Disability Tax Credit at a glance
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Disability Tax Credit at a glance
The Government of Canada recognizes that living with a disability can have significant effects on the daily lives of individuals and their families. The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is committed to administering tax credits and benefits for persons with disabilities in a fair, transparent, and accessible way.
Building on this commitment, the CRA is publically releasing detailed statistics on the Disability Tax Credit (DTC) featuring data on the number of people claiming the DTC, amounts claimed, and applications accepted and rejected in the last six fiscal years. It’s important to note that eligibility is not based on a diagnosis, but rather on the effects of the impairment on the ability to perform the basic activities of daily living (as described in the Income Tax Act).
Disability Tax Credit (DTC) statistics from 2011 to 2017 (by fiscal year)
The tables below show the number of people claiming the DTC, the value of DTC claims, and the number of new processed applications accepted and rejected, for each fiscal year from 2011-2012 to 2016-2017. This information is broken down by the type of Basic Activities of Daily Living (BADL) affected to illustrate DTC usage and applications for each type of impairment.
The number of people claiming the DTC reached an all-time high in the 2016-2017 fiscal year. Some 770,000 individuals claimed the DTC, representing more than $1.3 billion dollars in tax relief.
| Basic Activities of Daily Living | Total Number of approved people claiming Disability Tax CreditFootnote 1 | Value of DTC ClaimsFootnote 2 | New Applications Processed and AcceptedFootnote 3 | New Applications Processed and RejectedFootnote 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vision | 10,396 | $ 17,809,278 | 4,821 | 841 |
| Walking | 200,449 | $ 343,392,872 | 92,957 | 7,102 |
| Speaking | 56,137 | $ 96,168,623 | 26,033 | 2,447 |
| Mental Functions | 205,339 | $ 351,771,101 | 95,225 | 21,795 |
| Hearing | 18,029 | $ 30,886,408 | 8,361 | 1,743 |
| Feeding | 44,977 | $ 77,051,632 | 20,858 | 1,344 |
| Dressing | 95,393 | $ 163,419,795 | 44,238 | 2,547 |
| Eliminating | 51,080 | $ 87,505,948 | 23,688 | 2,172 |
| Life-sustaining therapy | 33,184 | $ 56,848,574 | 15,389 | 2,389 |
| Cumulative | 50,088 | $ 85,806,659 | 23,228 | 2,777 |
| TotalsFootnote 5 | 765,072 | $ 1,310,660,890 | 354,798 | 45,157 |
| Basic Activities of Daily Living | Total Number of approved people claiming Disability Tax CreditFootnote 1 | Value of DTC ClaimsFootnote 2 | New Applications Processed and AcceptedFootnote 3 | New Applications Processed and RejectedFootnote 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vision | 9,683 | $ 16,233,269 | 5,003 | 678 |
| Walking | 185,776 | $ 311,446,437 | 95,986 | 5,076 |
| Speaking | 48,591 | $ 81,461,612 | 25,106 | 1,417 |
| Mental Functions | 195,178 | $ 327,209,223 | 100,844 | 14,199 |
| Hearing | 16,887 | $ 28,310,068 | 8,725 | 1,182 |
| Feeding | 41,252 | $ 69,157,683 | 21,314 | 797 |
| Dressing | 91,324 | $ 153,101,495 | 47,185 | 1,705 |
| Eliminating | 46,389 | $ 77,769,135 | 23,968 | 1,257 |
| Life-sustaining therapy | 26,750 | $ 44,845,094 | 13,821 | 1,707 |
| Cumulative | 45,138 | $ 75,673,054 | 23,322 | 2,217 |
| TotalsFootnote 5 | 706,968 | $ 1,185,207,070 | 365,274 | 30,235 |
| Basic Activities of Daily Living | Total Number of approved people claiming Disability Tax CreditFootnote 1 | Value of DTC ClaimsFootnote 2 | New Applications Processed and AcceptedFootnote 3 | New Applications Processed and RejectedFootnote 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vision | 10,064 | $ 16,684,897 | 5,543 | 679 |
