Your child qualifies for the disability tax credit. What else could that unlock?

Who this is for

Parents of a child with a severe and prolonged impairment who have applied for, or are about to apply for, the disability tax credit. It covers what approval changes on the tax return and in benefits. It does not discuss eligibility; that is for the medical practitioner and the CRA.

The five things approval can open

1. The child disability benefit. Up to $3,480 a year ($290 a month) per eligible child for July 2026 to June 2027, paid with the Canada child benefit. It is reduced when adjusted family net income passes $82,847, by 3.2% for one eligible child or 5.7% for two or more. No separate application if you already get the CCB.

2. The credit, back up to ten years. If the CRA agrees the impairment existed in earlier years, the credit can be claimed for up to ten previous years. If you authorised it on the application, the CRA adjusts those returns itself. Otherwise you request the adjustment. A parent usually claims the child’s unused credit as a transfer.

3. A higher child care limit. The annual child care deduction limit for a child eligible for the credit is $11,000, at any age, instead of $8,000 or $5,000. The two-thirds-of-earned-income cap still applies.

4. A Registered Disability Savings Plan. Eligibility for the credit is a condition for opening an RDSP, which has its own grants and bonds. The CRA also lists the Canada workers benefit disability supplement and the Canada disability benefit as programs tied to the credit. Each has its own rules.

5. BC’s planned disability supplement. The Province says a supplement to the BC family benefit of up to $6,000 a child a year is expected to begin in July 2027. It is for children under 18 approved for the credit. It is reduced by 4% of adjusted family net income above $50,000. It is to be paid automatically with the family benefit. This is a government announcement; check the Province’s page before relying on it.

How to apply, briefly

Form T2201. Part A is the applicant’s; Part B must be completed by a medical practitioner. It can be submitted digitally through CRA sign-in services or on paper. The disability supports deduction is a separate deduction with its own rules and does not depend on the credit.

How the pieces connect

The credit is the key. The benefit, the child care limit, the RDSP and the BC supplement all follow from it. Keeping both parents’ returns filed keeps the benefit flowing, and a retroactive claim can produce refunds for several past years at once.

What to prepare

When professional help may make sense

Retroactive claims across several years, a transfer of the credit between separated parents, or a child who also has an RDSP. Each has filing steps that are easy to miss.

How Rex Tax may be able to help

We file the retroactive adjustments, make sure the transfer lands on the right parent’s return, and check that the benefit arrives for the right years. Please do not send medical information through the website form.

Official sources

• Canada Revenue Agency: How to apply for the disability tax credit
• Canada Revenue Agency: Claiming the disability tax credit
• Canada Revenue Agency: About the disability tax credit
• Canada Revenue Agency: Child disability benefit
• Province of BC: Children and youth disability supplement (expected July 2027)
• Income Tax Act, section 63 (child care expenses)

This guide is general information, not advice about your situation. It reflects the rules for the 2026 tax year. It has not yet been reviewed by a practitioner. The information was checked against the official sources listed above on the date shown. Rules change. Check the official sources above or ask us. How we prepare these guides.