Last week, I did a Disability Savings (RDSP) workshop for “I Believe in Miracle” a therapy agency for children with intellectual disabilities such as Autism, Learning Disabilities, ADD/ ADHD, slow learners, dyslexia. Despite the terrible weather on that evening, (if you remember, there were hail) we could still manage to have a nice small group of attendees. During the workshop, there were a few questions in regards to the “Disability Tax Credit“. Although, I’m not an expert in this area, I still would like to share what I know, and hopefully could assist those in the special needs community in their application process.
Q: What type of illness or conditions does a disabled person have to be diagnosed with in order to qualify for the Disability Tax Credit?
A: From my understanding, it’s not really just about the type of diagnosis, rather it’s the ability of the disabled person to perform daily activities. There is a Self-Assessment Questionnaire on the application form, one of the questions is “Do the effects of your impairment cause you to be markedly restricted (defined on the previous page) all or substantially all of the time (at least 90% of the time) in one or more of the following basic activities of daily living, even with the appropriate therapy, medication, and devices? (speaking, hearing, walking, elimination (bowel or bladder functions), feeding, dressing, mental functions necessary for everyday life)”.
Note that there are other assessment questions as well, make sure to go over them carefully.
Q: Part B of the application needs to be filled out by a medical professional. Who exactly could fill that out for the disabled individual?
A: There is a section named “Certification” on the last page of the application, it states that qualified practitioner may include “Medical doctor, Optometrist, Occupational therapist, Audiologist, Physiotherapist, Psychologist, and Speech-language pathologist.” Of course, you should find a medical professional that is qualified to diagnosis your specific disabled condition.
Q: What should I do after I fill out the application?
A: Simply mail that to the tax center. Their mailing addresses are also printed on Page 3 of the application, pick the one that is located in your province.
You may download the disability tax credit application through the link below:
http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/E/pbg/tf/t2201/t2201-12e.pdf
Furthermore, I recently found a short video that describes how one may “do-it-yourself” on the application process, thought would be helpful to share.
Disclaimer:
- Image Courtesy atibodyphoto/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net
- I do not intend to make any comment on any other service providers. The goal to share this video is to give another perspective to disabled Canadians when applying for the disability tax credit. However, if you have any previous experience in applying the DTC, I’d love to know your feedback. Please share with us by leaving comment below!
[note] Click Here To Learn How To Obtain Up To $90,000 Disability Savings Benefits [/note]