ISAC is running a summer website series to promote materials that will help individuals and/or their caregivers, friends, healthcare professionals and other support workers, apply for the Disability Tax Credit and the Canada Disability Benefit. We will only share materials created by trusted sources.
What is the Canada Disability Benefit?
The Canada Disability Benefit (CDB) is a new federal government benefit that provides direct income support to people with disabilities who are between 18 and 64 years old and who are eligible for the Disability Tax Credit (DTC). There are other eligibility requirements for the CDB as well, including income-related eligibility requirements. Read more about the CDB on the government’s website at this link.
What is the Disability Tax Credit?
The Disability Tax Credit is a non-refundable tax credit designed to help with costs associated with a disability. The DTC is not a monthly payment. The purpose of the DTC is to reduce the amount of income tax people with disabilities, their families, or their supporters, pay annually. This means that it can help someone pay less tax. If the person with the impairment does not owe taxes, they can transfer the DTC to a spouse or a family member. If no one in their family owes taxes, it is still worthwhile to apply for the DTC because it makes people eligible for other government benefits. Read more about the DTC on the government’s website at this link.
You may be eligible for the DTC if a medical practitioner certifies that you have a severe and prolonged impairment. You will need a medical practitioner to fill out some of the forms, and it will likely take several months for your application to be reviewed and approved. Applications for the DTC go through the Canada Revenue Agency.
How are the CDB and the DTC related?
The DTC serves as a gateway program for other income and tax benefits, including the Canada Disability Benefit.
You have to first qualify for the DTC before you can apply for the Canada Disability Benefit.
Spotlight on: The Government of Canada’s Free Tax Clinics Directory
Direct link to the resource: https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/individuals/community-volunteer-income-tax-program/need-a-hand-complete-your-tax-return.html
To access the Directory, click the hyperlink under the “Find a clinic” heading. This opens an active user link that will issue you a session timeout warning following a period of inactivity.
Who is it meant for? Applicants and their supporters
Is it available in multiple languages and/or formats? Yes! The resource is available in French here: https://www.canada.ca/fr/agence-revenu/services/impot/particuliers/programme-communautaire-benevoles-matiere-impot/besoin-coup-main-remplir-votre-declaration-revenus.html
Why we like it:
To qualify for the CDB, applicants must file their taxes from the preceding year. However, a portion of the CDB’s target group do not file their taxes because they do not owe any income tax and therefore see no benefit or need to go through a costly, lengthy, and complex tax filing process. This creates a tax filing barrier which results in otherwise eligible persons with disabilities being unable to access the CDB. The Directory provides an opportunity to address this barrier by providing an eligible CDB applicant with free services from a tax clinic organization.
The Directory provides a list of tax clinics that provide free services. This includes completing income tax and benefit returns for current and previous years. The federal government manages the Directory, making it a reputable source of information.
Individuals requesting free income tax and benefit return services from the tax clinics listed in the Directory must have a modest income and a simple tax situation. Modest income is defined as $35,000 for a single person or $45,000 for a couple, plus $2,500 for each additional dependant in the family unit. A simple tax situation is defined as either having no income or having income from any of the following sources: employment, pension, benefits (i.e., Canada Pension Plan, Old Age Security, disability insurance, employment insurance, and social assistance), Registered Retirement Savings Plans, scholarships, fellowships, bursaries, grants, or interest (under $1,000). Eligible populations often include housing-insecure individuals, Indigenous Peoples, individuals living on low incomes, newcomers, and persons with disabilities.
The CDB uses your income tax information from the previous year to determine how much CDB you will receive in the current year. New applicants can receive retroactive payments when first granted the CDB that go back up to two years or to July 2025, whichever is later.
Prospective CDB applicants who did not file their taxes in 2024 but otherwise met all other CDB eligibility criteria can use the services of a free tax clinic in the Directory to file their 2024 (and future) income tax returns so that they can receive CDB payments backdated to July 2025.
How to use the Directory:
The Directory requires that you select your location, and also allows you to filter for language, tax return year, and clinic type before providing a list of possible clinics. Participating organizations who provide tax clinic services include non-profits, charities, and other community groups. Clinic types include:
- walk-in (where services are in person on a first-come, first-served basis without an appointment);
- drop-off (where income tax documents can be dropped off during clinic hours and later picked up);
- by appointment (where services are in person at a scheduled time); and
- virtual (where taxes can be completed without any physical contact at a scheduled time by videoconference or by phone; select “Virtual – Northern communities” instead of “Virtual” if you live in a prescribed zone).
The Directory provides a list of verified free tax clinic organizations, however the quality of services may vary between organizations.
Additional info for Ontario applicants using this resource:
There is nothing additional that Ontario applicants need to consider when using this resource. The Directory is managed by the federal government, and this service has existed since 1971 via the Community Volunteer Income Tax Program, which is a longstanding partnership between the Canada Revenue Agency and community organizations and their volunteers.
Participating organizations host free tax clinics where volunteers complete income tax and benefit returns for eligible individuals to ensure they receive, or continue to receive, the benefits and credits they are entitled to receive.
Directory organizations and volunteers cannot charge for their services and must decline any offers of monetary reward. Anyone who charges a fee for their services will be removed from the Directory, and their account will be suspended.