Every Tax Credit and Benefit English-Speaking Quebec Caregivers Should Check

Families caring for an aging parent in Quebec routinely leave money unclaimed — not because they don't qualify, but because the programs are scattered across Revenu Québec, the CLSC, the RAMQ, and Service Canada, each behind its own paperwork and, often, its own French-first web page.

This guide lists the programs worth checking, in plain English, with a link to the official page for each — always confirm current amounts there, because the governments index them every year.

Prefer answering five quick questions instead of reading? Our free financial-aid finder narrows this list to your family's situation — no sign-up, nothing saved.

1. Tax Credit for Caregivers (Revenu Québec)

The headline program, and the most missed. It's refundable — you get it even if you owe no tax — and it has two components:

• Component 1: you support a person 18+ with a severe and prolonged impairment (living together or not, conditions differ).
• Component 2: you house a relative aged 70 or over — no impairment required. If your mother lives with you and is 70+, check this one even if she's in good health.

Amounts are set each tax year and depend on cohabitation and the care receiver's situation. Claim it via Schedule H of the Quebec return. Details and current amounts: Tax Credit for Caregivers — Revenu Québec. The government's legal-information site also has a good plain-language explainer: tax credits for caregivers of seniors — JuridiQC.

2. Tax Credit for Home-Support Services for Seniors (70+)

If your parent is 70 or older and lives at home or in a private seniors' residence (RPA), Quebec refunds a percentage of eligible home-support expenses — housekeeping, nursing care, meal services, even a portion of RPA rent. The rate has been rising year over year, so check the current figure on the official page.

Two things families miss: it can be paid in advance monthly rather than at tax time, and RPA residents often qualify through the services included in their lease. We wrote a dedicated English guide to this credit.

3. CLSC home-support services (free or subsidized)

Not a tax credit — actual services: nursing at home, help with bathing and dressing, equipment loans, respite for you. The doorway is your parent's CLSC, and the assessment is free. Our step-by-step English guide to getting CLSC home care covers the whole process, including how to ask for services in English.

4. PEFSAD — subsidized housekeeping help

Quebec's Financial Exemption Program for Domestic Help Services reduces the hourly price of housekeeping, laundry, and meal preparation delivered by recognized social-economy agencies (EESADs). Everyone eligible gets a fixed reduction; an additional income-based reduction can lower the price substantially for modest-income seniors. Official page: Domestic help — RAMQ. Our PEFSAD guide in English explains how to sign up.

5. Guaranteed Income Supplement (federal, 65+)

If your parent is 65+ with a low income and receives Old Age Security, the GIS adds a monthly, non-taxable benefit — amounts are adjusted quarterly. Many seniors only need to file their taxes to keep receiving it, but the first application is often missed after a spouse's death or immigration milestone. Check eligibility: Guaranteed Income Supplement — Canada.ca.

6. Allowance for the Survivor (federal, 60–64 only)

For a widowed person aged 60 to 64 with low income who hasn't remarried — a monthly benefit that bridges until OAS/GIS begins at 65. Strictly for the 60–64 window. Details: Allowance for the Survivor — Canada.ca.

7. Solidarity Tax Credit (Quebec, income-tested)

A refundable credit for modest-income Quebec households, combining housing and QST components. Your parent may already receive it — but a move (into your home, or into an RPA) changes the housing component, and families often forget to update it. Official page: Solidarity Tax Credit — Revenu Québec.

8. Equipment, adaptation, and transport programs

• Equipment loans (walkers, hospital beds, bath equipment) — free through the CLSC after assessment.
• Home adaptation (PAD) — grants for ramps and bathroom adaptations via the Société d'habitation du Québec; note the program has been paused for new applications since April 2025, so check current status before planning around it.
• Paratransit — door-to-door adapted transit at regular fares; eligibility in English.

How to actually capture this money

The pattern behind every missed benefit is the same: nobody has the full picture in one place. The paperwork asks for dates, medication lists, medical summaries, income figures — scattered across drawers, inboxes, and three siblings' phones.

Two free things that help:

1. Run your situation through our financial-aid finder — five questions, and it tells you which of these programs fit, with the official link for each.
2. Put the documents, medication list, and key dates in one shared place the whole family can see. That's what Cercle does — free for a full care circle, in English or French.

Ce guide existe aussi en français : voyez notre article sur les crédits d'impôt pour proches aidants.