If your child has a disability, which has been recognized by the CRA (with a Disability Tax Credit), there are things you can claim along with the DTC. If your child needs to attend a specialized school or needs tutoring, due to their disability. School fees, in specific, can be a considerable expense.

The rules continue to evolve, so here are the latest rules (May 2022)

School for persons with a mental or physical impairment – an appropriately qualified person, such as a medical practitioner or the principal or head of the school, must certify in writing that the equipment, facilities, or staff specially provided by that school are needed because of the person’s physical or mental impairment.

Details of Medical Expense CRA April 2022

I have written about what to include when you appeal for these expenses. It seems now a letter from the school would be good to add to your submission. Remember, the more details explaining how the program helps the child’s disability, the better. This makes it easier it is for the CRA to understand your claim.

A simple letter saying, “I think my kids’ school fees are a medical expense,” will not work with the CRA. It would help if you had detailed explanations of why the school directly helps your child.

Related RDSP Pages

• The RDSP Page is the Overview of all articles I have written about the RDSP (including DTC and other areas).
  • RDSP : Laying the Ground Work (first things first)
    What needs to be done BEFORE you can apply for a Registered Disability Savings Plan? A major aspect of this is the Disability Tax Credit (DTC), make sure you click on this page to get started.
  • RDSP : Working with The Account
    Now that you have succeeded in getting your Disability Tax Credit (DTC) you need to open an RDSP account with a bank or such, but how is that done? It is not as easy as you might think. This page outlines many of the issues that have arisen for my family working with an RDSP account.
  • Disability Tax Related Topics
    Thanks for my RDSP and DTC work I then had to learn a great deal about the tax implications of having a disabled child.
  • Autism Specific Articles
    Being the proud Father of a child on the Autism Spectrum I also ended up writing a great deal about Autism specific things as well.

As with each year, we receive a Grant Entitlement Statement for my son’s RDSP. This year is no different, but things may change soon.

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

RDSP Grant Entitlement 2022

As you can see, this is an essential piece of information. I now know that in 2022, I can deposit $1000 in my son’s RDSP, and it will be matched with $1000 in grants.

This amount will increase once my son is over the age of 17 19, as the income they will use to determine the grant will be his income instead of our household income. When he turns 18 19, his grants should be much higher due to his estimated income (based on his income from age 17). (Age is 19, thanks to Ron Malis for correction).

When he turns 18, my son will also have to re-qualify for his Disability Tax Credit (this is due to his DTC expiring at that age). This is what we learned from the last time he had to re-qualify. If he should not get a DTC right away, the rules have changed.

Previous Posts on Grant Entitlements

• 2021 Statement of Grant Entitlement
• 2020 Statement of Grant Entitlement
• 2019 Statement of Grant Entitlement
• 2018 Grant Discussions

The proposed 2021 Federal Budget has possible changes to how disabilities are evaluated. Specifically, “…update the list of mental functions of everyday life that is used for assessment for the Disability Tax Credit…”. When I first read the statement, I worried this was an attempt to shrink the pool, but I have been assured this is not the case.

A portion of the statement is as follows:

To help more families and people living with disabilities access the Disability Tax Credit, and other related support measures like the Registered Disability Savings Plan and the Child Disability Benefit: 

* Budget 2021 proposes to update the list of mental functions of everyday life that is used for assessment for the Disability Tax Credit. Using terms that are more clinically relevant would make it easier to be assessed, reduce delays, and improve access to benefits.

* Budget 2021 also proposes to recognize more activities in determining time spent on life-sustaining therapy and to reduce the minimum required frequency of therapy to qualify for the Disability Tax Credit. To ensure these changes enable applicants to have a fair and proper assessment of their eligibility for the Disability Tax Credit, the government will undertake a review of these changes in 2023.

It is estimated that, as a result of these measures, an additional 45,000 people will qualify for the Disability Tax Credit, and related benefit programs linked to its eligibility, each year. This represents $376 million in additional support over five years, starting in 2021-22.

Part 3: A Resilient and Inclusive Recovery

It is the final line of that statement that makes me less paranoid about this.

Caveat Disability Tax Credit

As with previous changes, these will not come into play until after the Budget (2021) is passed by parliament. What the results of the review ends up doing, remains to be seen. My concern is still with the “…Using terms that are more clinically relevant would make it easier….” phrase. This suggests the Doctor filling in the T2201 forms will need to know the correct vernacular for the forms.

Related Pages

• The RDSP Page is the Overview of all articles I have written about the RDSP (including DTC and other areas).
  • RDSP : Laying the Ground Work (first things first)
    What needs to be done BEFORE you can apply for a Registered Disability Savings Plan? A major aspect of this is the Disability Tax Credit (DTC), make sure you click on this page to get started.
  • RDSP : Working with The Account
    Now that you have succeeded getting your Disability Tax Credit (DTC) you need to open an RDSP account with a bank or such, but how is that done? It is not as easy as you might think. This page outlines many of the issues that have arisen for my family working with an RDSP account.
  • Disability Tax Related Topics
    Thanks for my RDSP and DTC work I then had to learn a great deal about the tax implications of having a disabled child.
  • Autism Specific Articles
    Being the proud Father of a child on the Autism Spectrum I also ended up writing a great deal about Autism specific things as well.

Every year, an RDSP holder gets an update about how much money can be put into their RDSP. The Statement of Grant Entitlement, says how much money and how much the government will match, with a Grant.

As you can see this is an important piece of information. I now know, in 2021, I can deposit $1000 in my son’s RDSP and it will be matched with $1000 in grants.

This amount will increase once my son is over the age of 17, as the income they will use to determine the grant will be his income, instead of our household income. When he turns 18, his grants should be much higher, due to his estimated income at that age.

When he turns 18, my son will also have to re-qualify for his Disability Tax Credit as well. This is what we learned from the last time he had to re-qualify. Luckily the rules if he should not get a DTC right away, have changed.

Previous Posts on Grant Entitlements

• 2020 Statement of Grant Entitlement
• 2019 Statement of Grant Entitlement
• 2018 Grant Discussions