteria and administrative interpretation to recognize the fluctuating, episodic nature of disabilities like multiple sclerosis, and to align the DTC with the disability definition used in the Accessible Canada Act and the Canada Disability Benefit Act.

Government response

Response by the Minister of Finance and National Revenue Signed by The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne While the term “disability” in the Canada Disability Benefit Act has the same meaning as in the Accessible Canada Act, individuals must still meet specific eligibility criteria and other program requirements to qualify for the Canada Disability Benefit. This is common for most programs and benefits – i.e., each having specific eligibility criteria, beyond the broader population definition, which are tailored to meet specific program objectives. The Canada Disability Benefit Act provides that a person is eligible for the Canada Disability Benefit if they meet the criteria set out in regulations. These include being eligible for the Disability Tax Credit, a criterion that helps to target the Canada Disability Benefit to persons with more severe disabilities (who tend to have high levels of financial need). Basing disability eligibility on the federal Disability Tax Credit supports a consistent national standard, helping to ensure that Canadians can access the program in a consistent and equal way regardless of where they live. In addition, using the Disability Tax Credit meant not having to develop a new adjudication process for the Benefit, and thus, individuals do not have to navigate a new process and eligibility criteria. The Disability Tax Credit is also used to determine eligibility for other federal measures (e.g., Child Disability Benefit and the Registered Disability Savings Plan) and some provincial / territorial programs (e.g., Newfoundland and Labrador’s Income Supplement Disability Amount). The Disability Tax Credit, which is legislated under the Income Tax Act, is a tax relief measure for persons with severe and prolonged disabilities. As a non-refundable credit, the long-standing purpose of the Disability Tax Credit is to improve tax fairness by taking into consideration, in determining an individual’s tax liability, the impact that higher, non-itemizable everyday living expenses associated with a severe and prolonged disability can have on the individual’s ability to pay tax. Since these are expenses that cannot be easily measured or quantified (i.e., are distinct from medical expenses recognized through the Medical Expense Tax Credit and potentially embedded in general costs such as for clothing, housing, or transportation), tax recognition is provided under the Disability Tax Credit through a flat credit amount of $10,341 in 2026 (which can reduce taxes owing by up to $1,448) and available to those expected to have this level of additional non-discretionary spending based on disability criteria established in the Income Tax Act. There are three key components to the Disability Tax Credit eligibility criteria. 1. An individual must have a severe and prolonged impairment in physical or mental functions. 2. The effects of the impairment must be such that, the individual is markedly restricted in the ability to perform a basic activity of daily living or would be so restricted were it not for extensive life-sustaining therapy (which is defined as including therapy for an individual with type 1 diabetes). A marked restriction exists where all or substantially all of the time (a term generally interpreted by the Canada Revenue Agency as being at least 90% of the time), even with appropriate devices, medication and therapy, the individual is blind, or is unable (or requires an inordinate amount of time) to perform one or more basic activities of daily living. The basic activities of daily living are legislated as follows: walking; feeding or dressing oneself; mental functions necessary for everyday life; hearing; speaking; and eliminating bodily waste.? 3. The impairment and its qualifying effects must be certified by a qualified medical practitioner. Individuals who do not meet the criteria based on one basic activity of daily living may still qualify for the Disability Tax Credit if the combined effects of significant limitations in two or more activities (including, for these purposes, the ability to see) are present together all or substantially all of the time, even with appropriate devices, medication and therapy and equivalent in impact to having a marked restriction in a single activity. Recognizing that a number of individuals can face barriers to obtaining a valid Disability Tax Credit certificate, changes were proposed in the Spring Economic Update 2026 to make it easier for persons with disabilities and their supporting family members to access the Disability Tax Credit. In particular, the government is proposing to: Streamline the application process for individuals with a formal diagnosis of certain long-lasting medical conditions. These conditions, listed in an annex to the Spring Economic Update 2026, entitled Tax Measures: Supplementary Information, have been identified through the Canada Revenue Agency’s experience in processing applications as satisfying the disability impact criteria for the credit. Expand the list of medical practitioners who can certify eligibility for the Disability Tax Credit to include podiatrists (for impairments affecting walking) and broaden the types of impairment that can be certified by physiotherapists, speech-language pathologists and occupational therapists, within the scope of their training and practice. Recognise provincial or territorial public guardians and trustees as being qualified to certify for the Disability Tax Credit for adults in their care for property matters who have a valid certificate of incapacity. Once implemented, these improvements, which would not change the disability criteria to qualify for the Disability Tax Credit, should ease the administrative burden for medical practitioners, help tens of thousands more eligible Canadians access the credit and make the application process easier for countless others. These commitments build on other changes made in recent years to make it easier for individuals to apply for the Disability Tax Credit, including expanding the list of medical practitioners who can certify the effects of impairments to include nurse practitioners, updating and expanding eligibility criteria for qualifying for the credit on the basis of a disability affecting mental functions or life-sustaining therapy, and introducing a fully digital application process. The Disability Tax Credit can unlock other supports including the Canada Disability Benefit and the Registered Disability Savings Plan, and each year, more Canadians have access to the Disability Tax Credit. Fairness will be top of time as the government considers further improvements to the tax system for persons with disabilities.