T2201 Disability Tax Credit Application Form (Updated February 2024)

If you or a family member in Canada has a physical or mental impairment, you might be eligible for the Disability Tax Credit. This could entitle you to receive retroactive tax credits of up to $40,000 from the Canadian government.

To apply for the Disability Tax Credit (DTC) you must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident and you must submit a certified Disability Tax Credit Certificate – T2201 to the CRA.

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has updated its T2201 form to make filling out the form and application process as easy as possible. However, despite their best efforts many Canadians and their medical practitioners still have questions and issues understanding how to fill out the T2201 form properly and accurately.

Disability Credit Canada has assisted numerous Canadians with their Disability Tax Credit (DTC) applications. We’ve crafted the following article with the latest insights, updated as of February 2024, to streamline and simplify the application process for your convenience.

In this article, we will be walking you through the T2201 Disability Tax Credit Certificate Form, where we will cover the following topics:

1. What is the Disability Tax Credit Application Form – T2201?
2. Where to find the Disability Tax Credit Application Form – T2201
3. How to complete the updated Disability Tax Credit Form – T2201
4. Where to submit the Disability Tax Credit Form – T2201
5. How long it takes to process the T2201 Form
6. What to do if your Disability Tax Credit claim is denied

But before we dive into detail about the T2201 form, we’d like to start by explaining a few things about the Disability Tax Credit Certificate Form – T2201, that you need to know:

What is the Disability Tax Credit Certificate – T2201?

As previously mentioned, the sole method for a Canadian citizen to apply for the Disability Tax Credit is by completing a Disability Tax Credit Certificate (T2201), which must be certified by a medical practitioner. Once a medical practitioner certifies the form by signing it, it is ready to be submitted to the CRA for further assessment.

To complete the T2201 form, you must first fill out all personal details in the ‘individual’s section’ of the form, Part A (pages 1-2). Following this, you should ask a medical practitioner to fill out and complete Part B (pages 3-16). Here, they will provide detailed information on the impairments you or a family member are experiencing.

Most importantly, your medical practitioner must explain in detail how the impairments you have affect your ability to perform activities of daily living.

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Where Do I Find the Disability Tax Credit Form?

The Disability Tax Credit Certificate T2201 is available for download on the CRA’s website.

On this page you will find two versions of the T2201 form:

• The first is a simple PDF version (t2201-21e.pdf), which can be printed and taken to your medical practitioner.
• The second is a fillable PDF version (t2201-fill-21e.pdf), which can be filled out and certified directly from your computer or your doctor’s.

Once completed and certified by a medical practitioner, both versions can then be printed out and submitted to the CRA.

Additionally, the CRA website offers a variety of alternate formats (digital audio, electronic text, Braille, and large print) for all their documents and content to ensure that persons with impairments have access to the information they need.

Furthermore, The CRA has recently developed a new digital application for the disability tax credit, which medical practitioners can use to fill out their portion of the T2201 form (Part B). After that, it can be printed out and returned to the applicant for completion and submission. The new digital application can be found at canada.ca/dtc-digital-application.

If at any point you require additional assistance you can also call the CRA @ 1-(800)-959-8281 for more information.

How to Complete the Updated Disability Tax Credit Certificate – T2201

The T2201 Disability Tax Credit Certificate is made up of two main parts:

• Part A – Individual’s Section: This application part of the form must be filled out by either the applicant or the claimant.
• Part B – Medical Practitioner’s Section: This certification part of the form must be filled out by the correct medical practitioner (medical doctor, nurse practitioner, optometrist, speech-language pathologist, audiologist, occupational therapist, physiotherapist, psychologist).

Once completed and submitted, the information provided in your T2201 form will then be used by the CRA to determine your eligibility for the Disability Tax Credit. After which, they will advise you of their decision.

NOTE: If approved, the CRA will notify you regarding the amount you have been approved to receive in the form of a retroactive tax credit for the Disability Tax Credit.

Part A – Individual’s Section (pages 1-2):

The ‘Individual’s section’ of the T2201 Disability Tax Credit Certificate, is all about providing the CRA with the personal information of the disabled person and/or the claimant. (To understand the difference between the applicant and claimant please read the following article).

