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British Columbia 2015 Budget - February 17, 2015

Medical Service Plan (MSP) Premiums

Maximum monthly premium rates will increase by 4.2% for 2016.  Premium assistance will also be enhanced to ensure those receiving assistance will not be affected by the increase.  Details will be available later in 2015.  We have published a table of the 2016 MSP rates, which reflects no change in the rates for those receiving assistance.

Personal Tax

Child Fitness Equipment Tax Credit

The Child Fitness Equipment Tax Credit is proposed to be effective for the 2015 and later taxation years.  This will provide a non-refundable tax credit equal to 50% of the child fitness credit.  No additional receipts need be kept for this credit - just retain the receipts for the child fitness credit.

BC Education Coaching Tax Credit

This tax credit, effective for the 2015 to 2017 taxation years, will provide a non-refundable credit of $500 for teachers and teaching assistants who carry out at least 10 hours of extracurricular coaching activity in the year.  This provides a tax reduction of up to $25.30 per eligible taxpayer.  The credit will be reviewed in 2017.

BC Tax Reduction

An increase is proposed to the non-refundable BC Tax Reduction, increasing (for 2015) the maximum credit to $432 from $412, increasing the net income threshold to $19,000 from $18,327, and increasing the reduction factor to 3.5% from 3.2% for the 2015 and subsequent tax years.  These amended amounts would be indexed for the 2016 and subsequent taxation years.

BC Training Tax Credits are extended for an additional 3 years, to the end of 2017.  This was previously announced on December 30, 2014.

BC Mining Flow-Through Share Tax Credit

This tax credit is extended to the end of 2015.

BC Early Childhood Tax Benefit (BCECTB)

This benefit was previously announced in the 2014 Budget.  Effective April 1, 2015, the BC Early Childhood Tax Benefit will be introduced.  This is a refundable tax credit that will be administered through the federal Canada Child Tax Benefit system, and is applied for by applying for the federal Canada Child Tax Benefit.  Individuals must file a personal income tax return to be eligible.

The maximum benefit will be $55 per month, or $660 annually, for each child under the age of 6.  The maximum benefit will be available to eligible families with family net incomes up to $100,000, at which point the benefit will be reduced.  The benefit will be fully phased out at family net income of $150,000.

Provincial Sales Tax

Lift Chairs Exemption

Effective February 18, 2015, lift chairs designed to facilitate standing up or sitting down are exempt from provincial sales tax if the lift chair is sold on the prescription of a practitioner.

BC PST Registration Obligations Extended

Effective September 1, 2015, a person located outside of BC that in the ordinary course of business:

must be registered for the purposes of levying, collecting and remitting provincial sales tax at the time of the sale.

Voluntary registrations will be accepted before September 1, 2015, and a person may be subject to failure-to-register penalties if they are not registered as required on or after September 1, 2015.

All of the tax changes in the 2015 Budget are subject to legislative approval.

The above does not include all provisions of the 2015 Budget.  For further information see the following on the BC Government website:

Budget and Fiscal Plan (pdf) - tax measures start on page 53

Revised: October 26, 2023