Instructions for filing an exploration account return
Publication date: September 8, 2022You must file an exploration account return to report your exploration account balances.
Complete your tax return
For help completing this return, review the information you need to provide in the following sections:
- Part 1 - Business information
- Part 2 - Exploration account
- Part 3 - Investment allowance calculation
- Part 4 - Other forms of assistance
- Part 5 - Allocation to mines
- Part 6 - Certification
Part 1 - Business information
Full name of operator
Enter the operator’s legal name. If you're an Individual, this is your first name, middle initial and last name.
Mailing address of operator
Enter your street number and name or PO box, city, province and postal code. If this address is different than the address we currently have on file for you, check the box to the right of your mailing address.
Business number
Enter the nine-digit Business Number (BN) that identifies your business (e.g. the first nine digits of your HST/GST number).
If you don’t have a business number leave this field blank and a business number will be assigned to you.
Account number
Enter the account number (e.g. MTE-XXXX-XXXX) shown on the top right corner of all correspondence we send to you relating to your exploration account.
If this is your first time filing an Exploration Account return, leave this field blank and a number will be assigned to you.
Contact information
If your contact information hasn’t changed since your last return, leave it blank.
Otherwise, enter the contact information for the person we can contact if we need more information about your return. It doesn’t have to be the operator or the person who certifies the return.
Part 2 - Exploration account
Fiscal year
Enter the fiscal year of the operator.
Line 1 - Exploration account balance at the end of the operator’s preceding fiscal year
Enter the ending balance from line 13 on the Exploration Account return filed for the previous year. If this is the first time you have filed an Exploration Account return, enter 0.
If you enter an amount that is different from the amount we have on record, you must attach an explanation for the difference.
Line 2 - Exploration expenditures
Enter discovery costs incurred during the fiscal year of the operator. Discovery costs are incurred while determining the existence, location, extent or quality of a mineral deposit in B.C., such as costs for:
- Prospecting
- Geological, geophysical and geochemical surveys
- Drilling
- Trenching
- Digging test pits
- Preliminary sampling
You must have one or more mines in B.C. and the costs must be incurred while the mine was in commercial production.
Line 3 - Exploration grants and subsidies
Enter the amount of any grants or subsidies you received that may reasonably be regarded as being related to exploration expenditures for any fiscal year of the operator.
Line 4 - Proceeds on disposal of assets
Enter the amount of any proceeds on disposal of any assets that have been included in the exploration account in any fiscal year of the operator.
Line 5 - Other forms of assistance
Enter the total amount of assistance you received that may relate to the exploration expenditures claimed on line 2 for any fiscal year of the operator. Provide the details in Part 4.
Line 6 – Subtotal A
Enter the sum of lines 1 and 2, minus lines 3 to 5.
Line 7 - Allocations to mines
Enter the total amount you're allocating to a mine(s). The maximum amount you may allocate is the amount on line 6. When you allocate expenses to a particular mine, you must also file an Election to Allocate Exploration Expenses with your Mineral Tax Return.
Line 8 – Subtotal B
Enter the amount of line 6 minus line 7.
Line 9 – Investment allowance
Enter the amount from line 16.
Line 10 – End balance
Enter the sum of line 8 and line 9.
Part 3 - Investment allowance calculation
Line 11 – Exploration account balance at the end of the operator’s preceding fiscal year
Enter the amount from line 1.
Line 12 – Subtotal B
Enter the amount from line 8.
Line 13 - Total
Enter the sum of line 11 and line 12.
Line 14 – Average balance
Enter the amount from line 13 divided by 2.
Line 15 – Investment allowance rate
Use the Investment Rate Calculator and enter your investment allowance rate.
Line 16 – Investment allowance
Enter the amount from line 14 multiplied by line 15.
Part 4 – Other forms of assistance
Provide a description for any amounts entered on line 5.
Part 5 – Allocation to mines
You need to provide the following details for each allocation:
Account number
Enter the account number (e.g. MTE-XXXX-XXXX) shown on the top right corner of all Mineral Tax correspondence sent to you about the mine.
Mine number
Enter the seven-digit number assigned by the Ministry of Energy, Mines & Petroleum Resources for the mine.
Mine name
Enter the mine name shown on your permit.
Filing period ending
Enter the date of the mine's fiscal year end.
Allocation amount
Enter the amount you’ve allocated to the mine by filing an Election to Allocate Exploration Expenses during the fiscal year.
Part 6 - Certification
The signature of the individual operator, or if the operator is a corporation, an authorized signing officer of the corporation.
Submit your return
You can submit your completed and signed return:
You can make a mineral tax payment:
Contact information
250-952-0192
250-952-0191
1-800-667-1182