Part A is made up of 4 individual sections:

1. Information about the person with the disability (applicant)
2. Information about the person claiming the disability amount (claimant)
3. Previous tax return adjustments
4. Individual’s authorization of information

Section 1:

Under Section 1 it asks that you enter all relevant and/or required information about the person with the disability (name, address, social insurance number, & date of birth)

Section 2:

This section of the form is specific to questions about the claimant (the persons claiming the disability amount). Whether that person is a person with the disability who is claiming the disability amount OR a supporting family member is claiming the disability amount (the spouse or common-law partner of the person with the disability, or a parent, grandparent, child, grandchild, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, nephew, or niece of that person or their spouse or common-law partner).

It’s important to note that in this case, the claimant can be both the applicant as well, but not necessarily so.

Section 3:

In this section, the CRA wants to know if to automatically reassess your previous tax returns (up to 10 years) if the application is successful and you are found eligible to receive the DTC.

If you choose “YES” then they will reassess your returns and apply for the retroactive credits, then send you a one-time payment to reflect those credits.

If you choose “NO” then once approved for the DTC you must contact the CRA and request the reassessment to be done.

Section 4:

In section 4, the CRA asks that you certify that all the information provided throughout the ‘Individual’s section’ of the form, is signed and dated. In addition to granting the CRA permission to access any additional personal information (medical records) required for determining your eligibility.

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Part B – Medical Practitioner’s Section (pages 3-16):

The ‘Medical practitioner’s section’ of the T2201 Disability Tax Credit Certificate, must be filled out and completed (certified) by the correct medical practitioner. In this section, your medical practitioner will be asked to certify your medical impairment resulting from a condition and the effects of that impairment on your ability to perform basic necessities of life in several areas, such as:

• Vision
• Speaking
• Hearing
• Walking
• Eliminating
• Feeding
• Dressing
• Mental functions (necessary for everyday life)
• The cumulative effect of significant limitations
• Life-sustaining therapy

Each of these selections listed above makes up one or more pages of Part B, depending on the amount of information that your medical practitioner must provide the CRA. 

NOTE: The CRA also asks that the correct practitioner initials be beside their designation (medical doctor, nurse practitioner, optometrist, speech-language pathologist, audiologist, occupational therapist, physiotherapist, psychologist), if the impairment category applies to you.

In this case, having a regular medical doctor who can certify all these impairment sections for you will save you quite a bit of running around.

Under each of the impairment categories listed above, your medical practitioner is required to answer a variety of in-depth questions on your medical history, in terms of your level of impairment, along with the severity and frequency, duration, and effects of your impairment on your activities of daily living.

Mental Functions (pages 11-13):

If relevant, your medical practitioner must respond to a series of detailed questions under the category of ‘Mental functions necessary for everyday life’. These questions, not found elsewhere in Part B, are divided into topics such as Adaptive functioning, Memory, Judgment, problem-solving, and goal setting.

For individuals with mental health disabilities to qualify for the DTC, the following conditions must be met:

Their mental health disability significantly hampers their adaptive functioning, encompassing problem-solving, goal setting, judgment, and memory – Complete the “Mental Functions Necessary for Everyday Life” section.

They are substantially limited overall by a combination of mental and one or more physical health disabilities (in vision, hearing, speaking, walking, eliminating, feeding, or dressing) – Complete the “Cumulative Effect of Significant Restrictions” section.

Your medical practitioner will be asked to:

• List any medical conditions or diagnoses affecting the patient’s mental functions, along with the year of diagnosis (if available).
• Indicate if the patient takes medication to manage their mental function impairment.
• Describe any devices or therapy the patient uses to manage their impairment.
• Assess if the patient has an impaired capacity to live independently.
• Describe the extent of the patient’s impairment in various mental functions compared to someone without such impairment.
• Provide examples if the patient has limitations or takes excessive time to perform mental functions.
• Specify if the patient’s impairment persists or is expected to last for at least 12 months.
• State whether the patient’s impairment is likely to improve to the extent of no longer being impaired, along with the year of impairment onset.

These inquiries help evaluate the extent and duration of the patient’s mental function impairment for DTC eligibility.

The cumulative effect of significant limitations (page 14):

This section of the T2201 form is only applicable to those persons who experience limitations in more than one impairment category. As such this section should not be overlooked. If your limitations in one category do not quite meet the criteria to qualify you for the Disability Tax Credit under a single impairment category; you may still qualify for DTC if you experience significant limitations in two or more impairment categories.

Now, if you are someone with a significant disability in any of these areas, your medical practitioner is obligated to select the appropriate categories for you, based on their earlier responses.

These categories may also include therapy and the use of appropriate devices and medications. After this point, your medical practitioner will be asked to specify if the limitations selected, exist together, all, or substantially all of the time, as well as the equivalent of the cumulative effect of your limitations (refer to page 3), followed by the date.

