About 180,000 B.C. families will be eligible to receive up to $55 per month, or $660 annually, for each child under the age of six when the B.C. Early Childhood Tax Benefit is introduced in April 2015.

What does this mean for families today? To receive the new benefit in 2015, parents need to file their annual income tax returns, starting with the 2013 tax year, and make sure they have applied for the Canada Child Tax Benefit. If your child is already registered for the Canada Child Tax Benefit, you will be automatically signed up to receive the B.C. Early Childhood Tax Benefit, as long as you meet the eligibility requirements, outlines a Ministry of Children and Family Development press release issued March 26.

The maximum benefit will be available to all eligible families with net incomes under $100,000. The benefit will start to phase out at $100,000 and will be fully phased out at $150,000. It is estimated that 140,000 families will receive the full benefit, while an additional 40,000 families with net incomes over $100,000 will receive a partial benefit.

The tax benefit was announced in February 2013 as part of the B.C. Early Years Strategy to improve the affordability of child care and assist families with the cost of raising young children.

The new provincial benefit will supplement existing federal benefits, including the Canada Child Tax Benefit, the National Child Benefit Supplement and the Universal Child Care Benefit.

For more information about the new benefit, please visit: www.mcf.gov.bc.ca/childcare/tax_benefit.htm

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