Meant to help out low-income Canadians in British Columbia, the refundable BC Sales Tax Credit can be claimed if you were a resident of the province on December 31st and at least one of these conditions applies to you:
- You’re at least 19 years old
- You had a spouse or common-law partner or
- You’re the parent of a child
You can claim up to $75 for yourself and $75 for your spouse. Keep in mind that this credit is income-based and will be reduced by 2% of your family’s net income over $18,000 and stopped at $25,500. You’ll need to decide which one of you is going to claim the sales tax credit.
If you’re single, your credit will be reduced by 2% of your net income over $15,000 and stopped at $18,750.
Note: You can’t claim this credit if you spent more than 6 months in prison this year.
Where do I claim this?
Before you begin, make sure you tell us that you lived in British Columbia on December 31, 2016.
If you’re single, H&R Block's tax software automatically applies this credit to your return as long you meet the eligibility and net family income requirements. Otherwise, you’ll need to follow these steps:
- Under the WRAP-UP tab, click the OPTIMIZATION icon. You'll find yourself here:
- In the section labelled Here are the additional credits we've claimed for you, select Yes to the question Would you like to change who'll be claiming the following credit(s)?.
- In the drop-down menu next to the question, Who do you want to claim the British Columbia sales tax credit?, choose the person who will claim this credit.
