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 rate in effect for the year. For the current income tax brackets and rates, see our Tax Rates page.

2023 and 2022 B.C. basic tax credits

2023 and 2022 B.C. basic tax credits

Personal Credits	Base Amount 2023	Base Amount 2022	Indexed
Basic personal amount	$11,981	$11,302	yes
Spousal Reduce when spousal income exceeds	$10,259 $1,026	$9,678 $968	yes
Eligible dependant Reduced when dependant income exceeds	$10,259 $1,026	$9,678 $968	yes
B.C. caregiver credit Reduced when dependant income exceeds	$5,243      $17,742	$4,946      $16,738	yes
Age (65 or older by end of tax year) Reduced when income exceeds	$5,373 $39,994	$5,069 $37,730	yes
Pension credit	$1,000	$1,000	no
Adoption expense credit (based on federal indexed maximum amount)	Actual (to a maximum of $18,210)	Actual (to a maximum of $17,131)	no
Volunteer firefighters and search and rescue volunteers	$3,000	$3,000	no
Charitable and other gifts 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 $240,716 (2023) or $227,091 (2022) and 16.8% on the remaining amount	Actual	Actual	no
Medical expense credit Reduced by lesser of 3% of net income or $2,491 (2023) or $2,350 (2022)	Actual	Actual	yes
Credit for mental or physical impairment	$8,986	$8,477	yes
Credit for mental or physical impairment for child under 18 Reduced by attendant care and child care expenses in excess of	$5,242 $3,044	$4,946 $2,871	yes
Tuition credit	Actual	Actual	no
Student loan interest	Actual	Actual	no
EI and CPP credit	Actual	Actual	no

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 2022 amounts was 2.1% and 6.0% for 2023.

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 2023 tax year, the net income threshold has increased to $23,179 and the reduction factor is 3.56%.

B.C. tax reduction credit base amount

Credit	Base amount 2023	Base amount 2022	Indexed
B.C. Tax Reduction Credit Net Income Threshold Reduction Factor Maximum Net Income	$521 $23,179 3.56% $37,814	$491 $21,867 3.56% $35,659	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.

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

Credit	2023	2022
Dividend Tax Credit Eligible dividends Other than eligible dividends	12% 1.96%	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 BC 428; however, the worksheet is for your records and doesn't need to be attached to your tax return.