Stay or Sell: Aging in Place Help in Ontario and How to Compare

The short answer

People searching for aging in place grants in Ontario usually find that the help is mostly tax credits, claimed after the work is done, rather than grants paid up front. Two federal credits are open today: the Home Accessibility Tax Credit and the Multigenerational Home Renovation Tax Credit. Ontario’s Seniors’ Home Safety Tax Credit, which many websites still list, covered the 2021 and 2022 tax years only.

This post sets out what each program covers, using the government pages we checked on October 2, 2026. It then lays out a plain way to compare staying and renovating with selling and moving. It does not tell you which to choose. Our downsizing in Markham guide covers the full move if you decide to sell.

Program rules change, sometimes in a federal or provincial budget. Confirm your own eligibility with the Canada Revenue Agency or your accountant before you count on any credit.

Federal Home Accessibility Tax Credit

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) describes the Home Accessibility Tax Credit as a non-refundable credit that helps homeowners cover renovations that make a home more accessible and safer. Non-refundable means it lowers the federal tax you owe. It does not pay out on its own if you owe no tax.

How much you can claim

The CRA says a qualifying individual can claim up to $20,000 per year in eligible expenses. The annual limit rose to $20,000 starting in 2022. It was $10,000 from 2015 to 2021.

Who qualifies

The work must be for a qualifying individual: someone who is 65 or older at the end of the year or who is eligible for the disability tax credit at any time in the year. Certain family members, such as a spouse, child or sibling who meets the CRA’s conditions, can claim as an eligible individual on that person’s behalf.

The home must be an eligible dwelling: a housing unit in Canada owned by the qualifying or eligible individual and ordinarily lived in by them. A qualifying individual can have only one eligible dwelling at any time.

What the renovation must do

The CRA’s test is about purpose. A qualifying renovation must do one of two things. It can help the person get into the home or be mobile or functional within it. Or it can reduce the risk of harm within the home or when getting into it.

Can be claimed	Cannot be claimed
Building materials and fixtures	The value of your own labour or tools
Equipment rentals	Appliances and entertainment devices
Building plans and permits	Housekeeping services
Professional labour	Financing costs and routine maintenance

A change to watch for 2026

The CRA page, last modified July 24, 2026, says an expense that also qualifies as a medical expense can be claimed both ways. Budget 2025 proposed that for the 2026 and later tax years, expenses claimed under the medical expense tax credit would be excluded from the Home Accessibility Tax Credit. The CRA lists this as a proposed measure. Ask your accountant which rule applies when you file for 2026.

Federal Multigenerational Home Renovation Tax Credit

This credit fits a different plan: staying in a family home by adding a self-contained secondary unit so a senior can live with a relative. The CRA says the unit must allow a senior 65 or older or an adult eligible for the disability tax credit to live with a qualifying relative.

• It is a refundable credit, claimed on line 45355.
• Up to $50,000 of qualifying expenses can be claimed for each qualifying renovation.
• The CRA page, updated January 20, 2026, puts the credit at 14.5 percent of costs, up to $7,250 for each claim.
• The credit is claimed in the year the renovation is completed.
• More than one eligible individual can split the claim, as long as the combined claims stay within $50,000.

A secondary unit is a larger project than a grab bar or a walk in shower, with design and permit work to match. The CRA’s MHRTC pages set out the detailed rules. An accountant can tell you how they apply to your family.

Ontario Seniors’ Home Safety Tax Credit: ended after 2022

This is the program most often listed online as if it were still open. The Ontario Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility’s 2023 tax insert described it as a temporary credit available for the 2021 and 2022 tax years. Seniors 65 and older and family members living with them could get back 25 percent of up to $10,000 in eligible expenses per year for a principal residence in Ontario.

The ontario.ca page for the credit now redirects to the Archives of Ontario list of archived web pages. Work done in 2026 cannot be claimed under it. If you have receipts from 2021 or 2022 that were never claimed, ask your accountant whether an adjustment to that year’s return is still possible.

