Retroactive disability tax credit: what 10 years of refund is worth
The value of every year from 2016 to 2025, and what decides your actual refund
The retroactive disability tax credit reaches back 10 years. See the federal value of every year from 2016 to 2025 and how the CRA works out your refund.
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If the CRA approves your disability tax credit with a start date in the past, it can reassess up to 10 years of returns. Across the 2016 to 2025 tax years, the federal credit alone adds up to roughly $13,196 for an adult, and about $20,894 for a child, before any provincial amount. Whether you receive that much depends on one thing: how much tax you paid in each of those years.
This page shows the value year by year, how the CRA actually calculates a retroactive refund, what a realistic outcome looks like for three different households, and how to trigger the reassessment. If you are the person with the impairment, the refund lands on your return. If you are the parent, spouse or adult child who supports someone, part or all of it may land on yours instead, and the mechanics differ slightly.
How much is the retroactive disability tax credit worth per year?
The disability amount is set by the CRA each year and multiplied by the lowest federal tax rate. That rate was 15% through 2024, 14.5% for 2025 because of a mid-year cut, and 14% from 2026. The amounts below come from the CRA claiming page, the rates from its 2025 rate table.
| Tax year | Disability amount | Child supplement | Federal rate | Federal value, adult | Federal value, under 18 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $10,138 | $5,914 | 14.5% | $1,470 | $2,328 |
| 2024 | $9,872 | $5,758 | 15% | $1,481 | $2,345 |
| 2023 | $9,428 | $5,500 | 15% | $1,414 | $2,239 |
| 2022 | $8,870 | $5,174 | 15% | $1,331 | $2,107 |
| 2021 | $8,662 | $5,053 | 15% | $1,299 | $2,057 |
| 2020 | $8,576 | $5,003 | 15% | $1,286 | $2,037 |
| 2019 | $8,416 | $4,909 | 15% | $1,262 | $1,999 |
| 2018 | $8,235 | $4,804 | 15% | $1,235 | $1,956 |
| 2017 | $8,113 | $4,733 | 15% | $1,217 | $1,927 |
| 2016 | $8,001 | $4,667 | 15% | $1,200 | $1,900 |
| Total 2016 to 2025 | $13,196 | $20,894 |
What the table does not include
Two things. First, the provincial or territorial disability amount, which every province adds at its own rate. That can add a third or more on top of the federal figure depending on where you live. Second, the child supplement can be reduced in any year where child care or attendant care expenses were claimed for that child, so the under 18 column is a ceiling rather than a promise.
How does the CRA calculate a retroactive refund?
It does not send you the table above. It re-runs each past return with the disability amount added, then refunds the difference between the tax you paid and the tax you would have paid. A non-refundable credit can bring a year's tax to zero, and no further. So the refund for any single year is the smaller of two numbers: the credit's value, or the tax you actually paid that year.
Why two people with the same approval get different refunds
Someone who earned $60,000 a year for a decade paid far more than $1,400 in federal tax each year, so they recover the full credit every year. Someone on disability income who paid $300 in federal tax one year and nothing the next recovers $300 for the first year and nothing for the second, unless a supporting family member picks up the unused part.
Three realistic outcomes
These are illustrations, not quotes. They assume a 2016 onset, full approval, and no provincial amount. Actual tax paid is what decides your number, and you can run yours through our free DTC refund calculator.
| Household | Tax paid per year, federal | What the credit can recover | Likely 10 year federal outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full-time worker, approved for themselves | Well above the credit's value | The full credit each year | Close to $13,196 |
| Adult on modest disability income | A few hundred dollars, some years zero | Only what was paid | A fraction, unless the unused part transfers to a supporting relative |
| Parent of a child approved since 2016 | The parent's own tax, above the credit | Disability amount plus child supplement, transferred | Close to $20,894, on the parent's return |
Which past years can actually be claimed?
