If you’re a Canadian living with a disability, the Canada Disability Benefit (CDB) is a federal monthly payment meant to help with the extra costs that often come with disability. It’s still a fairly new program. If you haven’t applied yet, or you aren’t sure you qualify, this guide covers eligibility, how to apply, how the payment amount is worked out, and the new one-time $150 supplement that began going out on September 17, 2026.

What Is the Canada Disability Benefit

The CDB is a financial support payment for working-age Canadians with disabilities, aimed at reducing poverty in this group. It’s paid monthly to eligible people aged 18 to 64. The maximum was $200 a month ($2,400 a year) through June 2026. For the July 2026 to June 2027 benefit period, the maximum is $204.20 a month (about $2,450 a year). Not everyone gets the maximum, because the benefit is income-tested (see the table below).

Eligibility Requirements

To qualify for the CDB, you need to meet all of the following:

• Be between 18 and 64 years old. Under-18s can apply up to 6 months before their 18th birthday, but the application isn’t processed until they turn 18.
• Be approved for the Disability Tax Credit (DTC). This is the gateway requirement. If you don’t have a DTC approval, you’ll need to apply for that first.
• Be a resident of Canada for income tax purposes, and have filed your 2025 federal income tax return. Your spouse or common-law partner, if you have one, must have filed theirs too.
• Have an eligible status in Canada: Canadian citizen, permanent resident, a person registered (or entitled to be registered) under the Indian Act, a protected person, or a temporary resident who has lived in Canada throughout the previous 18 months.

One exclusion to know about: people serving a sentence of two years or more in a federal penitentiary aren’t eligible, apart from the first and last month of incarceration.

The DTC requirement trips up a lot of applicants. It’s a separate application that needs a medical practitioner’s certification, and it can take time to process. If you’re planning to apply for the CDB, start the DTC process well in advance.

How to Apply: 4 Ways

Once you have an approved DTC, you can apply for the CDB through any of these channels:

1. Online: Service Canada recommends this route because it’s faster
2. By phone: call Service Canada’s CDB line at 1-833-486-3007 (TTY 1-833-467-2700), Monday to Friday, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm local time
3. In person: visit a Service Canada office
4. By mail: complete the printable application form CDB0004 and mail it or drop it off at a Service Canada office

If you received a letter from Service Canada inviting you to apply, look in the upper right-hand corner for your unique 6-digit application code and use it. If you didn’t get a letter, you can still apply by providing your SIN, mailing address, and legal status in Canada instead.

Documents and Information You’ll Need

Before you start, gather the following:

• Your Social Insurance Number (SIN)
• Your legal status in Canada
• Your current mailing address (needed if you don’t have an invitation letter)
• Optional but useful: direct deposit details (institution, branch, and account numbers)
• Optional: your net income (line 23600) from your 2024 notice of assessment, which can speed up processing if you’re applying without a letter

Applying for someone else? Legal representatives need extra paperwork, including proof of legal authority (such as a court order or power of attorney) and a copy of their own government ID.

How Much You’ll Get: Income Thresholds

The CDB is based on your adjusted family net income (AFNI), calculated after a working income exemption. For 2026-27, that exemption is $10,210 for a single person and $14,294 combined for a couple. The thresholds below come from Canada.ca:

Your situation	Full payment if AFNI is at or below	Reduction rate above that	Roughly reaches $0 at
Single, separated, divorced, or widowed	$23,000	20%	About $35,000
Couple, only one partner eligible	$32,500	20%	About $44,500
Couple, both partners eligible	$32,500	10% each	About $56,500

The “reaches $0” figures aren’t printed on the official page. They’re my own approximation, found by dividing the annual maximum by the reduction rate and adding that to the threshold.

A worked example (illustrative only). Say you’re single, and your AFNI after the working income exemption is $29,000.

