If you have an impairment in physical or mental functions, the devices, software, and services you paid for so that you could work or study may come off your income. That is the Disability supports deduction, and it goes on line 21500.
Who can claim it
If you have an impairment in physical or mental functions, you may be able to deduct the expenses that you paid in the year so that you could:
- work
- go to school
- do research for which you received a grant
Only the person with the disability can claim expenses for this deduction. A parent or spouse who paid the bill cannot claim it on their own return.
If you lived outside Canada for part or all of the year and the CRA considers you to be a factual resident or deemed resident of Canada, you can claim the expenses that you paid to a non-resident person for services provided outside Canada.
What you can claim
The CRA publishes a list of eligible expenses for the disability supports deduction. It runs from equipment — alternative input devices, bed positioning devices, Bliss symbol boards, Braille note-taker devices, Braille printers, synthetic speech systems, large print-on-screen devices, digital pen devices, electronic speech synthesizers, ergonomic work chairs, memory or organizational aids, mobile computer carts, navigation devices, optical scanners, page turner devices, teletypewriters — to services such as attendant care, deaf-blind intervening services, job coaching, note-taking, reading services, real-time captioning, talking textbooks, tutoring, and voice recognition software.
An expense only qualifies if it is on that list. That is worth checking before you assume a purchase counts.
The prescription or the certificate is part of the claim
Each item on the CRA's list carries its own paperwork requirement, and this is the part people miss.
Some expenses need a prescription. Devices and software are the usual case — an alternative input device, a bed positioning device, a navigation device, an optical scanner, a service animal. Without the prescription, the purchase receipt alone does not carry the claim.
Some expenses need written certification from a medical practitioner. Job coaching services, note-taking services, reading services, tutoring services, talking textbooks, and voice recognition software are in this group. The certification comes from the practitioner, not from you or from the supplier.
Attendant care services sit in a category of their own: the CRA's table says "see details" for both the prescription and the certification, and points to its own attendant care page rather than answering in one word.
A few items need neither — deaf-blind intervening services and real-time captioning among them.
What you cannot claim
You cannot claim amounts you or someone else claimed as medical expenses on line 33099 or line 33199. You also cannot claim amounts for which anyone was reimbursed, or was entitled to be reimbursed, by a non-taxable payment such as insurance.
The overlap with medical expenses is a choice rather than a trap. The person with the disability can claim the expense on either line 21500 or line 33099. They could also split the claim between the two lines, as long as the total amount claimed is not more than the total expense. The same dollar goes to one line only.
Timing
Expenses must be claimed in the same year they are paid. Unused amounts cannot be applied to another year, so there is nothing to carry forward.
What to keep
Keep the receipt for every eligible expense, and keep the prescription or the written certification that goes with it. What the claim needs from the paper is:
- the amount paid
- the item or service bought, described well enough to match the CRA's eligible list
- the year it was paid in
Use Form T929, Disability Supports Deduction, to calculate your deduction. Do not attach Form T929 or your receipts to your tax return. Keep them in case the CRA asks to see them at a later date. Then enter the amount from Form T929 on line 21500 of your return.
Dossier tags a disability supports receipt as it arrives and files the prescription or certification with it, so the two halves of the claim do not end up in different years' folders.
Official CRA sources
Source: Canada Revenue Agency (canada.ca). Not tax advice.