B.C. basic personal income tax credits

You can reduce the amount of B.C. personal income tax you owe with basic tax credits. However, if the total of these credits is more than the amount you owe, you won't get a refund of the difference. These are called non-refundable credits.

B.C. basic tax credits are calculated by multiplying the base amount by the lowest tax rate in effect for the year. For current income tax brackets and rates, see our tax rates page.

2024 and 2023 B.C. basic tax credits

Find 2024 and 2023 B.C. basic tax credits below. For previous years, see our archived basic tax credits page.

2024 and 2023 Basic personal income tax credits

Tax credit	2024 Base amount	2023 Base amount	Indexed	Note
Basic personal amount	$12,580	$11,981	Yes
Spousal	$10,772	$10,259	Yes	Credit reduced when spousal income exceeds: $1,078 (2024) or $1,026 (2023)
Eligible dependant	$10,772	$10,259	Yes	Credit reduced when dependant income exceeds: $1,078 (2024) or  $1,026 (2023)
B.C. caregiver	$5,505	$5,243	Yes	Credit reduced when dependant income exceeds: $18,629 (2024) or $17,742 (2023)
Age (65 or older by end of tax year)	$5,641	$5,373	Yes	Credit reduced when income exceeds: $41,993 (2024) or $39,994 (2023)
Pension	$1,000	$1,000	No
Adoption expense	Actual (to a maximum of $19,066)	Actual (to a maximum of $18,210)	No	Credit based on federal indexed maximum amount
Volunteer firefighters and search and rescue volunteers	$3,000	$3,000	No
Charitable and other gifts	Actual	Actual	No	Lowest tax rate on first $200; 20.5% on the lesser of the amount in excess of $200 and the portion of taxable income above $252,752 (2024) or $240,716 (2023); and 16.8% on the remaining amount
Medical expense	Actual	Actual	Yes	Credit reduced by lesser of 3% of net income or $2,616 (2024) or $2,491 (2023)
Mental or physical impairment	$9,435	$8,986	Yes
Mental or physical impairment for child under 18	$5,505	$5,242	Yes	Credit reduced by attendant care and child care expenses in excess of: $3,196 (2024) or $3,044 (2023)
Tuition	Actual	Actual	No
Student loan interest	Actual	Actual	No
EI	Actual (to a maximum of $1,049.12)	Actual (to a maximum of $1,002.45)	No
CPP	4.95% of your maximum CPP contributory earnings (to a maximum of $3,217.50)	4.95% of your maximum CPP contributory earnings (to a maximum of $3,123.45)	No	Only base CPP contributions are eligible for a tax credit. For more information on CPP base and additional contributions, see CPP enhancement

Indexed tax credit

If a credit is indexed that means the credit is adjusted each year by the Consumer Price Index for B.C. (BC CPI) for the 12-month period ended on September 30 of the previous year. The BC CPI used to calculate 2023 amounts was 6.0% and 5.0% for 2024.

Other tax credits

B.C. tax reduction credit

The B.C. tax reduction credit is a non-refundable tax credit for individuals who have a net income below a certain amount.

The maximum tax reduction credit is available to individuals who have a net income below the threshold amount for a tax year, and is reduced by a percentage of an individual's net income over the threshold amount. The tax reduction credit will be zero once the maximum net income is reached.

For the 2024 tax year, the net income threshold has increased to $24,338 and the reduction factor is 3.56%.

2024 and 2023 B.C. tax reduction credit - base amount and net income threshold

Tax year	Base amount	Net income threshold	Reduction factor	Maximum net income	Indexed
2024	$547	$24,338	3.56%	$39,703	Yes
2023	$521	$23,179	3.56%	$37,814	Yes

Dividend tax credit

Dividends received from taxable Canadian corporations qualify for a B.C. dividend tax credit. The tax credit rate depends on what year you received the dividend and the type of dividend you received.

2024 and 2023 Dividend tax credit as a percentage of the taxable amount of dividends received

Tax year	Tax credit rate for eligible dividends	Tax credit rate for other than eligible dividends
2024	12%	1.96%
2023	12%	1.96%

• For more information on how to report dividends and claim dividend tax credits, see Line 12000 of the T1 Income Tax Return guide

Foreign tax credit

If your federal foreign tax credit on non-business income is less than the related tax you paid to a foreign country, you may be eligible to claim a provincial foreign tax credit.

To claim the credit, complete the Provincial or Territorial Foreign Tax Credit form (T2036) and enter the amount you are claiming on the British Columbia Tax form (BC428).

Minimum tax credit

If you're eligible to claim a minimum tax credit under the federal Income Tax Act, you may also claim a B.C. minimum tax credit. The B.C. minimum tax credit is calculated as a percentage of your federal minimum tax credit and is currently 33.7%.

Special rules may apply if you are not a B.C. resident or if you have income earned outside the province.

Tuition and education credits

You may claim the tuition tax credit for eligible tuition fees. Current year unused amounts may be transferred or carried forward to future years.

The B.C. education credit was eliminated in 2019. However, you may still claim and carry forward unused education credits from previous years.

Transfer of credits

If you're unable to use the age, pension or disability credits, these credits may be transferred to your spouse or common-law partner.

• Learn more about transferring credits to your spouse or common-law partner

Claiming B.C. tax credits

You claim the B.C. basic and other tax credits when you file your T1 Income Tax Return using the British Columbia Tax form (BC428). You may need to complete the Provincial Worksheet to calculate the amounts to enter on Form BC428; however, the worksheet is for your records and doesn't need to be attached to your tax return.

Legislation

The following legislation applies to the B.C. basic and other tax credits:

• Income Tax Act (B.C.) Part 1, Division 2