Canadian Dental Care Plan: Eligibility, Income Tiers, and How to Apply
Applications for that benefit year are open. This page is the eligibility spoke under the government benefits guide. It is not a provincial social-assistance dental program, which can sit alongside or instead of this plan and is part of provincial benefits. It is also not the Disability Tax Credit. A diagnosis does not decide this file. Income and private coverage do. The credit, for a different test, is the Disability Tax Credit guide.
- Four tests: no private dental coverage, a filed return for you and your spouse, adjusted family net income under $90,000, and Canadian tax residency.
- Declining an employer, pension, student, or association plan still counts as access. The retired exception is narrow: you opted out of pension dental coverage before December 11, 2023, and you cannot opt back in.
- The co-payment is a share of the plan's established fee. If the clinic charges more, you pay the gap on top of any co-payment, including when your co-payment is zero.
- Apply in My Service Canada Account, on Canada.ca, or by phone at 1-833-537-4342. Sun Life mails the welcome package after the government finds you eligible.
- The renewal window for existing members closed June 1, 2026. If you missed it, Canada.ca says to re-apply, and coverage can have a gap.
What are the four eligibility tests?
Canada.ca says you must meet all four. You do not have access to private dental insurance through your employer or a family member's employer, including a health and wellness account; through a pension, including a government employer pension; through a professional or student organization; or through a policy you, a family member, or a group bought from an insurer. The block applies even if you would have paid a premium, even if you decided not to take the coverage, and even if you never used it. Whether a private health or dental plan is worth buying once that test fails, including Quebec's drug-insurance rule, is private health and dental insurance.
You and your spouse or common-law partner, if you have one, have filed a Canadian return so family income can be assessed for the previous year. To apply for 2026-27 you need that return assessed and a notice of assessment in hand. Your adjusted family net income is under $90,000. Canada.ca defines that income as both spouses' line 23600, minus the universal child care benefit and RDSP income on lines 11700 and 12500, plus UCCB and RDSP amounts repaid on lines 21300 and 23200. You are a Canadian resident for tax purposes. You attest, on the application and again at renewal, that you do not have private dental coverage.
How do the income tiers split the bill?
The plan reimburses a percentage of eligible services at the fees it has established. Your co-payment is the percentage of those fees the plan does not pay. You pay it to the clinic. You can also owe an amount the plan never priced, or the difference when the clinic's fee is higher than the plan fee.
| Adjusted family net income | What the plan covers | What you pay toward the plan fee |
|---|---|---|
| Under $70,000 | 100% of eligible services at the established fees | 0% of the plan fee. A higher clinic fee can still be yours. |
| $70,000 to $79,999 | 60% of eligible services at the established fees | 40% of the plan fee, plus any amount above that fee. |
| $80,000 to $89,999 | 40% of eligible services at the established fees | 60% of the plan fee, plus any amount above that fee. |
| $90,000 and above | Not eligible | The plan is not the payer. Private coverage, a provincial program, or the medical expense credit are different routes. |
Table as of September 2026, from Canada.ca's coverage page. The tiers are family income, so a spouse's line 23600 can move you from no co-payment to 40% without your own pay changing. A medical expense tax credit on what you still pay is a tax question, covered in spirit by missed credits. It is not a second dental plan.
The factsheet's 40% example is Hakeem and Anita, with adjusted family net income of $76,000. The clinic charges $145 for two units of scaling. The plan's established fee in the example is $134. Hakeem's co-payment is 40% of $134, which is $53.60. The plan pays the clinic $80.40. He also owes the $11 gap between $145 and $134. His total is $64.60. The factsheet's 60% example, at $82,000 of family income, uses the same $145 and $134 and lands at $91.40 out of pocket. A household under $70,000 would owe the $11 gap and no co-payment, on those same sample fees. Fees differ by procedure, province, and year. Ask the clinic what the plan fee is, and what the clinic charges, before the appointment. The retirement health-cost guide is the longer bill, once dental is only one line of it.
How do you apply, and what happens after?