| Walking | 172,604 | $ 286,165,707 | 95,069 | 6,287 |
| Speaking | 45,966 | $ 76,209,315 | 25,318 | 1,191 |
| Mental Functions | 182,382 | $ 302,378,021 | 100,455 | 13,389 |
| Hearing | 17,693 | $ 29,333,272 | 9,745 | 1,172 |
| Feeding | 40,823 | $ 67,681,746 | 22,485 | 884 |
| Dressing | 87,183 | $ 144,544,249 | 48,020 | 1,853 |
| Eliminating | 43,553 | $ 72,208,913 | 23,989 | 1,328 |
| Life-sustaining therapy | 24,554 | $ 40,708,380 | 13,524 | 1,670 |
| Cumulative | 39,657 | $ 65,749,272 | 21,843 | 2,009 |
| TotalsFootnote 5 | 664,479 | $ 1,101,663,773 | 365,991 | 30,462 |
| Basic Activities of Daily Living | Total Number of approved people claiming Disability Tax CreditFootnote 1 | Value of DTC ClaimsFootnote 2 | New Applications Processed and AcceptedFootnote 3 | New Applications Processed and RejectedFootnote 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vision | 13,033 | $ 21,107,614 | 7,552 | 720 |
| Walking | 164,672 | $ 266,701,636 | 95,422 | 6,776 |
| Speaking | 44,159 | $ 71,520,490 | 25,589 | 1,113 |
| Mental Functions | 177,406 | $ 287,325,720 | 102,801 | 13,389 |
| Hearing | 17,654 | $ 28,592,544 | 10,230 | 1,053 |
| Feeding | 44,779 | $ 72,523,884 | 25,948 | 707 |
| Dressing | 84,600 | $ 137,017,819 | 49,023 | 1,924 |
| Eliminating | 43,669 | $ 70,726,718 | 25,305 | 1,495 |
| Life-sustaining therapy | 20,997 | $ 34,006,401 | 12,167 | 1,539 |
| Cumulative | 32,972 | $ 53,400,698 | 19,106 | 1,684 |
| TotalsFootnote 5 | 643,940 | $ 1,042,923,523 | 373,143 | 30,400 |
| Basic Activities of Daily Living | Total Number of approved people claiming Disability Tax CreditFootnote 1 | Value of DTC ClaimsFootnote 2 | New Applications Processed and AcceptedFootnote 3 | New Applications Processed and RejectedFootnote 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vision | 10,695 | $ 16,945,958 | 5,577 | 570 |
| Walking | 162,185 | $ 256,975,707 | 84,572 | 7,268 |
| Speaking | 44,577 | $ 70,630,945 | 23,245 | 1,280 |
| Mental Functions | 173,325 | $ 274,626,607 | 90,381 | 14,385 |
| Hearing | 17,302 | $ 27,413,740 | 9,022 | 1,113 |
| Feeding | 39,917 | $ 63,247,285 | 20,815 | 702 |
| Dressing | 81,804 | $ 129,615,153 | 42,657 | 2,021 |
| Eliminating | 37,150 | $ 58,862,666 | 19,372 | 1,421 |
| Life-sustaining therapy | 23,108 | $ 36,614,450 | 12,050 | 1,641 |
| Cumulative | 31,982 | $50,673,791 | 16,677 | 1,622 |
| TotalsFootnote 5 | 622,044 | $985,606,303 | 324,368 | 32,023 |
| Basic Activities of Daily Living | Total Number of approved people claiming Disability Tax CreditFootnote 1 | Value of DTC ClaimsFootnote 2 | New Applications Processed and AcceptedFootnote 3 | New Applications Processed and RejectedFootnote 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vision | 10,691 | $ 16,666,960 | 6,483 | 558 |
| Walking | 157,832 | $ 246,055,538 | 95,709 | 6,110 |
| Speaking | 39,377 | $ 61,387,269 | 23,878 | 970 |
| Mental Functions | 150,111 | $ 234,018,718 | 91,027 | 12,768 |
| Hearing | 17,058 | $ 26,593,095 | 10,344 | 843 |
| Feeding | 42,055 | $ 65,562,364 | 25,502 | 665 |
| Dressing | 83,585 | $ 130,307,192 | 50,686 | 1,643 |
| Eliminating | 39,649 | $ 61,811,463 | 24,043 | 1,177 |
| Life-sustaining therapy | 21,235 | $ 33,105,112 | 12,877 | 1,398 |
| Cumulative | 25,315 | $ 39,465,448 | 15,351 | 1,197 |
| Totals Footnote 5 | 586,909 | $ 914,973,158 | 355,900 | 27,329 |
Footnotes
- Footnote 1
-
Total number of people claiming the DTC: The number of distinct individuals who had approved claims for the DTC during a fiscal year. There can be multiple claimants for one person with the disability and there can be multiple tax years (re-assessments of prior years) of the utilized DTC. The number of people claiming for each Basic Activity are derived based on the share of new applications processed of each Basic Activity multiplied by total number of people claiming the DTC.
