How does the Home Accessibility Tax Credit work in Ontario?

The Home Accessibility Tax Credit is a federal credit administered by the CRA, claimed on line 31285 of your income tax return. It lets an eligible person claim up to $20,000 of eligible expenses in a year, and where more than one qualifying individual shares a dwelling, the total for the dwelling is still $20,000.

Who can claim it

A qualifying individual is someone who is 65 or older at the end of the tax year, or who is eligible for the disability tax credit at any time in that year. Certain family members who live with a qualifying individual may also claim the credit, and the claim can be split among them. The CRA sets the conditions for each situation; the program decides eligibility.

The renovation itself must be of an enduring nature and integral to the home, and it must either allow the person to gain access to, or be mobile or functional within, the dwelling, or reduce the risk of harm. The CRA's own examples of eligible work include ramps, widening doorways and hallways, and lowering kitchen or bathroom cabinets. Work that is mainly to increase or maintain the home's value is not eligible, and neither is routine maintenance.

Items that are not eligible include household appliances, electronic home-entertainment devices, housekeeping, security monitoring, gardening services, financing costs, and anything that does not become a permanent part of the home.

For work done by a contractor, eligible expenses are the amounts paid for labour and materials. For do-it-yourself work, materials, fixture costs, equipment rentals, building plans and permits are eligible, but your own labour and tools are not. Work done by a relative is not eligible unless that relative is registered for GST/HST.

One point worth knowing: the credit is not reduced by grants or forgivable loans from the federal or a provincial government, so if you also receive funding from a program such as Ontario Renovates, you can still claim the eligible expenses under the tax credit. An expense that also qualifies as a medical expense may qualify under the medical expense tax credit as well; the CRA sets the conditions for each.

Keep your agreements, invoices and receipts. The CRA looks for the contractor's name and business address, their GST/HST number if applicable, a description of the work, the dates, and proof of payment. These records support your claim if the CRA asks to see them.

The Ontario Seniors' Home Safety Tax Credit, which some contractor pages still advertise, was available for the 2021 and 2022 tax years only and is closed. A separate Ontario credit, the Ontario Seniors Care at Home Tax Credit, covers certain medical expenses including grab bars and home modifications for mobility; it is a refundable credit for people who turned 70 or older in the year. The CRA and the Ontario government each set the conditions for their own credits.

Amounts, rates and eligibility rules are checked as of September 2026; confirm current rules with the CRA before filing.

When you have two written quotes in front of you, put the scope of work, any permit costs, patching and finishing, the start and completion dates, and the payment schedule side by side so you are comparing the same job, not just the bottom line.