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Life-sustaining therapy(page 15)

This section of the T2201 form applies specifically to individuals who require therapy to support a vital life function. This therapy necessitates time away from their regular daily activities, whether self-administered or provided by someone else.

The Disability Tax Credit (DTC) aims to alleviate some of the financial burdens associated with impairments by potentially reducing the amount of income tax owed.

Eligibility Criteria Checklist:

If you have Type 1 diabetes:

Individuals with Type 1 diabetes qualify under the life-sustaining therapy category. Medical practitioners no longer need to provide therapy details for 2021 and later years.

To be eligible, you must meet all four criteria below:

1. Your therapy supports a vital function and may include:

• Dialysis
• Insulin therapy
• Oxygen therapy
• Chest physiotherapy
• Other necessary therapies

2. Your therapy occurs at least twice per week.
3. Your therapy requires an average of at least 14 hours per week, taking time away from everyday activities.
4. Your impairment has lasted or is expected to last continuously for at least 12 months.

If you’re unsure about your eligibility, you can still apply. Your eligibility will be assessed based on the information provided by your medical practitioner.

Certification – Mandatory (page 16):

In conclusion in Part B of the T2201 Form, the CRA asks that the medical practitioner certify their claims about your medical impairment. For this, they must specify the years you have been their patient and all medical information that they have on file. Along with the type of medical practitioner for which they identify per the categories provided by the CRA. Followed by their signature, name, medical license, or registration number (optional), telephone number, date, and address.

Where Can I Send My Disability Tax Credit T2201 Form?

Please refer to page 16 of your T2201 form for instructions on how to submit your application. Once you have filled out your T2201 Disability Tax Credit Certification Form and have it certified by a medical practitioner, you can send it along with any accompanying proof, in the form of additional medical documentation in one of two ways:

• Upload it Online using your My CRA Account,
• Or send it by mail to your local tax centre.

However, if you choose to seek out the assistance of Disability Credit Canada, our team will be sure to handle the application process for you by sending in your Disability Tax Credit application as your representative.

NOTE: If you do not fill out your application correctly, the odds are that your DTC application will be denied by the CRA. Let the experts at Disability Credit Canada, simplify matters for you.

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How Long Does It Take to Process a Disability Tax Credit Application?

Typically after submitting the T2201 Disability Tax Credit Certificate to the CRA, it can take anywhere from 3 to 6 months before the CRA notifies you about your eligibility/application status.

Considering the above, it takes the CRA a while to process all the information, required to do two of the following:

1. Approve your application: They must assess the information found in your application to determine if you are eligible to receive the Disability Tax Credit
2. Reassess your taxes: If your application does get approved and you indicated in part A that you want them to reassess your previous tax returns, that will take the CRA another month or two before you can receive the credits you are entitled to.

NOTE: In some cases, the CRA may not be able to make a decision, in which case they will mail the medical practitioner who certified the form a “questionnaire” asking for additional information and/or clarification.

What If My Disability Tax Credit Claim is Denied?

If your Disability Tax Credit application is denied, the CRA will send you a formal letter notifying you of their decision and you are now left with several options:

1. File a formal objection/appeal within 90 days.
2. Fill out and resubmit the T2201 form, again to the CRA (you can apply for the DTC multiple times with no penalty or issue whatsoever). However, the CRA does not specify the reasons for their denial, so it is imperative to provide them with “new” information. Considering, that if you apply again but provide no “new” information, you will likely be denied once more.
3. Contact the trained professionals at Disability Credit Canada, to further assist you in improving your application with the help of our experienced team of case builders. You can also read through our Disability Tax Credit Ultimate Resource Guide for further assistance with your application.

NOTE: If your DTC application was denied by the CRA, reversing their decision can be challenging as you will be required to “explain” your impairments differently and possibly work with a different medical practitioner moving forward.

SUMMARY

If you or a family member are a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, living with a physical or mental impairment and are looking to apply for the Disability Tax Credit, let the experts at Disability Credit Canada, help you to get approved.

This resource guide aims to make filling out the T2201 form and application process as easy as possible, with all the information you could ever need about how to properly go about completing and submitting the T2201 Disability Tax Credit Certificate Form to the CRA. Leaving no room for your application to be denied.

Disability Credit Canada has helped thousands of Canadians with their DTC applications, CPP Disability Benefits, and Long Term Disability Benefit approvals and will continue to further assist anyone looking to apply today!