Canada Caregiver Credit Calculator
Use the dependant’s net income to screen a potential line 30425 claim before completing Schedule 5.
This screen covers an infirm spouse/common-law partner or eligible dependant age 18 or older. The person must depend on you for support.
Preliminary caregiver amount
$6,798Complete Schedule 5 for the final line 30425 claim
Approx. federal credit value
$986Using the 2025 14.5% lowest federal rate
2025 income ceiling
$28,798Maximum amount: $8,601
This is a screening estimate. Schedule 5 coordinates the caregiver amount with the spouse or eligible-dependant amount, and CRA may request medical support for the infirmity.
What this estimate includes
This route covers the adult spouse or eligible-dependant case. Lines 30450 and 30500 have different relationship and age rules.
What CRA means by “dependent because of an infirmity”
Schedule 5 sets three tests, and all three have to hold. The dependency must be caused solely by the mental or physical infirmity — not by unemployment, immigration status or a shortage of money. The infirmity must be serious enough that the person depends on you for a considerable period of time. And a temporary illness or injury does not count, however disruptive it was.
The person also has to be someone you can already claim at line 30300 (spouse or common-law partner) or line 30400 (eligible dependant aged 18 or older). If you support an infirm adult who fits neither — a parent, a sibling, a grandchild — the claim belongs at line 30450 instead, and if the infirm person is your child under 18 at year end it belongs at line 30500. Those are separate lines with their own arithmetic; this calculator does not model them.
Why this is a screen and not the finished number
Schedule 5 works the line 30425 claim in five steps: start from the $28,798 base amount, subtract the dependant’s net income from line 23600 of their return, cap the result at $8,601, then subtract the amount you actually claimed on line 30300 or line 30400, and enter whatever is left. The figure this page produces is step three. The fourth step is the one that surprises people, because the infirmity is recognised twice on the form and CRA only lets you keep it once.
That is also why the low end of the range matters. Before you touch line 30425 at all you must have entered the $2,687 infirmity add-on inside the line 30300 or line 30400 calculation, and Schedule 5 tells you to complete the line 30425 calculation only where the person’s 2025 net income sits between $8,624 and $28,798. A dependant with very little income produces a large line 30300 or 30400 claim that already absorbs the add-on, so step four wipes out step three.
How the reduction behaves
The reduction is dollar for dollar against the dependant’s net income, not a percentage taper: every extra dollar they earn above $20,197 removes a dollar from the screening figure, and at $28,798 it reaches zero. Net income is line 23600, so it is already after RRSP deductions, union dues and similar items — a dependant who is a few hundred dollars over the ceiling on paper may not be once their own return is prepared. If they are not filing, CRA expects you to estimate the amount.
The amount is a non-refundable credit, so it reduces tax payable rather than generating a refund on its own, and the tile above converts it at the lowest federal rate to show the rough cash value. Your province or territory has its own caregiver amount with its own limits, which is not included here.
Documents CRA can ask for
CRA may request a signed statement from a medical practitioner showing when the infirmity began and how long it is expected to last. You do not need a fresh statement if CRA already holds an approved Form T2201, Disability Tax Credit Certificate, covering the period. Keep the statement rather than filing it — attach Schedule 5 to a paper return, but supporting documents are produced only on request.
Questions this calculator answers
Who qualifies for the Canada caregiver amount?
You must support a spouse, common-law partner or eligible dependant who depends on you because of a physical or mental infirmity.
Does CRA require Form T2201?
Not always, but CRA may request a signed medical statement. An approved T2201 can satisfy documentation for the applicable period.
Why is my final line 30425 claim smaller than the $8,601 shown here?
Schedule 5 subtracts the amount you actually claimed on line 30300 or line 30400 from the screening figure. The screen is $28,798 minus the dependant’s net income, capped at $8,601; the final line 30425 entry is that result minus your line 30300 or 30400 claim, and it cannot go below zero.
The dependant has almost no income. Why does the calculator still show nothing useful?
Schedule 5 says to complete the line 30425 calculation only where the person’s net income falls between $8,624 and $28,798 for 2025. Below that window the infirmity is already fully recognised inside the larger line 30300 or line 30400 claim, so there is nothing left to move to line 30425.
Can two people split the caregiver amount for the same person?
Not at line 30425. CRA states that only one person can claim it and that it cannot be split or shared. Line 30450, for other infirm dependants aged 18 or older, can be split between two supporters, but the combined claim cannot exceed the maximum for that dependant.
I support an infirm adult who is not my spouse or eligible dependant. Which line do I use?
Line 30450. It covers a child, grandchild, parent, grandparent, brother, sister, aunt, uncle, niece or nephew of yours or your spouse’s who was 18 or older, was resident in Canada at some point in the year (unless they are your child or grandchild) and had net income under $28,798. You cannot use line 30450 for someone already claimed at line 30300 or 30400.
What about an infirm child under 18?
That is line 30500, a flat $2,687 per infirm child under 18 at the end of the year, not the amount this calculator screens. It is not reduced by the child’s net income the way the adult amount is.