Navigating the DTC Application: A Step-by-Step Guide for 2026
What are the seven steps of the DTC application?
The DTC application in 7 steps: confirm eligibility, get Form T2201 certified, submit, then claim. Pre-2023 forms are refused from September 8, 2026.
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The DTC application runs in seven steps, from confirming eligibility to claiming the credit on your tax return. A medical practitioner certifies the effects of your impairment, the CRA decides, and you claim the disability amount yourself. Two rules changed in 2026, so check those before you send anything.
What are the seven steps of the DTC application?
Each step has an owner. You confirm eligibility and gather documents, a medical practitioner certifies the effects of the impairment, the CRA determines eligibility, and you claim the amount on your return. Knowing who does what stops the common mistake of waiting on the CRA when the file is sitting with your practitioner.
| Step | What happens | Who is responsible | What you must physically produce |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Confirm the impairment is likely to meet the criteria | Applicant, with input from the practitioner | Notes on how the impairment affects daily life |
| 2 | Practitioner certifies the effects of the impairment | Medical practitioner | A completed Part B, signed and dated |
| 3 | Choose the online application or the paper form | Applicant | A CRA account sign-in, or a printed current T2201 |
| 4 | Submit the application to the CRA | Applicant | A submitted online form, or an envelope to your tax centre |
| 5 | Receive the notice of determination | Canada Revenue Agency | Nothing, unless the CRA asks for more information |
| 6 | Claim the disability amount on the tax return | Applicant or supporting family member | A filed return, or a request to reassess past years |
| 7 | Use the approval for the programs it unlocks | Applicant, financial institution, CRA | The notice of determination itself |
What changed at the CRA in 2026, and why it matters now
Two changes make older guides dangerous to follow. One closed a submission channel that used to work. The other retires every copy of Form T2201 printed before 2023. Both land in 2026, and the second one takes effect in September, so a form sitting on a desk today can expire before it is mailed.
| Date | What changed | Consequence if you ignore it |
|---|---|---|
| July 14, 2026 | The submit documents section of a CRA account can no longer be used to send DTC applications, unless the CRA specifically asked you for more information | Your application goes nowhere. It is a dead end, not a slow lane |
| September 8, 2026 | Versions of Form T2201 published before 2023 are no longer accepted | A certification done on an old printout is wasted, and the practitioner has to redo it |
If someone handed you a printed T2201 last year, check the version before your practitioner writes a single line on it. Download a fresh copy from the CRA form page instead. The CRA published the same warnings in its own tax tip on speeding up a DTC application.
Step 1: Confirm the impairment is likely to meet the criteria
The DTC is not granted for a diagnosis. It is granted for the effects of a severe and prolonged impairment on daily living. Before anyone fills out a form, write down what the impairment actually prevents, how often, and for how long it has been that way. That plain record is what the practitioner works from.
The CRA looks at the effects in categories: walking, speaking, hearing, vision, feeding, dressing, eliminating, mental functions necessary for everyday life, and life-sustaining therapy. Effects that are significant in more than one category can also be considered together. The question is never how serious the condition sounds. It is what it stops you from doing, and whether that is true all or substantially all of the time.
Bring specifics rather than adjectives. How long does a task take compared to someone without the impairment, and what help is needed to finish it. If you want a second read before you commit a practitioner appointment to it, our team reviews files at reei.ca and can tell you whether the file is worth building.
Step 2: Have a medical practitioner certify the effects
Part B of Form T2201 is completed by a medical practitioner, not by you. Which practitioner depends on the category being certified. Choosing the wrong one is a common reason a file stalls, because the CRA cannot accept a certification made outside that practitioner's scope.
| Practitioner | Categories they can certify |
|---|---|
| Medical doctor | All categories, including cumulative effects and life-sustaining therapy |
| Nurse practitioner | All categories, including cumulative effects and life-sustaining therapy |
| Optometrist | Vision |
| Audiologist | Hearing |
| Speech-language pathologist | Speaking |
| Physiotherapist | Walking |
| Occupational therapist | Walking, feeding, dressing, and cumulative effects |
| Psychologist | Mental functions necessary for everyday life |
Practitioners may charge a fee for completing the form. Keep that receipt. The fee is a medical expense you can claim on line 33099 or line 33199 of your return, whether or not the application is later approved.
