March of Dimes Home & Vehicle Modification Program explained

Quick answer

Ontario’s Home and Vehicle Modification Program (HVMP) helps people with a disability that limits mobility pay for changes to their home or vehicle. The province funds it and March of Dimes Canada runs it [1] [2]. It pays up to C$15,000 over a lifetime for home changes, adaptations and devices, and up to C$15,000 every 10 years for vehicle changes [2]. Your household income after tax decides whether it pays all of the cost, part of it, or none [3]. It won’t pay back anything bought or done before it approves your request [4].

What the HVMP funds at a glance

March of Dimes sorts what it funds into three categories [4]. Its funding is for “basic and essential solutions” to physical barriers in the home that relate to your disability, as recommended by an occupational therapist [4].

Ontario’s program page lists the same kinds of changes, including ramps, stairway lifts, wider doors and “rearrangement of bathrooms to permit safe use” [1].

Where to buy

Equipment the program funds. The HVMP needs a price quote from a registered medical vendor or supplier, or a contractor, with a detailed breakdown of costs [5]. You choose the supplier, but don’t order until the program approves your request [4]. Stair lifts are among the devices it funds. The table shows three straight stair lifts with their makers’ figures, from our stair lift cost guide. The links go to the makers’ own pages.

Low-cost changes. March of Dimes also points to a list of low-cost or no-cost changes, drawn up by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation with its help. In the bathroom it suggests a safety mat and grab bars in the tub, a raised toilet seat and a bath seat. Elsewhere it suggests night lights and motion-sensing lights [6]. Many people buy these themselves. The figures below are the makers’. We haven’t tested them.

Our guides cover grab bar placement, raised toilet seats, shower chairs and night lights.

Who qualifies

March of Dimes says an applicant must [3]:

• be a permanent Ontario resident (temporary residents and visitors aren’t eligible)
• be in financial need, with household income after tax within the program’s limits
• have a permanent, ongoing or recurring disability that impedes mobility and substantially restricts daily activities, such as eating, bathing, toileting, transferring and moving around, or getting in and out of the home for medical care or community services.

Ontario’s page adds that you must first use any other public or private funding you can get [1]. Your household includes you, your spouse or common-law partner, and anyone else in the home who is 18 or older [3].

Income limits and what you may pay

The limits are for household income after tax. At or below the lower limit, the program pays the full cost. At or above the upper limit, you’re not eligible. In between, you pay part [3].

Source: March of Dimes’ income limits table [3].

To work out your share, subtract the lower limit for your household from your income. The difference sets the percentage of the cost you pay [3]:

March of Dimes’ table goes on to 50% and 60% for larger differences [3]. With the upper limits above, the difference can’t be more than C$16,000, so in practice the share is at most 40%.

March of Dimes’ example. A couple with C$60,000 after tax asks for a C$12,000 change. Their income is C$6,000 above the C$54,000 lower limit, so they pay 20%, or C$2,400 [3].

Another example, using the same tables. A person living alone with C$45,000 after tax needs a stair lift that costs C$8,000. Their income is C$7,000 above the C$38,000 limit, so they would pay 20%, or C$1,600, and the program the rest.

Applying to the HVMP

From simpleaging.com. This checklist is general information, not medical advice.

These are the documents March of Dimes asks for. It makes one attempt to get missing information [5].

What to send

• The signed application form, from the How to Apply page [5].
• Proof of income: your most recent Notice of Assessment, with your SIN blacked out. For a stair lift, modular ramp, vertical platform lift, tub cut-out or ceiling track lift in a home you own, include one for each homeowner on the property tax bill [5].
• Proof of disability: an occupational therapist’s assessment, or March of Dimes’ Verification of Disability form [5].
• A price quote from a registered medical vendor, supplier or contractor, with a detailed cost breakdown [5].
• Proof of ownership or rental: a current property tax bill, or for renters, a landlord’s letter of approval for a stair lift, modular ramp, tub cut-out, automatic door opener or ceiling track lift [5].
• For curved stair lifts, modular ramps, vertical platform lifts and ceiling track lifts: photos, drawings and measurements. Straight stair lifts don’t need these [5].

Good to know

• Applications for outdoor lifts and ramps with concrete work are accepted only from April 1 to October 31 [5].
• To find an occupational therapist, ask your family doctor or call Ontario Health atHome at 310-2222, with no area code [5].
• Questions before you apply: March of Dimes, 1-877-369-4867 [5].

Renters and condo owners

Renters can apply, but need a written letter of approval from the landlord for a stair lift, modular ramp, tub cut-out, automatic door opener or ceiling track lift [5]. Vertical platform lifts aren’t eligible in rentals [4]. Condo owners need a letter from the condo board approving the project, and March of Dimes doesn’t cover any condo board fees [5]. Our guide to tenants and grab bars explains how to ask a landlord for changes in Ontario.

For construction, March of Dimes says problems found during the work are the homeowner’s responsibility. Its examples include water damage, mold, and electrical, plumbing or code issues [4].

Costs and funding

The HVMP is one of several sources. Ontario expects you to use other funding first [1].

Ontario Assistive Devices Program

The ADP helps people with long-term physical disabilities pay for equipment such as wheelchairs and hearing aids. It doesn’t cover stair lifts, chair lifts, home renovations (including ramps and porch lifts), bath and shower aids or grab bars [9]. Those are the kinds of things the HVMP can fund. See our Assistive Devices Program guide.

Home Accessibility Tax Credit

This federal credit covers lasting changes to a home owned by someone 65 or older or eligible for the disability tax credit, or by a family member who claims for them. It covers up to C$20,000 of expenses a year. The CRA says the credit “is not reduced by government assistance, including grants, forgivable loans, or tax credits” [7]. Ask the CRA how an HVMP grant affects your claim. Our tax credit calculator estimates what a project may be worth.

Medical expense tax credit

You can claim only the part of an eligible medical expense that you weren’t, and won’t be, paid back for [8]. So if the HVMP pays part of a cost, only your share may count. The CRA lists renovation expenses for a person with a severe and prolonged mobility impairment, under conditions, and a “power-operated guided chair to be used in a stairway, including installation” with a prescription [8]. Our medical expense tax credit guide explains how to claim your share. Our medical expense tax credit calculator adds up your medical costs, takes off up to 3% of net income, and estimates the federal credit [8].

See Funding in Canada for other programs.

Questions to ask

March of Dimes

• Is the change I need something the HVMP funds?
• Based on my household income, will I pay part of the cost?
• What happens if my bathroom can’t fit a zero-threshold shower?
• How long does a decision usually take?

The occupational therapist

• What change would remove the barrier I face, and what’s the simplest option?
• Can you write the assessment the HVMP accepts?
• What size and features should the equipment have?

The supplier or contractor

• Can you give a written quote with a detailed cost breakdown?
• Are you a registered medical vendor or supplier?
• Will you wait for HVMP approval before ordering or starting work?

Safety notes and when to talk to a professional

Start with an occupational therapist. The HVMP funds solutions recommended by an occupational therapist [4]. Their assessment also helps make sure the change fits the person and the home.

Use the low-cost list while you wait. Clearing clutter, securing rugs, adding night lights, and putting grab bars and a mat in the tub are on March of Dimes’ list of low-cost changes [6]. Grab bars need solid anchoring. See our guides to grab bar placement and grab bars on fiberglass and walls without studs.

When to talk to a professional. If someone has fallen, feels unsteady or worries about falling, talk to a doctor. A doctor can look for causes and refer the person to an occupational therapist or physiotherapist.