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, 2017.
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.
- Click the Credits and claims tab.
- In the section labelled Here are the additional credits we've claimed for you, select Yes to the question Would you prefer not to claim some of the credits listed above this year or is your spouse already claiming them on their return?
- Answer Yes to the question Do you want to claim the British Columbia sales tax credit? if you want to claim that tax credit in your return; answer No if you want your spouse to claim it in their return.
