Friday 6 May 2016

Appreciating Disability Tax Credit Canada

By Daniel Graham


There are a number of services and programs that have been made available for persons with disabilities. They are aimed at assisting these persons as well as their care givers to cope with the additional expenses they encounter to enable them to participate fully in a society. In Canada for example, there is the disability tax credit Canada to assist this groups of persons.

This refers to the deductions and credits that are particularly available for people with disabilities and their caregivers. However, you have to qualify for this disability tax credit in order to start enjoying its benefits. Once you qualify for it, it opens other doors for more deductions and credits in other programs.

It is non-refundable and it was started in order to minimize the amount in income tax paid by disabled people. There is also a supplement put in place for the children that are less than 18 years old. In order to apply for this credit, you have to go to a medical doctor who will fill out your T2201 tax form, DTC certificate before you can forward them to CRA to get approval.

There are several persons who are eligible for this program and this includes those who have an impairment either physically or mentally that affects their involvement in daily income generating activities. In order for you to qualify, you must prove that you have been having these impairments for over 12 months that ought to be continuous. It is also important to qualify even if you doubt you are eligible as it causes no harm.

If you are able to prove that your disability has been there for a longer period of time, you will be able to have your returns on tax reassessed over the past 10 years. Children who suffer from a number of conditions namely; bi-polar disorder, epilepsy, Aspergers Syndrome and other similar ones could benefit from this program. Children with learning disabilities also qualify for it.

If you are a caregiver to such a person with a disability, you will be able to offset your expenses from the caregiver amount you get. This is seen as a reprieve for the hard work and stress you have to contend with when taking care of the physically challenged person. It is a form of appreciating the work that is done by the caregivers.

In the recent past, there have been calls for the process of claiming the DTC to be reviewed as some people feel that it is too complex. Most parties claim that they are forced to pay huge sums of money in order to access it and this is the reason many people do not apply for it although they are eligible. People who have lower incomes also shun away from it thinking that it would not benefit them which is wrong as it qualifies them for other government programs.

The government of Canada is looking at ways of tweaking the whole application process to make the credit fund available to more eligible Canadians. There are some quarters that feel the process is not complex as they are able to apply for it easily. There are some proposed regulations in place and concerned parties are watching closely.




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