Jasbir Sandhu, NDP MP for Surrey North, hosted a seminar about the Disability Tax Credit on Saturday at the Surrey City Centre Library. Sandhu presented information about the eligibility criteria for the Disability Tax Credit, and explained the application process in detail. The seminar was attended by over 30 participants from Surrey and throughout the Lower Mainland, some coming from as far as Victoria.
Background information on the Disability Tax Credit (DTC):
If you or someone you know has a medical condition that restricts, or limits daily living activities for a continuous length of at least 12 months, you can claim the DTC by asking your doctor to complete the Disability Tax Credit Certificate (Form T2201), and submitting it to Canada Revenue Agency.
This credit can be claimed retroactively for up to ten years and is available to people who have a severe and prolonged physical or mental impairment. Because of that impairment, the individual must be restricted, all or substantially all of the time, in their ability to perform a basic activity of daily living, or would be markedly restricted were it not for extensive therapy they receive to sustain a vital function. Canada Revenue Agency has indicated that as a guideline, “substantially all of the time” means that the restrictions in activity are present 90% of the time or more.
Activities of daily living that DTC can be claimed for impairment include blindness, speaking, hearing, walking, elimination (bowel or bladder functions), feeding, dressing or performing the mental functions necessary for everyday life. Form T2201 can be printed online from Canada Revenue Agency website at http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/ or by hard copy at Service Canada Centers or your local MP office.
Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP) is a federal savings plan established to help save for the security of a person who is eligible for the disability amount. These contributions are non-tax deductible and do not count as income when withdrawn. There is an overall lifetime limit of contributions of $200,000 for one beneficiary. The federal government pays matching funds in Canada Disability Savings Grant of 300%, 200% or 100% depending on the beneficiary’s family income and the amount contributed, up to a maximum of $3,500 in one year and $70,000 over lifetime. Grants that have been in the RDSP for less than ten years must be repaid if the Plan is closed, the beneficiary loses eligibility for the Disability Credit, or passes away.
