What can my client claim as a disability supports deduction on line 21500, and how is it capped?
For 2026, the disability supports deduction (line 21500) lets a person with an impairment deduct listed devices and services, such as attendant care, real time captioning, note taking or an ergonomic work chair, that let them work, study or do grant research. Form T929 caps it at earned income, plus up to $15,000 for a student.
Which expenses qualify for the disability supports deduction?
Your client must have an impairment in physical or mental functions and have paid for listed devices or services so they could be employed, carry on a business, attend a designated educational institution or secondary school, or do research funded by a grant. Only the person with the disability can claim the expenses canada.ca. The list is closed: section 64 names each item and its condition
laws-lois.justice.gc.ca.
| Expense | What the CRA requires |
|---|---|
| Alternative input devices, digital pen devices | Prescription |
| Bed positioning devices, ergonomic work chairs, mobile computer carts | Prescription, severe and prolonged physical impairment |
| Bliss symbol boards, braille note takers, braille printers, synthetic speech or large print systems | Prescription |
| Devices or software, electronic speech synthesizers, optical scanners, page turner devices, teletypewriters | Prescription |
| Memory or organizational aids, navigation devices, service animals | Prescription |
| Note taking, reading and tutoring services, talking textbooks, voice recognition software | Written certification from a medical practitioner |
| Job coaching (not job placement or career counselling) | Written certification, severe and prolonged impairment, paid to a business that provides it |
| Deaf blind intervening services, real time captioning | Neither |
| Attendant care | DTC eligibility or a practitioner's certification of full time attendant need |
The table follows the CRA's line 21500 list canada.ca. Section 64 also covers sign language interpretation alongside real time captioning for a speech or hearing impairment
laws-lois.justice.gc.ca.
The chair, bed positioning device, computer cart, input devices, digital pen, memory aids, low vision navigation device and service animal costs came from Budget 2024, for 2024 and later years, and an ergonomic assessment counts toward the chair and the bed device canada.ca. They now sit in section 64 itself
laws-lois.justice.gc.ca. Folio S1-F1-C3 still describes them as proposals, so the folio is stale on the list
canada.ca.
How does Form T929 cap the deduction at earned income?
The deduction is the lesser of net expenses and an income cap, worked out on Form T929, and the result goes on line 21500 canada.ca.
| T929 line | What goes there |
|---|---|
| 1 | Total paid for eligible devices and services |
| 2 | Reimbursements or assistance anyone received or was entitled to (skip amounts included in someone's income) |
| 3 | Net expenses: line 1 minus line 2 |
| 4 | Earned income |
| 5 to 10 | Student amount: the least of net income minus earned income, $375 per week attended, and $15,000 |
| 11 | The cap: line 4 plus line 10 |
| 12 | The deduction: lesser of line 3 and line 11, entered on line 21500 |
Earned income on the form is employment income (including stock options and other benefits), net business income earned alone or as an active partner (losses ignored), the taxable part of scholarships and bursaries, net research grants, government earnings supplements, financial support under Part II of the Employment Insurance Act or a similar program, Wage Earner Protection Program wages, and COVID payments reported on a T4A or T4E canada.ca. The statute builds the same cap from sections 5 to 7, paragraphs 56(1)(n), (o) and (r), and active business income in paragraph 64(b)
laws-lois.justice.gc.ca.
Worked example: a university student with a part time job, a taxable disability pension and 32 weeks of classes, who paid $25,000 for attendant care, note taking and tutoring.
| Step | Arithmetic | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Earned income (line 4) | Part time wages | $9,000 |
| Net income before line 21500 (line 5) | $9,000 wages plus $14,000 pension | $23,000 |
| Net income minus earned income (line 7) | $23,000 minus $9,000 | $14,000 |
| Weeks times $375 (line 9) | 32 times $375 | $12,000 |
| Student amount (line 10) | Lesser of $14,000 and $12,000, under $15,000 | $12,000 |
| Cap (line 11) | $9,000 plus $12,000 | $21,000 |
| Deduction (line 12) | Lesser of $25,000 and $21,000 | $21,000 |
The $4,000 the cap cuts off isn't lost. The CRA lets the person split an expense between line 21500 and line 33099 as long as the total stays within what was paid canada.ca. Net income is now $2,000, so the medical threshold is 3% of $2,000, or $60, and almost all of the $4,000 qualifies. Without the student amount the cap would have been $9,000.
Deduction or medical expense credit: which saves more?
Most items on the list also qualify as medical expenses, and section 64 bars a deduction for anything claimed by anyone for the medical expense credit, so your client has to pick canada.ca. The medical credit is 14% of expenses above the lesser of $2,890 and 3% of net income for 2026
canada.ca. The deduction saves tax at your client's marginal rate, and the 2026 federal rates run 14% to $58,523 and 20.5% to $117,045
canada.ca.
