Eligible people will get some help with their holiday bills with benefits and credits arriving in the new year.

“I know the high cost of living can cause pressure for so many people during the holiday season,” said Brenda Bailey, Minister of Finance. “While high prices persist across the country and around the world, we are working hard to help offset costs for people in B.C. with tax credits that put more money into people’s pockets when they need it most.”

First in 2025 will be the quarterly climate action tax credit with payments expected to arrive in bank accounts on or around Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. Approximately 65% of families and individuals in B.C. receive money through this credit. The average annual credit is an estimated $440 for individuals with no dependent children, $680 for single-parent families and $613 for multi-parent families.

Later in January 2025, more than 340,000 families with lower or middle incomes can count on their BC Family Benefit payment, now wiith a temporary cost-of-living bonus. The 25% increase means an average of $445 more a year for families. A family of four can receive as much as $3,563 a year, while a single parent with one child can receive as much as $2,688 per year. The family benefit is deposited in bank accounts around the 20th of each month.

The Province is working in other ways to help people with costs, such as:

• minimum wage increases;
• lower car-insurance costs;
• reduced child care fees;
• free prescription birth control;
• free transit for kids;
• capping rent increases to inflation; and
• through a new tax credit, returning as much as $400 a year to 75% of people who rent in B.C.

People can find out how to access provincial government benefits and savings programs on the BC Benefits Connector, which is available online. The website is available in simplified Chinese, traditional Chinese, Punjabi, French and English. Help in other languages is available by calling Service BC toll-free at 1 800 663-7867.

Quick Facts:

• Many of the benefits and tax credits are automatically sent to eligible people if they have filed their income taxes.
• These are payments from the B.C. government and delivered on the Province’s behalf by the Canada Revenue Agency, and appear on bank statements as payments from the Government of Canada.
• Worried about mail delays? If you have not already, you can sign up with the Canada Revenue Agency to get benefits and credits deposited automatically into your bank account.

Learn More:

For information about how to connect to services and help save money, visit the BC Benefits Connector:
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/home/benefits

For information about filing taxes, visit:
https://www.canada.ca/en/services/taxes/income-tax/personal-income-tax/get-ready-taxes/ways.html

The B.C. government will not contact you about tax credits, rebates or benefits by text message. If you receive a text, it may be fraud. If unsure, email: ITBTaxQuestions@gov.bc.ca