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Should It Take This Long to Get My Disability Tax Credit Refund?

October 01, 2018
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Patience is a virtue, but even the most tolerant thumb-twiddlers can have their composure tested when it comes to claiming a Disability Tax Credit refund in Canada.

Qualified Canadians typically receive their Canadian disability benefits from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) in about 120 days. But these benefits are critical for Canadians that qualify, and if medicals and paperwork checks out, why the wait?

Our Canadian Benefits Specialists provide a glimpse into the long and complex Disability Tax Credit application process, and why disabled Canadians wait almost half a year for their disability benefits:

Applying for the Disability Tax Credit

The first step to getting your Disability Tax Credit refund is by, you guessed it, applying for the DTC.

You family physician or Disability Tax Credit service provider can first help you determine your Disability Tax Credit eligibility. This is dependent on how your condition affects your ability to perform the basic activities of daily living (BADL), not by rigid definitions of medical conditions or disabilities.

Once you’ve determined if you qualify, you’ll need to complete all the medical paperwork as outlined by the CRA, namely the Disability Tax Credit certificate, or Form T2201.

You’ll need to work with your doctor in completing the form, and this is where the DTC process can start to drag on and get tedious. These are doctors, not tax specialists, meaning their focus isn’t on filling out your forms with the necessary extra details or accuracy.

We suggest consulting a Disability Tax Credit service to expedite this part of the process for you. They’ll ensure your paperwork is completed correctly the first time, minimizing any back and forth with your doctor, and with the CRA soon after. A lot of time in the DTC process is lost due to waiting on doctors to fill out the form, only for you to book another 3-4 visits to revise mistakes or missing information. A DTC service provider makes this notoriously long part of the DTC application process instant, simple and stress-free.

Evaluating Your Case

Completing and sending your Disability Tax Credit certificate to the CRA is the fast & easy part (relatively). Now comes the wait that’s unfortunately out of your control.

The CRA will pour over your tax and medical information in great detail, which may take a couple of months. You’ll be in the dark and in thumb-twiddling mode at this point unless you’re working with a DTC service, which can receive and relay updates from the CRA to you on the status of your case.

After a diligent assessment, the CRA will either give you a straight, full acceptance, a straight decline, a partial acceptance, or a CRA clarification letter.

The latter is extremely common with people working through the Disability Tax Credit process themselves; your doctor receives a clarification letter when there isn’t enough detail or missing information essential to your claim. This, of course, only adds to the back and forth with the CRA, potentially making the long process even longer.

To position yourself for a full acceptance, ensure everything is completed in full and as accurately as possible before submission. Again, we can’t stress the value of a Disability Tax Credit service to expedite and smooth out this part of the application process.

More Money, More…Waiting

You’ve qualified for a full Disability Tax Credit refund, and now…you’re still waiting for your money.

What’s the deal, CRA?

Unfortunately, the CRA can decide to ‘drip’ payments over an extended period of time through T1 tax adjustments rather than larger lump sums. This can tack on another few months to receiving a full Disability Tax Credit refund, once again gating disabled Canadians from disability benefits they need now.


Don’t wait for your deserved Disability Tax Credit refund or other Canadian disability benefits. We can expedite many of the lengthy Disability Tax Credit processes involved in a successful claim, getting you the disability benefits you & your family need now.

Call us today at 1-888-389-0080 or schedule a consultation online with one of our Canadian Benefits Specialists.