If you look after someone: money, respite, and help for you

You probably are a caregiver, even if you do not use the word

People rarely call themselves caregivers. They say "I just help my mum", or "he's my husband, of course I do it".

But the programs on this page use the word, and if you do not use it too, you will not be offered them. If you regularly help someone with meals, washing, medicine, appointments, money or getting around because of their age, illness or disability, you are a caregiver. Say that word when you phone.

Paid time off work: EI caregiving benefits

If caring for someone means you cannot work, Employment Insurance may pay you while you do it. There are three kinds, and which one applies depends on who is ill and how ill they are.

All three pay 55% of your earnings, up to $729 a week for 2026.

To qualify you generally need:

• 600 insured hours of work in the 52 weeks before your claim (or since your last claim);
• your weekly earnings to have dropped by more than 40% for at least one week because of the caring;
• a medical certificate from a doctor or nurse practitioner saying the person is critically ill, injured, or needs end-of-life care.

Self-employed people can qualify too, through the EI special benefits program for the self-employed, if their net self-employed earnings in the previous calendar year were at least $9,254.

The Canada Caregiver Credit

This is a tax credit, not a cheque. It reduces the income tax you owe.

You can claim it if you support a spouse or partner with a mental or physical infirmity, or a child, grandchild, parent, grandparent, brother, sister, aunt, uncle, niece or nephew — yours or your partner's — who depends on you for food, shelter or clothing because of that infirmity.

For the 2025 tax year the amounts are $2,687 on lines 30300, 30400 or 30500, and up to $8,601 on line 30425 or 30450. The $8,601 amount for an adult dependant shrinks as their net income rises, and disappears once it reaches $28,798.

The CRA may ask for a signed note from a medical practitioner saying when the infirmity began and how long it is expected to last — unless the person already has an approved Disability Tax Credit, in which case that does the job.

The credit you can move onto your own return

This one is quietly worth a lot, and almost nobody is told about it.

If the person you care for is approved for the Disability Tax Credit but has too little income to use all of it, the unused part can be transferred to a supporting spouse, parent, child or other close relative — which may be you. It goes on line 31800 if it comes from a dependant, or line 32600 if from a spouse.

So it is worth helping the person you care for get approved for the Disability Tax Credit even if they pay no tax at all. The credit does not go to waste; it can come to you instead.

Respite: getting a break

Respite means someone else takes over for a while — a few hours, a day, or a short stay in a care home — so you can sleep, work, or simply stop.

Through Island Health you can ask about:

• Adult day programs — the person spends the day somewhere with activities and care. Up to $10 a day.
• Short-stay respite beds — a temporary stay in a care home. $49.57 a day in 2026.
• Home support — a worker comes to the house.

Ask about respite at the same time as you ask about care for the person you look after. It is a separate conversation and it will not usually be offered unless you raise it.

Help in the home

Two different things, often confused:

You do not need a doctor's referral for either. You, a family member or a friend can phone and start it.

If the person has a developmental disability

Community Living BC (CLBC) funds supported living, respite for families, employment support and skill development for adults 19 and over with a developmental disability — and, through the Personalized Supports Initiative, for people diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder or Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder who need a lot of help with daily tasks.

CLBC does not send you a cheque. It pays for services. Respite paid through an agency is one of them, so ask specifically about respite when you speak to a facilitator.

Phone 1-877-660-2522. You can start the process before the person turns 19, and it is worth doing — assessments take time.

Why people miss this

• They do not call themselves a caregiver, so they never search for caregiver programs and are never offered them.
• They think help is only for the sick person. Respite exists for the carer. So does EI.
• They assume they earn too much, or too little. The tax credit has no minimum, and home support is free on GIS or assistance.
• They wait to be offered a break. Nobody offers. You have to ask, in those words.
• They do not file a tax return, so the caregiver credit and any transferred disability amount are lost.
• They do not know the Disability Tax Credit can transfer to them, so nobody applies for it when the ill person pays no tax.

Looking after yourself is not optional

Caregivers get ill. They lose jobs, savings and sleep, and they are more likely to end up needing care themselves. None of that is a character failing — it is what happens when one person absorbs a job that services were supposed to do.

Two things worth saying plainly:

• Asking for respite is not giving up on someone. It is how people keep going for years instead of months.
• If you are not coping, say so out loud to someone official — the Island Health case manager, your doctor, the Seniors Advocate. "I am not coping" is a sentence that changes what gets offered.

If you are in crisis, call or text 9-8-8 at any hour. If things are hard but not an emergency, dial 211 and say you are a caregiver and you need support.

Where to get help in Victoria

• Office of the Seniors Advocate of BC — free information and referral for seniors and caregivers, independent of the health authority. 1-877-952-3181, or 250-952-3181 in Victoria.
• Better at Home (Victoria and Oak Bay), through James Bay Community Project — 250-388-7844 ext. 334.
• Community Living BC — 1-877-660-2522.
• Service Canada — EI caregiving benefits.
• 211 — dial 211 any time to find caregiver support near you.

Or phone the Reachable Line and tell us what you are dealing with. We will look it up with you.

Related guides

• The Disability Tax Credit — worth applying for even when the person pays no tax, because the unused part can transfer to you.
• Free help filing your taxes — the caregiver credit is claimed on a return.
• Rent help and home changes — grab bars and ramps often decide whether someone can stay at home.
• Dentists, prescriptions and glasses — for the person you care for.
• Start here — how the whole system fits together.
• All guides

Where these numbers come from

Every figure on this page comes from a government page we read on the date shown. Amounts change, usually each January. If you are reading this long after the date at the top, phone the number above and check.

• Employment and Social Development Canada, EI caregiving benefits (the three benefit types and week limits): canada.ca — EI caregiving benefits (read 3 September 2026)
• EI caregiving benefits — Who can qualify (600 insured hours, the 40% earnings drop, the "like a family member" attestation, $9,254 self-employed earnings): canada.ca — who can qualify (read 3 September 2026)
• EI caregiving benefits — How much you could get (55%, maximum $729 a week for 2026): canada.ca — how much you could get (read 3 September 2026)
• Canada Revenue Agency, Canada caregiver amount (2025 amounts $2,687 and $8,601, the $28,798 cut-off, the medical note rule): canada.ca — Canada caregiver amount (read 1 September 2026)
• CRA, Line 30450 — Caregiver amount for other infirm dependants: canada.ca — line 30450 (read 1 September 2026)
• Province of BC, Home and Community Care and Who pays for care (free home support on GIS or assistance; adult day up to $10 a day; short-stay respite $49.57 a day in 2026): gov.bc.ca — home and community care (read 1 September 2026)
• Island Health home care and the South Island Community Access Line: islandhealth.ca — home care (read 1 September 2026)
• James Bay Community Project, Better at Home (Victoria and Oak Bay delivery, sliding scale, 250-388-7844 ext. 334): jbcp.bc.ca — Better at Home (read 1 September 2026)
• Community Living BC, Who CLBC supports (eligibility, Personalized Supports Initiative, 1-877-660-2522): communitylivingbc.ca (read 1 September 2026)
• Office of the Seniors Advocate of BC (information and referral line for seniors and caregivers): seniorsadvocatebc.ca (read 1 September 2026)
• CRA, Disability Tax Credit (unused amounts transferable to a supporting relative; lines 31800 and 32600): canada.ca — Disability Tax Credit (read 1 September 2026)

Reachable is not a bank, a lawyer, or the government. This guide explains public programs in plain language so you can go and claim them. It is not financial, legal or medical advice about your own situation.