- Footnote 2
-
Value of DTC Claims: The total amounts of federal tax savings as a result of the DTC claim, by category. It does not include the additional savings in provincial/territorial tax. The value of DTC claims for each Basic Activity is derived based on the share of total number of people claiming the DTC by Basic Activity category multiplied by the total value of DTC claims.
- Footnote 3
-
New Applications Processed and Accepted: This is the number of claims that were processed to completion, and accepted, by category. Many individuals make claims in multiple categories depending on the effects of the impairments, so that the totals of all categories significantly exceeds the number of applications accepted within a fiscal year.
- Footnote 4
-
New Applications Processed and Rejected: This is the number of claims that were processed to completion, and rejected, by category. Many individuals make claims in multiple categories depending on the effects of the impairments, so that the totals of all categories significantly exceeds the number of applications rejected within a fiscal year.
The number of incomplete claims where a decision has not been made within a fiscal year are not included, as the decision is pending and is usually completed in the next fiscal year. Thus any estimate is only point in time. For example if a relatively high number of claims are submitted close to the end of the fiscal year, most would not be processed to completion until the end of the fiscal year.
Note also that new annual applications processed will fluctuate with processing patterns year over year.
- Footnote 5
-
Totals: Accepted and Rejected are the totals within any one fiscal year. Individuals can make multiple applications, covering multiple tax years, so that the totals are not directly indicative of tax relief provided.
The totals in column New Applications Processed and Accepted and the column New Applications Processed and Rejected are higher than the number of unique applications because many individuals apply in multiple categories of Basic Activities of Daily Living on a single application.
Disability Tax Credit
The Disability Tax Credit is a non-refundable tax credit that makes a meaningful difference in the lives of hundreds of thousands of Canadians living with a disability each year.
To be eligible for the DTC, an individual must have a severe and prolonged impairment in physical or mental functions, as defined in the Income Tax Act and as certified by a medical practitioner. Eligibility is not based on a diagnosis, but rather on the effects of the impairment on the ability to perform the basic activities of daily living (as described in the Income Tax Folio S1-F1-C2, Disability Tax Credit).
The priority of the CRA is to ensure that people who qualify for the DTC receive it. There is no target rate for DTC approvals or denials. The CRA reviews every application on a case-by-case basis to make sure that people who qualify for the credit receive it.
When an individual does not agree with the CRA’s determination, they can:
- send their tax centre additional information to support their application for up to one year after they submitted their initial application, and ask their tax centre to review their application again.
- submit a new application.
There is also a formal appeals process available to taxpayers if they disagree with the CRA’s determination.
Related links
- Date modified:
- 2018-03-07