Canada.ca says applications for July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027 are open. For each applicant, and for a spouse if you have one, you need a social insurance number when one exists, date of birth, full name, home and mailing address, and any government social-program dental coverage. Children need a SIN if one is available.
In My Service Canada Account, open the Canadian Dental Care Plan section and choose the apply action. If you cannot use that account, apply on Canada.ca and choose digital communications if you want email instead of waiting for paper. If you cannot use either, call Service Canada at 1-833-537-4342. TTY is 1-833-677-6262. Someone applying for another person has to show legal authority. Canada.ca tells them to mail originals or certified copies, or to bring them to a Service Canada office.
After you apply, check status online or by phone with the number from the application, the letter, or the membership card, plus the social insurance number. When the government finds you eligible, it shares your information with Sun Life. Sun Life mails a welcome package. You do not have to wait for that package to book care if you can give the clinic your member ID, identification, the coverage start date, and your co-payment level. Do not book before the start date. Care before that date is not covered. Confirm the clinic will bill Sun Life directly and that coverage is active. If you pay the full bill yourself, Sun Life does not reimburse you for services the plan would have paid the clinic.
My Service Canada Account's dental page says renewals have been closed since June 2, 2026. The main dental page says that if you had 2025-26 coverage and did not renew by June 1, 2026, you re-apply, and you may have a gap. A co-payment level can change at renewal because income changed. Treatment is paid at the level and the fees in effect on the day of the service, which can differ from an estimate. Read the current renew or re-apply page before you assume a card in a drawer is still active.
Frequently asked questions
I opted out of my employer's dental plan. Am I eligible?
Access counts, not enrolment. Canada.ca says employer, pension, student, association, and privately purchased coverage block the plan even when you decline it, pay a premium, or never claim. The stated exception is a retiree who opted out of pension dental coverage before December 11, 2023 and who cannot opt back in under the pension's rules. Everyone else who can take a plan is treated as having access.
Does "100% coverage" mean the visit is free?
It means the plan pays 100% of its established fee for a covered service. If the clinic charges more, or if you agree to something the plan does not cover, you pay that portion directly. The factsheet's scaling example has an $11 gap even before any co-payment. Ask for both numbers before you sit down.
Whose income is the $90,000 test?
Adjusted family net income, not your paycheque alone. A spouse's line 23600 is added. The universal child care benefit and RDSP income are removed, and repayments of those amounts are added back. A raise that lands in this calendar year shows up on next year's assessed return, which is the return a future benefit year will read. The current application uses the previous year.
Can I claim the dentist's bill and use this plan?
You can only claim, as a medical expense, amounts you actually paid and that were not reimbursed. The plan's share is not your expense. Your co-payment and any balance above the plan fee can be. The credit is non-refundable and has its own threshold. This page will not invent a combined savings number. The credit list is missed credits.
I had coverage last year and missed renewal. What now?
Canada.ca says the renewal period closed June 1, 2026, and that you re-apply for 2026-27 if you missed it. It also says there may be a gap. Do not book on the old card until a new start date is in a letter. The phone line and My Service Canada Account both show whether an application is open.
Is this the same as a provincial dental program for kids or seniors?
No. The application asks you to list dental coverage you already have through a government social program. Provincial programs have their own age, income, and residency rules. Some care may be billed to the provincial program first. The federal plan's page is the one that tells the clinic how coordination works. Start with the provincial program you already use, then read how provincial tests differ.
Sources
- Canada.ca, Canadian Dental Care Plan, do you qualify
- Canada.ca, what is covered, including the co-payment table
- Canada.ca, co-payment and additional-charge examples
- Canada.ca, how to apply for the 2026-27 benefit year
- Canada.ca, Canadian Dental Care Plan overview, including the closed renewal window
- Canada.ca, Canadian Dental Care Plan in My Service Canada Account
- Canada.ca, after you apply, including the Sun Life welcome package
The plan reads the assessed return, then the attestation.
File first. The 2026 tax guide is the return this application is waiting on.
Get the 2026 Tax Guide — $49 CAD
