Detailed guide to completing Part B of the Disability Tax Credit

Here are some more details on completing the medical practitioner’s part (Part B) of the DTC. When filling out the application, remember that eligibility is not based on diagnosis, but on how restricted someone is in performing one or more basic activities of daily living.

This means that someone could qualify for prior years before their diagnosis, as long as they were restricted in the category they were applying for.

When providing examples of restrictions, compare your patient’s functionality to someone their age without their same restrictions. Episodic symptoms that are recurring can still qualify for this credit.

What you’ll need to provide

When filling out information for each category, you will be asked to provide information on the following:

• Medication: The DTC form does not require you to list specific medications. You only have to indicate whether the patient is taking medication. If applying for a patient under the mental functioning category, the form also asks you to specify how effective medication has been in treating symptoms. If side effects from any medication taken are impacting functionality, this would be relevant information to include in the application.
• Devices/Therapies: The DTC application asks if your patient requires the use of any devices or therapies.
• Examples of restrictions: In each category, provide specific examples of restrictions that persist despite the use of devices and therapies. If you feel like you do not have enough information about your patients’ restrictions at home, ask your patient to provide more about their experiences. We have created a restrictions questionnaire tool that can help with this process. Simply ask your patients to fill out the tool before your appointment.

Notes on specific restrictions

Who can certify what restrictions?

The Canada Revenue Agency allows the following medical practitioners to certify for certain restrictions:

• Medical doctor (e.g. your family doctor): All restrictions
• Nurse practitioner: All restrictions
• Optometrist: Vision
• Audiologist: Hearing
• Occupational therapist: Walking, feeding (eating or preparing meals), dressing
• Physiotherapist: Walking
• Psychologist: Mental functions
• Speech-language pathologist: Speaking

Providing specific details about your patients’ restrictions will help to strengthen their applications. You may wish to consult your patients’ other practitioners for information if you feel you do not have enough information to certify all restrictions. For more information, see Access RDSP’s Guides for Healthcare Professionals.