1. Income above the threshold: $29,000 − $23,000 = $6,000
2. Reduction at 20%: $6,000 × 0.20 = $1,200 a year
3. Annual benefit: $2,450.40 − $1,200 = about $1,250
4. Monthly payment: about $104

Service Canada does the real calculation from your tax records, so your actual amount may differ slightly. Treat this as a way to estimate where you land, not as a promise of a specific payment.

What Happens After You Apply

Here’s the usual timeline once your application is in:

• Within about 28 days: Service Canada aims to send an eligibility decision letter. If a legal representative applied for you, allow up to 49 days. These are targets, not guarantees.
• The month after approval: your first payment arrives on the third Thursday of the month.
• Back payments: your first payment includes any back pay you’re owed, up to 24 months, but never for months before June 2025.

To check on an application, contact Service Canada by phone or through its contact page. If you change banks, keep the old account open until a payment lands in the new one, which can take up to a month. If a deposit can’t be made, Service Canada mails a cheque.

Also report changes quickly. Tell Service Canada about address or direct deposit changes. Tell the CRA about changes to your marital status or residency, because updating one doesn’t update the other, and late reporting can cause an overpayment.

The One-Time $150 Supplement: Who Gets It and When

On September 10, 2026, the federal government announced a separate, one-time payment of $150 for each approved DTC certificate that qualifies a person for the CDB. Its stated purpose is to help offset what it costs to obtain the DTC, since the DTC is required to qualify. It isn’t a permanent raise to the monthly amount.

You do not apply for it. Payments are issued automatically, and Service Canada sends a letter with more details.

Group	Who it covers	Payment date
Group 1	People who received a CDB payment at any point from July 2025 to June 2026. This includes past recipients who are no longer eligible (even someone who got only one payment) and people paid all at once for a full period.	September 17, 2026
Group 2	People who became eligible for a CDB payment at any time since July 2026, and people approved for a new DTC certificate	Winter 2027

If your $150 hasn’t shown up, work through this list first:

• Were you paid a CDB amount between July 2025 and June 2026? If yes and nothing has arrived since September 17, contact Service Canada at 1-833-486-3007.
• Did your CDB eligibility start in July 2026 or later, or was a new DTC certificate approved recently? Then you’re in the Winter 2027 group, and there’s nothing to chase yet.
• Did your bank or mailing details change? Update them with Service Canada before assuming the payment is lost.
• Not sure which group you’re in? Check your CDB payment history and your DTC approval letter, then call if it’s still unclear.

Don’t submit a new application for the supplement. There isn’t one.

How the CDB Fits With Other Benefits

The CDB is designed to work alongside, not replace, other disability supports. A few things to keep in mind:

• Provincial disability assistance: depending on your province, receiving the CDB may or may not affect provincial benefit amounts. Check with your provincial program directly, since rules vary.
• CPP Disability Benefit: this is a separate program through the Canada Pension Plan for people who have made enough CPP contributions and can no longer work because of a disability. It has different eligibility rules than the CDB, and some people may qualify for both.

FAQ

I don’t have a DTC yet. What do I do first?
Apply for the Disability Tax Credit certificate first. A medical practitioner has to complete part of the application confirming your disability meets the DTC criteria. Once you’re approved, you can move on to your CDB application.

Do I need to apply for the $150 supplement?
No. It’s paid automatically to eligible people.

Will I get the $150 more than once?
It’s one payment per approved DTC certificate, so it isn’t an annual bonus. A newly approved DTC certificate can trigger a new payment.

Is the CDB taxable income?
The official Canada.ca pages I reviewed don’t say whether the CDB or the $150 supplement is taxable. Confirm the current treatment with the CRA or a tax professional rather than assuming it.

Related: Canada’s Disability Tax Credit: what it’s worth and how it pays off

Related: Can you qualify for CPP Disability Benefits before age 65?

Related reading: If you’re also a low-income worker, you may qualify for the Canada Workers Benefit disability supplement as well.

This article is for general informational purposes and is not legal or financial advice. For guidance specific to your situation, contact Service Canada directly or consult a licensed professional.