If your child has a Learning Disability, you may qualify for tax credits for Tutoring or Private School Tuition
Some parents take advantage of the Don Valley Academy (DVA) environment as a solution for students with ADD, ADHD, Asperger’s, anxiety, or other social or medical problems that make learning more challenging. Depending on the case, teaching approaches and environmental modifications available at DVA are used along with or instead of pharmaceutical treatments. Check the information below to see whether you qualify for Canadian tax credits to help make this option affordable. Follow our links to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) for full details.
Who is Eligible?
• Check the summary on the CRA site
A number of programs and services are available for persons with disabilities to help them and their caregivers cope with the added expenses and to facilitate their full participation in society.
If you have had a disability for some time, your tax returns can be reassessed as far back as ten years. Children who have ADD, ADHD, FASD (Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder), autism, Asperger’s Syndrome, bi-polar disorder, manic depression, anxiety disorders, irritable bowel syndrome, Type 1 or 2 diabetes, epilepsy, or learning disabilities can be eligible for the Disability Amount.
Disability Tax Credit
• Check credit amount and criteria on the CRA site
To apply for this credit, the Disability Tax Credit Certificate (Form T2201) must be completed by an authorized healthcare professional. In the case of learning disabilities, the authorizing professional can be a registered psychologist.
It may also be helpful for you to include supporting documents such as psychological assessments and testimonials from teachers, detailing the impact of the impairment on the student in the classroom.
Medical Expenses
• Check information for Line 330 on the CRA site
A person with a diagnosed learning disability may be eligible to claim the following educational services according to the List of Eligible Medical Expenses on the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) website.
Tutoring services used by, and which are supplementary to the primary education of, a person with a learning disability or an impairment in mental functions, and paid to someone in the business of providing such services who is not related to the person being tutored. A medical practitioner must certify in writing that these services are necessary.
School for persons with an impairment in physical or mental functions – a medical practitioner must certify in writing that the equipment, facilities or personnel specially provided by that school are required because of the person’s physical or mental impairment.
Make sure that the CRA has on file a valid T2201 Form Disability Tax Credit Certificate before you submit your return if you are claiming the expenses for yourself or another person with a disability. Otherwise, there will be delays in assessing your return.