Government Relations and Advocacy

To be eligible, you have to be certified by a qualified person (defined below) that you are either:

• Blind all or almost all the time, even with corrective lenses or medication. The impairment must be prolonged.
• Have a severe and prolonged mental or physical impairment which makes you markedly restricted in basic activities of daily living (as defined by CCRA).
• Basic activities of daily living are: seeing, walking, speaking, perceiving, thinking and remembering, hearing, feeding and dressing, eliminating bodily waste.

The DTC can be claimed by anyone of any age who meets the eligibility criteria. For example, a child who meets the eligibility criteria can claim the credit and transfer it to a supporting parent or guardian to reduce the amount of tax he/she has to pay.

Qualified persons are health care professionals such as medical doctors, optometrists, audiologists, occupational therapists, psychologists and speech-language pathologists.

If you think you would qualify for the DTC, you must obtain the Disability Tax Credit Certificate (T2201). It is available from tax offices across Canada, by calling 1 800 959-2221 (1 800 267-1267 for French services) or from the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency web site at www.ccra-adrc.gc.ca/disability You need to fill out Part A which provides basic information such as your name, address, date of birth, Social Insurance Number and your authorization for the qualified person to disclose the information required for Part B. You will then need to ask the health care professional you have chosen (for most people with MS this would be a neurologist) to fill out Part B.

Part B consists first of a series of questions of how well you can carry out basic activities of daily living. This part of the form tries to capture how severe your disability is. The remainder of Part B asks the health care professional to provide information about the duration of the disability, that is whether it is prolonged and whether the impairment is permanent or likely to improve.

Because of the unpredictability of MS and its variability from day-to-day, it may be hard for a health care professional to answer with a simple "yes" or "no" to the questions on the form. Fatigue is a major problem for many people with MS, and it may make it difficult to carry out some of the basic activities of daily living. However, there is no place on the form to indicate the impact of fatigue.

In addition, some people with MS have been disqualified for the DTC if their doctors marked "yes" to the question "Can your patient walk?" Doctors are instructed to answer "no" only if, all or almost all the time, even with therapy, medication, or a device, your patient cannot walk 50 metres on level ground, or he or she takes an inordinate amount of time to do so."

First, decide who the appropriate health care professional is. For most people with MS, this probably would be your neurologist or a nurse at one of the MS clinics working closely with a neurologist. The health care professional should be familiar with how MS impacts all your activities of daily life.

When discussing the form with your doctor, you might wish to discuss in detail how MS affects your mobility and the impact fatigue might have on your ability to walk and to carry out other basic activities of daily living. Encourage your health care professional to attach a note explaining the impact that MS has on your life. The note will have to be attached because unfortunately the current T2201 does not have room for explanations.

If you have qualified for the DTC previously, do not assume you will automatically re-qualify. Your doctor or other health care provider must answer a series of questions about the nature of the impairment which must be prolonged and which causes you to be markedly restricted in any of the basic activities of daily living.

No, the two programs are separate. You could still be working and qualify for the DTC. For example, you may use a wheelchair and be employed. You should qualify for the DTC if you cannot walk 50 metres, but you wouldn't qualify for the Canada Pension Plan or Quebec Pension Plan disability benefit because you are working. The contrary is also true. You may receive CPP or QPP disability benefits, but not qualify for the DTC because under the current interpretation you are not considered "markedly restricted" in carrying out the basic activities of daily living.

You can appeal the decision made by CCRA. Here are the steps:

• The first step is to file a Notice of Objection with the Appeals Section of your regional tax office of CCRA within 90 days of the date of the Notice of Assessment from CCRA disallowing the tax credit.

• You can obtain a copy of a Notice of Objection from the regional tax office or send a letter instead. You will find the address of the regional tax office on the letter that accompanies the Notice of Assessment. You will need to provide reasons for your objection in detail, personal contact information, your Social Insurance Number and the taxation year(s) under appeal.

• In providing details for the objection, you should stress the disabling impact that MS has on the basic activities of daily living. Supporting medical documents should be provided.

Your Notice of Objection will be reviewed, and you will then receive either a Notice of Reassessment which means you will receive the disability tax credit, or a Notice of Confirmation confirming the original Notice of Assessment saying you no longer qualify for the DTC

If you receive a Notice of Confirmation, you can file a Notice of Appeal with the Tax Court of Canada within 90 days of the date of the Notice of Confirmation. The process for the Notice of Appeal is similar to that of the Notice of Objection. The form is available from your regional tax office, but a letter is also acceptable.

• There is a Formal and an Informal Procedure. Most people request the Informal Procedure. You can also request that the $100 Tax Court filing fee be waived if it will cause you financial hardship. You will have to explain the reasons you are asking for the filing fee to be waived. For example, you may be on a fixed income or have limited financial resources.

• You must submit the original and two copies of the Notice of Appeal to the Tax Court of Canada in your area. Be sure to keep copies of all documents. You will receive a Notice of Hearing with the date and location of your hearing. The lawyer acting on behalf of CCRA will also contact you.

• You are required to provide copies of all documents to the CCRA lawyer prior to the hearing. Make sure you have an extra set of copies of all documents available for the judge at the time of the hearing.

The evidence you present at the Tax Court should focus on the severity of your disability. For example, if your doctor checked "yes" to the question on the T2201 form that you can walk 50 metres on level ground, you should provide additional medical evidence about how difficult this is and how fatigue impacts your ability to walk or to carry out the other basic activities of daily living such as feeding and dressing yourself.

You can contact the Individual and Family Services Department of your nearest chapter or division office of the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada (call toll free 1-800-268-7582) for basic assistance with the process. If you are registered at one of the MS clinics, the doctors or nurses can also provide useful information for the medical evidence you will need when filling out the T2201 form or for making an appeal.

The MS Society is working to persuade CCRA officials that people with MS are being discriminated against by the current T2201 form and a definition of disability that is inflexible and does not take into account the unpredictability of the disease. The MS Society has also taken this argument to the Sub-Committee on the Status of Persons with Disabilities which has recently issued a report Getting It Right for Canadians: The Disability Tax Credit calling for major reform to the disability tax credit. The MS Society is also working with a group of other concerned health charities about the issue. The report can be viewed here.