NOTICE:
Canada Revenue Agency has recently made significant changes to the DTC application forms. These changes are the most significant in the last 20 years.
Canada Revenue Agency has changed their Disability Tax Credit application forms. This change significantly impacts applicants and medical practitioners authorized to complete Disability Tax Credit forms. The main change is that the DTC Certificate, the main DTC application form, has been reduced from a 12-page document to a 6-page document. Although this change may appear to simplify the form by being shorter, the actual impact of the removal of the 6 pages is to significantly reduce and/or remove key definitions and examples that patients and doctors rely on in order to fully understand all of the qualifying DTC rules.
This change will likely have little impact on the severely restricted, or UNABLE to function claimants. This change will have a significant negative impact on the moderately restricted, or SLOWED claimants. Being that these moderately restricted claimants, who do meet the DTC qualifying requirements, are most often either not supported by their doctor or are denied by Canada Revenue Agency, the removal of this important additional information is not helpful. In fact, a case could be made that these changes have and will result in more valid claimants not ever receiving their just due benefits.
In addition, these changes now require doctors to have on hand a secondary form, a related information “Guide”, that is now the sole source of some key definitions and examples, that are now not contained in the DTC application forms, where in previous years was not required for doctors completing the DTC application forms. Most doctors would not be expected to have this guide on hand when completing DTC application forms, and as a consequence, they will not have all the information they will need to fully understand all of the DTC qualifying rules. Thus, patients who do qualify will not receive their doctors support.
It is important to note, that we at BMD Services are suggesting doctors are deliberately refusing to support DTC patients who do qualify. Instead, we understand why doctors struggle with understanding all of the DTC qualifying rules, particularly those for the moderately restricted patient, as factors such as these contribute to such struggles. Though we do remain steadfast in our recommendation to all Canadian medical practitioners who are authorized to complete DTC application forms, to be as well informed as they can be, to spend the time and effort to best understand the DTC rules, because if they do not, many patients will never receive their just due DTC benefits.
We at BMD Services have experienced hard working, diligent, and well informed Canada Revenue Agency staff doing their best to advise and support Disability Tax Credit claimants as well as our service efforts on behalf of such claimants. Unfortunately, these staff are limited in their ability to help claimants and our advocacy service, by information and tools made available to them by Canada Revenue Agency management where clearly, claimants and doctors continue to struggle to understand the full scope of the DTC qualifying rules.
Proof of this can be easily established by one read of the current Disability Tax Credit certificate. Most who read it are of the impression that a person must be severely restricted, or disabled, in order to qualify. This is in fact what we see is the most common perception made by the majority of doctor’s in Canada. The fact is however, that moderately restricted, and even the lesser restricted in two or more restrictions, do qualify. Our service knowing this, has been very successful in advocating for these lesser restricted Canadian’s over the last 10 years.
Overall then, the point of this post is to let folks know that we at BMD Services remain diligent in keeping up with the current Disability Tax Credit qualifying rules, the governing documents, and any changes that Canada Revenue Agency is making regarding the DTC, to best ensure those who do qualify are being fairly treated and approved. As such, we highly recommend that anyone with a health restriction, contact us for a quick, free, and easy DTC assessment so we can advise whether the DTC will benefit them, and the amount of money they can expect.