Step 3: Choose the online application or the paper T2201
There are two routes and they are not equivalent. The CRA states that the online application in a CRA account is processed faster than paper. Paper still exists for people without an account or without a practitioner who will use the digital process, but it carries the version risk described above.
| Point of comparison | Online application in a CRA account | Paper Form T2201 |
|---|---|---|
| Processing | Processed faster than paper, per the CRA | Slower than the online route |
| How Part A is done | Filled in your CRA account, which produces a reference number | Filled by hand on the printed form |
| How Part B reaches the practitioner | You give the practitioner the reference number | You hand over or send the paper form |
| Version risk | Always the current form | You must download a 2023 or later version yourself |
| Where it goes | Submitted inside the CRA account | Mailed to your tax centre |
Step 4: Submit the application the right way
This is where the July 2026 change bites. The submit documents section of a CRA account is no longer a valid channel for a DTC application unless the CRA asked you for more information. Uploading there and waiting is the single most expensive mistake available in this process right now.
| What to have ready before you submit | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Social insurance number of the person with the impairment | Identifies the file, and must match CRA records exactly |
| The name and contact details of the certifying practitioner | The CRA may contact them directly for clarification |
| The year the impairment began to have these effects | Determines which past years can be approved |
| A 2023 or later version of Form T2201, if applying on paper | Older versions stop being accepted on September 8, 2026 |
| Your tax centre mailing address, if applying on paper | Paper applications go to the tax centre, not to a general address |
| Your own notes on daily effects | Useful if the CRA follows up with questions |
Step 5: Wait for the notice of determination
The CRA reviews the certification and issues a notice of determination. It states whether the person is eligible, which years are covered, and whether eligibility ends after a set year. Keep it. Several later steps, including opening a Registered Disability Savings Plan, depend on being able to show it.
If the CRA needs more detail, it may contact you or the practitioner. That is the one situation where the submit documents section still applies, because the CRA specifically asked. A refusal is not the end either. You can ask the CRA to review the decision with additional information from your practitioner, or file a formal objection within the deadline printed on the notice.
Step 6: Claim the disability amount on your tax return
Approval does not move money by itself. Someone still has to claim the credit on a return. This is the step people skip, and it is why an approved family can wait a full year wondering where the benefit went. The line you use depends on who is claiming.
| Line | Purpose |
|---|---|
| 31600 | Disability amount for yourself |
| 31800 | Disability amount transferred from a dependant |
| 32600 | Amounts transferred from a spouse or common-law partner |
| 33099 or 33199 | Medical expenses, including the practitioner fee for completing the form |
For the 2025 tax year, the disability amount is $10,138 for someone 18 or older. A child under 18 also attracts a supplement of $5,914, for a combined $16,052. The federal non-refundable rate is about 15%, so the disability amount reduces federal tax by roughly $1,500. Provincial and territorial amounts are added on top and vary, so we do not quote them here. Quebec residents file a separate provincial return, and the provincial treatment differs.
Non-refundable matters. If the credit is larger than the tax you owe, the excess is not paid out to you. The supplement for a child is also reduced when child care expenses on line 21400 or attendant care expenses on line 33099 or line 33199 were claimed for that child in the year, or when the child claimed attendant care on line 21500 or line 33099.
