The Disability Tax Credit: where the access chain falls apart

This report summarizes the data and evidence collected as of July 2026, on the Disability Tax Credit with a focus on the administrative burdens for applicants. The purpose of the report is to bring together existing research, consultations, surveys, focus groups, policy submissions, government statistics, practitioner evidence, lived-experience examples and insights from meetings with key government and non-government actors. As part of the data collection process, the Canadian Tax Observatory engaged in productive conversations with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), the Department of Finance, Service Canada, Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), the Canadian Medical Association (CMA), the National Disability Network (NDN) and numerous organizations working with people with disabilities. These meetings guided and informed our data collection process.

The report uses a DTC Access Chain as an organizing framework to identify where applicants experience administrative burdens. The access chain is split into three stages: Before applying, during the application, and after applying. Within those stages, we have broken down access into 10 smaller steps that surface repeatedly in our research. The chain maps the process from awareness, to the decision to apply, the necessary forms, medical certification, CRA review, approval or denial, renewal and tax filing.