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Canada Disability Benefit Update

The Canada Disability Benefit will provide direct financial support to people with disabilities who are between 18 and 64 years old. The program is administered by Service Canada. The first month of eligibility for the Canada Disability Benefit is June 2025 and it is expected that payments will begin in July 2025.

Further information regarding the benefit application process will be posted on the Government of Canada’s website soon:
https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/disability/canada-disability-benefit.html

Eligibility requirements

To qualify for the Canada Disability Benefit:

  • you must be between 18 and 64 years old
    If you’re outside of these ages
    • If you’re under 18, you can apply after you turn 17.5. Your application won’t be processed until your 18th birthday. This means that you won’t get an eligibility decision or any payments until after you turn 18
    • If you’re 65 and over, you might be eligible to get back payments for up to 24 months from the date we get your application, up to the month you turn 65. There will be no back payments for months prior to July 2025
  • you must have been approved for the disability tax credit
  • you and your spouse or common-law partner (if applicable) must have filed your 2024 federal income tax return
  • you must be a Canadian resident for income tax filing purposes
  • you must be one of the following:
    • a Canadian citizen
    • a permanent residentFootnote1
    • an individual registered or entitled to be registered under the Indian Act
    • a protected personFootnote1
    • a temporary resident who has lived in Canada throughout the previous 18 monthsFootnote1

Incarcerated persons

  • If you’re serving a sentence of imprisonment of 2 years or more in a federal penitentiary, you’re not eligible for the benefit except for the first and last month of your incarceration
  • If you become ineligible because you get incarcerated, you’ll need to re-apply for the benefit when you are released

Footnotes

Permanent resident, protected person and temporary resident are as described in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.

Benefit amounts

Benefit amounts are based on your adjusted family net income.

Your adjusted family net income is:

  • your family net income (line 23600 of your tax return, plus line 23600 of your spouse or common-law partner’s tax return (if applicable)
  • minus any universal child care benefit (UCCB) and registered disability savings plan (RDSP) income received (line 11700 and line 12500 of your or your spouse or common-law partner’s tax return (if applicable))
  • plus any UCCB and RDSP amounts repaid (line 21300 and line 23200 of your or your spouse or common-law partner’s tax return (if applicable))

Benefit amounts for the July 2025 to June 2026 payment period will be calculated using your adjusted family net income for the 2024 tax year. To be eligible for the benefit, both you and your spouse or common-law partner (if applicable) must have filed your 2024 federal income tax return.

Maximum benefit you could receive

The maximum amount you could receive from July 2025 to June 2026 is $2,400 ($200 per month). This amount will be adjusted for inflation each year to reflect changes in the cost of living. Your benefit payment will not decrease if the cost of living goes down.

When you apply for the Canada Disability Benefit, you might get back payments for past months that you were eligible. You can receive back payments for up to 24 months from when we get your application, but not for any months before July 2025.

How income affects your benefit amount

The Canada Disability Benefit is an income-tested benefit, which means the benefit amount decreases once your adjusted family net income reaches a certain level. If your adjusted family net income is above that threshold, your benefit amount will be $0.
How your income affects your benefit amount depends on 3 factors:
• your marital status (whether you are single or have a spouse or common-law partner)
• whether you and/or your spouse or common-law partner (if applicable) have income from employment, self-employment or taxable scholarships (i.e. working income)
• whether you and your spouse or common-law partner (if applicable) are both receiving the benefit

Working income exemption

A certain amount of income from employment, self-employment and taxable scholarships is excluded when calculating your benefit amount. This is called the working income exemption.

If you are single, up to $10,000 of working income will be exempt when calculating your benefit. If you have a spouse or common-law partner, up to $14,000 of combined working income will be exempt.

Earning more than the working income exemption does not necessarily mean that your benefit amount will be reduced.

Please check the website for more information.