Approval can reach back up to ten years. If the notice covers earlier years, ask the CRA to reassess them. The CRA page on claiming the DTC lists the amounts, and the line 31600 page covers the current year in detail.
| Tax year | Disability amount | Supplement, under 18 |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $10,138 | $5,914 |
| 2024 | $9,872 | $5,758 |
| 2023 | $9,428 | $5,500 |
| 2022 | $8,870 | $5,174 |
| 2021 | $8,662 | $5,053 |
| 2020 | $8,576 | $5,003 |
| 2019 | $8,416 | $4,909 |
| 2018 | $8,235 | $4,804 |
| 2017 | $8,113 | $4,733 |
| 2016 | $8,001 | $4,667 |
Our calculator gives a rough sense of what a retroactive claim looks like across those years before you commit to filing adjustments.
Step 7: Use the approval for what it unlocks
The credit itself is only part of the value. Approval is the key that opens a Registered Disability Savings Plan, and it is a condition of several federal benefits. This is the step where a modest tax credit turns into a long-term savings structure, which is why the paperwork is worth finishing properly.
| What approval unlocks | Key detail |
|---|---|
| Registered Disability Savings Plan | DTC approval is required to open and maintain the plan |
| Child disability benefit | Up to $3,480 per year, or $290.00 per month per eligible child, from July 2026 to June 2027. Requires eligibility for both the Canada child benefit and the DTC |
| Canada Disability Benefit, a separate newer program | Maximum $204.20 per month from July 2026 to June 2027, based on the 2025 return. A fixed $150 lump-sum supplemental payment starts in Fall 2026 with no application needed |
| Canada workers benefit disability supplement | Up to $843 for the 2025 tax year |
| Back years | Reassessment of up to ten previous returns |
The child disability benefit is reduced once adjusted family net income passes $82,847, at 3.2% of the excess for one eligible child and 5.7% for two or more. If the plan itself is the goal, our guide to opening an RDSP covers what a financial institution will ask for once the notice of determination is in hand.
Frequently asked questions
How many steps does the DTC application actually take?
Seven, if you count the part most people forget. You confirm eligibility, get a medical practitioner to certify the effects, choose online or paper, submit, wait for the notice of determination, claim the disability amount on your return, and then use the approval to open other doors.
Can I still send my T2201 through the submit documents tool?
No. Since July 14, 2026, the submit documents section of a CRA account can no longer be used to send Disability Tax Credit applications. The only exception is when the CRA has specifically asked you for more information. Use the online application in your CRA account, or mail the paper form.
What happens to my old copy of Form T2201 after September 8, 2026?
It stops being accepted. As of that date, the CRA no longer accepts versions of Form T2201 published before 2023. If your practitioner filled out an older printout, download the current form again and have the certification redone, or the package will not move forward.
Does the CRA approval alone put money in my bank account?
No, and this is the step people miss. Approval only makes you eligible. You still have to claim the disability amount on your income tax return, on line 31600 for yourself or line 31800 when a dependant transfers it. Without that claim, nothing is applied.
How far back can the Disability Tax Credit be applied?
Up to ten years. If the notice of determination approves earlier years, you can ask the CRA to reassess those returns so the disability amount is applied to each one. The credit is non-refundable, so a year with little or no tax payable may return little or nothing.
Do I need the DTC before opening a Registered Disability Savings Plan?
Yes. Approval for the Disability Tax Credit is required to open and maintain a Registered Disability Savings Plan. That is why many families treat the application as the gateway step rather than a tax formality, and why the notice of determination is worth keeping somewhere safe.
Who is allowed to certify Part B of the form?
A medical practitioner, and which one depends on the impairment. Medical doctors and nurse practitioners can certify any category. Optometrists cover vision, audiologists cover hearing, speech-language pathologists cover speaking, physiotherapists cover walking, occupational therapists cover several categories, and psychologists cover mental functions.
Is the online application really better than mailing the paper form?
The CRA states that the online Disability Tax Credit application in a CRA account is processed faster than paper. It also guides you through Part A and produces a reference number for your practitioner, which removes a common source of mismatched or incomplete paperwork before it starts.