Worked example: an employee with a hearing impairment pays $9,000 for real time captioning and note taking at work. Salary is the only income, and there are no other deductions.
| Step | Salary $52,000 | Salary $90,000 |
|---|---|---|
| Line 21500 deduction | $9,000 | $9,000 |
| Marginal federal rate on that $9,000 | 14% | 20.5% |
| Federal tax saved by the deduction | $1,260 | $1,845 |
| Medical threshold (lesser of $2,890 and 3%) | $1,560 | $2,700 |
| Expenses above the threshold | $7,440 | $6,300 |
| Federal medical credit at 14% | $1,041.60 | $882 |
| Deduction wins by | $218.40 | $963 |
The gap widens with income because the deduction escapes the threshold and earns the marginal rate, while the credit is stuck at 14%. The provincial return usually adds to the gap. The deduction also lowers net income, which the 3% medical threshold and income tested benefits are measured against. The credit wins when the person with the disability has little taxable income and a spouse or supporting relative can claim the same costs on line 33099 or 33199 instead, since only the person with the disability can use line 21500 canada.ca. See the medical expense threshold page for that side of the comparison.
Why attendant care on line 21500 keeps the disability tax credit
Attendant care qualifies under section 64 only if it is provided in Canada, the attendant is not your client's spouse or common law partner and is 18 or older, and your client either qualifies for the disability tax credit or has a medical practitioner's written certification of being, and likely to remain, dependent on others with a need for a full time attendant laws-lois.justice.gc.ca. Section 64 sets no dollar ceiling on attendant care. The earned income cap is the only limit.
Here is the edge. Paragraph 118.3(1)(c) denies the disability amount when attendant or nursing home remuneration is included in a section 118.2 medical expense claim, other than the paragraph 118.2(2)(b.1) claim. It does not mention section 64 laws-lois.justice.gc.ca. A working client who deducts a full time attendant on line 21500 keeps the disability tax credit, a $10,341 amount for 2026 that is worth $1,447.74 at 14%
canada.ca. Claimed as a full time attendant medical expense instead, the same wages would cost the credit.
One exception runs the other way. For a person under 18, care or supervision amounts included in a section 63, 64 or 118.2 claim reduce the child supplement laws-lois.justice.gc.ca. The 2026 supplement is up to $6,032
canada.ca.
Receipts from an individual attendant must show that person's social insurance number canada.ca. The CRA notes a privately hired attendant will probably be your client's employee, which brings payroll obligations
canada.ca.
What gets a line 21500 claim reduced or denied?
| Situation | The rule |
|---|---|
| A parent or spouse claims it for the person | Only the person with the disability can claim line 21500 |
| Paid in December 2025, claimed on the 2026 return | Claim it in the year paid; unused amounts don't carry over |
| Insurance or a program reimbursed part | Subtract it on line 2, unless the reimbursement was included in someone's income |
| The same receipt also sits on line 33099 | Not both; a split is fine if the total stays within the amount paid |
| Attendant receipt with no SIN | Required for an individual payee, waived while your client is abroad if the attendant isn't a resident |
| Services bought while living abroad | A factual or deemed resident can claim payments to a nonresident for services outside Canada |
Sources for the table: the CRA line 21500 page canada.ca, the T929 general information
canada.ca, and section 64.1 as explained in Folio S1-F1-C3
canada.ca. Don't attach Form T929 or the receipts to the return; keep them in case the CRA asks
canada.ca.
Sources
Does my client need the disability tax credit to claim it?
Not for most items. DTC eligibility, or a practitioner's certification of full time attendant need, is required only for attendant care; the other items need a prescription, a written certification or nothing, as the CRA lists them canada.ca. Job coaching and the chair, bed device and computer cart also need a severe and prolonged impairment.
Can the deduction help a client who owes no tax?
Yes, through the refundable medical expense supplement. Section 122.51 counts 25% of the line 21500 deduction toward it laws-lois.justice.gc.ca, and for 2026 the supplement is up to $1,534 for a client 18 or older with at least $4,478 of work earnings, reduced by 5% of adjusted family net income above $33,960
canada.ca. In the student example above, 25% of $21,000 is $5,250, so a single student gets the full $1,534.
Do CPP disability benefits count as earned income for the cap?
No. CPP and QPP disability benefits are not on the T929 earned income list, which is limited to work income, taxable awards, research grants and a few listed program payments canada.ca. For a student, that other income can still feed the student amount on lines 5 to 10.
Can a parent deduct these costs for a child with a disability?
No. Only the person with the disability can claim line 21500 canada.ca. A parent can claim the same costs as medical expenses, but then nobody can deduct them under section 64, and care amounts for a child under 18 shrink the DTC supplement either way.
General information for the tax year shown, not advice for a specific client. Confirm the facts before you file or remit.