disability tax credit questions

[jayne_a]

My son is 5. And he is partially deaf. He is finally getting a hearing aid but can only have one b/c he requires plastic surgery to correct his other ear first and he's too young for that. He mostly reads lips, but can hear some sounds if loud enough. (4000 hz) b/c of him not being able to hear, it has affected him speech. His audiologist told us about this tax credit, which i never new about, so we had the doctor who's known about the hearing loss since his birth fill out the forms and we submitted them.

Now i've read all the forms, and this is affecting him in multiple areas of life. but when i submitted the form, the lady told me there's still a chance that he could be denied. I'm just wondering if you think he would be denied. Both the doctor and audiologist said he qualifies but now i'm worried after talking the lady at H&R block. Plus it will take anywhere from 3-9 months to get an answer from CRA. Has any one here applied for the disability tax credit, were you denied or approved, and how long did it take?

Thanks everyone for all your help.

[i_forget]

I would not worry too much about what the person at H&R block said. I have only ONCE heard of someone being denied the credit, and that was because they were applying for their child who was nearly 18 and who had very mild ADHD.

When I applied for my son, I was approved. I was back paid to his birth (he is Autistic) and it took them a couple of months to process the paperwork.

Be prepared for a large chunk of cash back.

Also, go back and have your (or your spouses if they make more money than you) income taxes adjusted for every year that they are allowing you back claim (you can do it online through my account) because you will also be entitled to the federal disability tax credit on your taxes. In Ontario, we also have a provincial disability tax credit, check to see if you have one as well.

Can anyone think of anything I am forgetting?

[ellis123]

You will qualify don't worry about what h&r block says. Your child qualifies because he needs a parent or adult to help him to manage his disability. This credit goes back only to 2008 so you can redo taxes back to then. If you more specific help pm me.

[brunt]

CRA has to rely on the doctor's word here. Not that the doctor can simply rubber-stamp an application, but just getting the doctor to OK the application is probably 95% of the fight.

Hopefully the doctor indicated that this was since birth on the application. This way you can amend your previously filed tax returns since he was born to get refunds from those years too!

[brunt]

<snip>This credit goes back only to 2008 so you can redo taxes back to then.</snip>

This is not true - you can go back seven years - the limit for amending taxes. In this case, she can only go back five (or six, depending on her son's birth date) since the disability did not exist before that point.

[jayne_a]

My son was born this way. He didn't start to talk until he was 2 and sentences until 4. He has come a long way but still needs a speech pathologist, and he doesn't have a hearing aid yet. The doctor did say it was from birth b/c the one ear has a physical birth defect and the doctor who signed the paper has been our family doctor since before i got pregnant so he knows.
Thanks for all the info. The audiologist was gonna sign the paper's but she said since we still see the original doctor is would be better if he signed it, since he has notes about the hearing loss from 2007(birth).

[scrapyddm]

I have just recently applied for this as well since dd was diagnosed with ADHD & ODD. Her pediatrician filled out the paperwork and mailed it for us. We received a response about 3 weeks later with approval to go back since birth.... so I just had to write a letter requesting the tax adjustments be made for the last 8 years to my returns... I just mailed off today so I will update you with the outcome. But all in all it only took a month or so

[DianneS]

I worked as a tax preparer for the last several years. When the family doctor completes the paperwork, s/he will be asked for the date the disability began. Upon approval of the disability tax credit, CRA issues it retroactively to date of disability (there is a limit on how far back they will go, however 5 years should not pose an issue. I have had a number of clients who qualified and their tax credit was back-dated, resulting in some nice refunds.

[Pinkypie]

You will get denied for sure, I did! My daughters hearing impairment sounds exactly like yourchds.

[DianneS]

You will get denied for sure, I did! My daughters hearing impairment sounds exactly like yourchds.

When it comes to the Disability Tax Credit and CRA, nothing is "for sure". As a tax preparer there were cases I did not expect would be approved that were, and others where we thought approval was obvious and the application was denied. Jayne_a, I would encourage you to submit the application, keep your fingers crossed and think positively. Your child`s case will be considered on an individual basis and hopefully you will qualify.

[poppleton]

The DTC is kind of a funny one, as the criteria are incredibly specific. For example, my mom has qualified for CPP disability, but not for the tax credit. I received an approval letter for the tax credit within 10 days of sending it last year, but have yet to qualify for CPP disability. I believe there is some way of appealing or reapplying if your initial application is turned down. If he is approved, make sure to look into the RDSP - it's a great program

[Giseledta]

I was told that my daughter qualified by haveing a learning disability... is this true...

[i_forget]

It depends on the learning disability and how severe it is and how it impacts her life. I have heard of children with Dyslexia that qualify. Look into the paperwork.....there is a checklist to see if you could qualify with it.

[sunny3]

For those of you wondering... Basically, your doctor has most of the power. They're not allowed to lie on the forms so read the form carefully yourself first and see. http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/E/pbg/tf/t2201/t2201-11e.pdf It has to either be a severe impairment in a main area of functionning- hearing, seeing... or an impairment that touches on most of the areas. It's certainly not an easy thing to get with many disabilities and if you're already on a pension, it guarantees nothing and it's not added money you get back but it can certainly affect the things the person or their family can claim on taxes (extra medical stuff like attendant care), and also an RDSP, which is kind of like an RRSP for people with disabilities. Please note that different medical people can fill out some parts of the form. I went with one that got to know my needs and disability best and saw me on bad days (an occupational therapist) rather than a new family doctor and specialist who didn't know me at all yet. It's definately a process worth going through if you have a child with a disability and the form also mentions another program: Child Disability Benefit. I know someone who has had the disability tax credit since childhood and now later in life it has been one less piece of paper to get as an adult, and he qualified to start with the RDSP as soon as this program started.

[tjthemanto]

You will get denied for sure, I did! My daughters hearing impairment sounds exactly like yourchds.

CRA is very inconsistent. they approve some but don't approve some for the exact same issue !

Did you try appealing CRA's decision , sometimes it goes through if you were unfairly denied the first time around. You have nothing to lose.