Volunteer Tax Credits - Federal and Provincial /
Territorial
Federal
Volunteer Firefighter and Search & Rescue Tax Credits
Income Tax Act s. 118.06, 118.07
These are non-refundable tax credits. The federal volunteer firefighter tax
credit has been available since the 2011 taxation year. The volunteer
search and rescue tax credit has been available since the 2014 taxation
year.
The volunteer firefighter tax credit is claimed on line 31220 of the tax return. The volunteer search and rescue tax credit is
claimed on line 31240. Either of these tax credits can be
claimed, but not both.
One of the 2 tax credits can be claimed as $6,000 x the lowest federal
tax rate, if the individual
performs in the year not less than 200 hours of service, each of which is
an hour
of
eligible volunteer firefighting service for a fire department, or
eligible search and rescue volunteer service for an eligible search
and rescue organization; and
provides a certificate, upon request, from
the fire chief or a delegated official of each fire department to
which the individual provided eligible volunteer firefighting services
for the year, attesting to the number of hours performed in the year, or
from the team president, or other individual in a similar role, of
each eligible search and rescue organization to which the individual
provided eligible search and rescue services, attesting to the number of
hours performed in the year.
The 2024
Federal Budget doubled the
amount of the tax credit from $3,000 to $6,000 for 2024 and subsequent years.