Ontario Seniors Care at Home Tax Credit

Ontario’s current credit for seniors at home is the Seniors Care at Home Tax Credit. It is a medical expense credit rather than a renovation program, but ontario.ca lists renovation or construction that improves a person’s mobility, access or functioning within the home among the eligible expenses, alongside items such as attendant care, wheelchairs and bathroom aids.

Feature	What ontario.ca says
Age	70 or older in the year
Residency	Resident in Ontario at the end of the tax year
Credit	Up to 25 percent of claimable medical expenses up to $6,000
Maximum	$1,500
Income test	Reduced by 5 percent of family net income over $35,000, fully phased out by at most $65,000
How to claim	Form ON479 with your tax return, from the 2022 tax year

Because this credit runs through medical expenses, check with your accountant how it interacts with the federal Home Accessibility Tax Credit for the same work. Our senior downsizing checklist covers how the credit can also apply when adapting a new home after a move.

York Region and Markham programs

We looked for a current York Region home repair or accessibility grant for homeowners and could not confirm one that is open. The Ontario Renovates document we found on york.ca is an application guide for community housing providers, with a February 28, 2020 deadline and construction periods running to March 2022. It is not a program for private homeowners.

Regional programs open and close with funding, so ask York Region’s housing services directly about anything available for your household. For property tax help, see our post on Markham seniors property tax relief.

What renovating costs in time

The City of Markham says you need a building permit before starting any construction, demolition or renovation project. Its list of work that needs a permit includes structural changes, plumbing work, basement conversions and accessory apartments. Work such as painting, fixture replacement and window or door changes does not.

For a complete application, the City lists a review time of 10 business days for houses. That is the City’s step only. Design, contractor quotes, scheduling and the work itself come on top and vary by project, so ask contractors for a written timeline as well as a price. If you are unsure whether a project needs a permit, the City’s applications administrators can be reached at 905-475-4858.

During the work, some households stay in the home and some move out for a period. Either way, the credits above are claimed after the expenses are paid, so the full cost has to be funded first.

What selling and buying cost

Selling and moving has its own set of costs: commission negotiated with your brokerage, legal fees on two transactions, Ontario land transfer tax on the home you buy, moving costs and condo fees if you buy a condo. Our post on Markham downsizing costs works through each one with land transfer tax examples.

If a single floor layout is the main goal, it can help to see what is on the market before deciding. Our Markham bungalows for sale page lists bungalows and bungalofts, which put the main bedroom on the ground floor.

How to compare staying and selling

Neither choice is right for every household. A side by side list helps keep the comparison on facts rather than feelings.

Question	Staying and renovating	Selling and moving
Up front cost	Contractor quotes, plans and permits	Commission, legal fees, land transfer tax, moving
Government help	Home Accessibility and Multigenerational credits if eligible, claimed after the work	None of the credits above apply to selling
Time	Design, permit review, contractor scheduling and construction	Preparing, listing, closing and moving
Ongoing costs	Current property tax, utilities and upkeep on the house	Costs of the new home, including condo fees if any
What stays the same	Your street, neighbours and routines	Depends on where you move
What the home becomes	The same house adapted for access	A different home, possibly with fewer stairs

To fill it in for your own situation:

1. Write down the specific changes that would make the home work, such as a main floor bedroom, a walk in shower or a stair lift.
2. Get at least two written contractor quotes and timelines for that work.
3. Ask your accountant which credits apply, how much they would reduce your tax and in which year.
4. Get a current value for your home and work out the full cost of selling and buying with our downsizing costs post.
5. Compare the two totals alongside the things that do not fit in a table, such as how much upkeep you want to keep doing.

If you lean toward moving, our senior downsizing checklist and the downsizing in Markham guide set out the steps in order.

Before you decide

• Confirm each credit’s current rules on canada.ca or ontario.ca in the year you do the work.
• Keep every receipt. Ask contractors to itemize materials, labour and permits separately.
• Check whether your project needs a City of Markham building permit before work starts.
• Speak with an accountant about how the federal and Ontario credits combine for your household.
• Talk with family members who may be part of the plan, particularly for a secondary unit.

Nothing here is tax, legal or financial advice for your situation. Confirm the details with your accountant, lawyer or the relevant government agency. When you want to talk through the selling side of the comparison for your own home, contact us.