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Friends for Mental Health is a non-profit community organization that provides families and friends with the support, information and education they need to help them cope with a loved one's mental illness.
DISABILITY TAX CREDIT

THE DISABILITY TAX CREDIT

The disability tax credit (DTC) is a non-refundable tax credit that qualified recipients can use to reduce the amount of income tax they pay.

You can claim this type of credit if you have a severe prolonged mental or physical impairment, which causes you to be markedly restricted in any of the basic activities of daily living.  If the person receives a pension plan or other types of disability insurance benefits, he/she may not be eligible to claim the tax.  In some instances, it may be transferred to the recipient's care provider.

To apply for the credit, the recipient needs to fill out the Disability Tax Credit Certificate, which includes a portion that must be completed by a qualified person, which in most cases, is the person's doctor.
A few quick tips to make it easier for you and your doctor:
    1. Forms can be picked up at your local Canada Customs and Revenue Agency.  Friends for Mental Health has also made these forms available.

    2. Pick-up two forms (one for you and the other for your doctor)

    3. Ask your doctor if he/she would like you to fill in the non-medical part of the form.
    4. Make sure that your doctor is prepared to attach a letter of support to the form.  The letter should have a very detailed description of your symptoms with regard to your ability to "perceive, think, and remember" as these functions pertain to carrying out "the basic activities of daily living" over a "prolonged" period of time.  This is very important to back-up the information on the claim.

    5. You should also attach your own letter describing in your own words the impact of your  symptoms on your day-to-day activities.

    6. Talk to people.  Contact your social worker, association of parents or provincial society and find out what other people have done.  They are a great source of information.
If you've been denied the Disability Tax Credit, don't give up.  You may write a letter of appeal to the tax office that handles your income tax claim, or you can re-apply for the credit the following year.

For more information, please contact the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency at their Web site
( www.ccra-adrc.gc.ca ) or the Schizophrenia Society of Canada at 1-888-772-4673 or visit their Web sit at www.schizophrenia.ca .

Drawn from the 2003 pamphlet:
How Can I Apply for the Disability Tax Credit?. By the Schizophrenia Society of Canada.

Providing support to families to cope with a loved one's mental illness serving primarily the West Island of Montreal: Baie-d'Urfé, Beaconsfield,
Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Dorval, Île-Bizard, Kirkland, Pierrefonds, Pointe-Claire, Roxboro, Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, Ste-Geneviève and Senneville.
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