Only the years covered by the approval. Your notice of determination states the first eligible year, which the CRA sets from the date your medical practitioner certified the impairment began, not the date you applied. That is why the wording in Part B of the form matters more than anything else on it. A practitioner who writes "since 2016" opens ten years. One who writes "current" opens one.
The 10 year clock
The CRA can adjust a return for a tax year ending in any of the 10 calendar years before the request. Applying in 2026 means 2016 is the oldest year in reach. Every year you wait, one year falls off the back end permanently. If you suspect eligibility going back a long way, that is a reason to apply this year rather than next.
How do you trigger the reassessment?
There are two routes, and the right one depends on who is claiming. The person with the impairment uses the checkbox. A supporting family member uses a form.
| Who is claiming | How to request past years | What the CRA does |
|---|---|---|
| The person with the impairment | Tick the previous return adjustment box in Part A of Form T2201 | Adjusts every applicable year automatically, federal and provincial, after approval |
| A parent claiming for a child under 18 | Same checkbox, completed by the parent or guardian | Same automatic adjustment on the parent's returns |
| A supporting relative of an adult, or a spouse | Form T1-ADJ or a signed letter, one per tax year | Reassesses the years requested, on the relative's returns |
| Anyone who missed the box | Form T1-ADJ, a signed letter, or an online change through your CRA account | Reassesses the years you list |
The automatic route is spelled out in Guide RC4064, and it covers both federal and provincial amounts for every applicable year, except for residents of Quebec, who file a separate provincial return. The manual route is described on the CRA change-a-return page.
What a retroactive approval does not do
It does not backdate benefit programs. The child disability benefit, the Canada workers benefit disability supplement and the registered disability savings plan all open up after approval, but they do not reach back ten years the way the tax credit does. The RDSP is the one worth moving on quickly, because government grants and bonds carry their own carry-forward rules, and you can open an RDSP online once the approval is in hand.
It also does not require a percentage of your refund. The CRA charges nothing to apply, to reassess, or to pay a refund. The only legitimate cost is what your practitioner bills to complete Part B, and that fee is itself claimable as a medical expense. Our overview of the disability tax credit covers what qualifies and what does not.
Frequently asked questions about the retroactive disability tax credit
How far back can the disability tax credit be claimed?
Up to 10 years. For a claim made in 2026, that reaches back to the 2016 tax year. The CRA reassesses only years in which you were eligible according to the effective date your medical practitioner wrote in Part B, and only years where you had federal or provincial tax to reduce.
Is the retroactive disability tax credit paid as a lump sum?
Yes, in practice. When the CRA reassesses past returns, each year produces its own notice of reassessment, and the refunds arrive together or within a short span. It comes as a tax refund, not a benefit payment. There is no separate retroactive cheque program.
Do I need to file anything extra for past years?
Not if you ticked the adjustment box in Part A of Form T2201. The CRA then adjusts every applicable year on its own. If you missed the box, or the claim belongs to a supporting family member, send Form T1-ADJ or a signed letter to your tax centre for each year involved.
Can a family member receive the retroactive amount instead of me?
Yes, if you did not need the full amount to bring your own tax to zero. The unused portion transfers to a supporting family member on line 31800, or line 32600 for a spouse. For past years that transfer needs a T1-ADJ from the person claiming it, one per year.
Does the retroactive credit include the child supplement?
It does, for any year the person was under 18 on December 31. The supplement sits on top of the disability amount and follows the same 10 year lookback. It may be reduced in a year where child care or attendant care expenses were claimed for that child.
Will I get provincial money back too?
Usually. Every province and territory has its own disability amount, and the CRA applies both the federal and provincial amounts when it adjusts a past return. Quebec is the exception: the federal side is handled by the CRA, and the Quebec side needs a separate request to Revenu Quebec.
Can I get the retroactive amount if I paid no tax in those years?
No. The disability tax credit is non-refundable, so it can only reduce tax you actually owed in a given year. A year with no tax payable produces no refund, even with an approved credit. That is exactly why a transfer to a supporting family member matters for low income households.
