Emergency Services Volunteers - British ColumbiaAs of January 1, 2017, residents of British Columbia who were volunteer firefighters or volunteers in SAR may apply for the non-refundable credit if you meet the conditions for the amount on line 31220 or line 31240, Step 5 of the federal return.
You may have received a payment in 2021.
from a government, a municipality, or another public authority for your work as:a) A volunteer firefighter, or
b) a search and rescue volunteer, or other type of emergency worker, or a volunteer ambulance technician.Only residents of British Columbia are eligible for this amount.
To claim the credit (line 58315 or line 58316 of Form BC428), please follow these steps:
1. You must have completed the federal procedure to enter your request.
2. On the "Left-side menu of the Interview tab", select "T4 and employment income".
3. On the screen to your right, go to the second group, "Other", choose "Volunteer firefighters' amount and search and rescue volunteer amount" option and click the plus sign "+" on your right.
4. On the page that appears, go to the line "Select the type of emergency services volunteers" and in the drop-down menu to your right, choose the appropriate option.
5. On the line "Indicate how you wish to handle the federal firefighter's amount and search and rescue volunteer's amount", select the applicable option from the drop-down menu. The program will indicate "Let MaxBack decide" by default and perform the required calculations to minimize the amount of tax payable.
6. In addition, you can choose the option "Claim the amount". The credit will then be carried over to federal Schedule 1 and on schedule BC228 and the amount will be increased on line 10100 of the federal return.
7. However, if you choose the option "Do not claim the volunteer firefighters' amount" from the drop-down menu, the program will not increase your income by the amount of the exemption in Box 87 of the T4 slip and will not grant the credit of federal Schedule 1.
If you were a volunteer firefighter and a search and rescue volunteer, you cannot claim both amounts.
The Volunteer Firefighters' Amount (VFA) will be entered on line 31220 of federal Step 5 and on line 58315 of Form BC428.The Search and Rescue Volunteers' Amount (SRVA) will be entered on line 31240 of federal Step 5 and on line 58316 of Form BC428.
For more information about this credit, please refer to the CRA guide via the following link:
ID: 20211102132357DE.xml
Webpage: KPA380-20211102132357DE.htm