Selected 2025 and 2024 Federal Budget Proposals

• Introduce a temporary 5% personal support workers tax credit for eligible workers employed by qualifying health care establishments.
• Reduce the lowest federal personal tax rate to 14.5% (from 15%) for 2025, and to 14% for 2026 and subsequent years.
• Introduce a new non-refundable Top-Up Tax Credit to preserve the effective value of existing credits (e.g., tuition, medical) for amounts taxed above the first bracket, ensuring taxpayers are not disadvantaged by the rate change.
• Prevent expenses claimed under the medical expense tax credit from also being claimed under the home accessibility tax credit for 2026 and later taxation years.
• Provide a one-time $150 supplemental Canada Disability Benefit payment for each disability tax credit certification or re-certification.
• Continue to deny income tax deductions for expenses, including interest, incurred to earn short-term rental income (e.g., Airbnb) in jurisdictions where short-term rentals are prohibited or where operators are non-compliant with licensing, permitting, or registration rules. Applies to expenses incurred on or after January 1, 2024.
• Extend the two-year ban on foreign buyers of Canadian homes to January 1, 2027.
• Increase the Lifetime Capital Gains Exemption to $1,275,000 (from $1,250,000) for dispositions on or after June 25, 2024.
• Cancel the previously proposed Canadian Entrepreneurs’ Incentive.
• Apply the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) changes effective January 1, 2024: rate increased from 15% to 20.5%, basic exemption increased from $40,000 to $173,205, and certain tax preferences restricted.
• Eliminate the Underused Housing Tax beginning in 2025.
• Defer mandatory T3/beneficial ownership reporting requirements for bare trusts on or after December 31, 2026. No bare trust filing is required for 2025.

Selected 2025 and 2024 B.C. Budget Proposals

• Increase the Employer Health Tax exemption threshold to $1 million (from $500,000) and increase the rate on B.C. remuneration between $1 million and $1.5 million to 5.850% (from 2.925%), effective January 1, 2024.
• Extend the training tax credit for employers to the end of 2027.
• Extend the training tax credit for individuals to the end of 2028 (from 2025).
• Increase Speculation and Vacancy Tax (SVT) rates to 1% (from 0.5%) for Canadian owners and 3% (from 2%) for foreign owners, along with an enhanced resident tax credit, effective January 1, 2026.
• Exempt purchases of new qualifying purpose-built rental buildings from the general property transfer tax for transactions between January 1, 2025 and December 31, 2030.
• Increase the first-time home buyers’ exemption threshold to a fair market value of $835,000 (from $500,000), with the first $500,000 exempt from property transfer tax, effective April 1, 2024.
• Implement a B.C. tax on short-term profits from the sale of residential real estate held for less than two years: 20% on gains for property held up to one year, declining to 0% for property held between 366 and 730 days, unless an exemption applies; effective January 1, 2025.

Important dates

• March 2, 2026 – Final date for 2025 RRSP contributions
• April 30, 2026 – Payment due for 2025 tax owing
• April 30, 2026 – Personal tax return and Foreign Income Verification Statement filings due
• June 15 2026 – Self-employed Personal tax return and Foreign Income Verification Statement filings due

(The above information is merely for educational and informational purposes. It is not intended as a substitute for professional advice.)