Canada Disability Benefit Regulations

Marginal note:Eligibility criteria

• 2 (1) A person is eligible to receive a benefit for any month after May 2025 in which they meet the following criteria:

  • (a) they are at least 18 years of age but not more than 65 years of age;

  • (b) they are a DTC-eligible individual, as defined in subsection 146.4(1) of the Income Tax Act;

  • (c) they are resident in Canada for the purposes of the Income Tax Act and are

    • (i) a Canadian citizen,

    • (ii) a permanent resident as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act,

    • (iii) a temporary resident within the meaning of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act who was resident in Canada for the 18 months preceding that month,

    • (iv) a protected person within the meaning of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, or

    • (v) an Indian as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Indian Act;

  • (d) they are not incarcerated as a result of a sentence of imprisonment of two years or more that is to be served in a penitentiary by virtue of any Act of Parliament; and

  • (e) they have filed a return of income under the Income Tax Act for the last taxation year that ended before the beginning of the payment period in which that month falls.

• Marginal note:Exception — 65 years of age

  (2) Despite paragraph (1)(a), a person is eligible for a benefit for the month in which they turn 65 years of age.

• Marginal note:Exception — incarceration

  (3) Despite paragraph (1)(d), a person is eligible for a benefit for the first month in which they are incarcerated and for the month in which they are released.

• Marginal note:Condition — cohabiting spouse or common-law partner

  (4) Despite subsections (1) to (3), a person is eligible for a benefit for any month in a payment period only if their cohabiting spouse or common-law partner has filed a return of income under the Income Tax Act for the last taxation year that ended before the beginning of that payment period.

• Marginal note:Waiver

  (5) The Minister may waive the condition set out in subsection (4) if the Minister is satisfied that the condition is unreasonable or impracticable in the circumstances, including if

  • (a) the cohabiting spouse or common-law partner is not resident in Canada for the purposes of the Income Tax Act;

  • (b) for reasons not attributable to the person or their cohabiting spouse or common-law partner, the person is not living with their cohabiting spouse or common-law partner; or

  • (c) the cohabiting spouse or common-law partner has engaged in family violence as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Divorce Act.

• Marginal note:Exception — suspension of payments

  (6) Despite subsections (1) to (3), a person is not eligible for a benefit for any month during which payment of a benefit has been suspended under section 11.