The B.C. climate action tax credit after its end
British Columbia’s quarterly climate credit is gone, but two provincial payments still reach families and low-income seniors every month.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method
The B.C. climate action tax credit made its final payment in April 2025 and is not paid in 2026. The provincial government states that the program has ended; the credit used to be combined with the federal GST/HST credit into one quarterly payment, and that combined deposit no longer includes a B.C. amount. Only people who have not filed their returns for 2023 or earlier years can still receive it for those years, once the CRA processes the returns. What remains for B.C. households comes from other programs. Families with children under 18 receive the B.C. family benefit every month with the Canada child benefit, up to $1,750 a year for a first child, $1,100 for a second and $900 for each additional child, plus up to $500 for single parents. Low-income seniors who receive Old Age Security and the Guaranteed Income Supplement get the Senior’s Supplement automatically, up to $99.30 a month for a single person. The federal Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit, paid quarterly, is a separate benefit that existed before.
B.C. family benefit now that the climate credit is gone
B.C. family benefit, per year
$2,057.04
| Each month, with the CCB | $171.42 |
| Ceiling for this family | $2,850 |
| Climate action tax credit in 2026 | $0 |
July 2026 to June 2027 amounts, based on 2025 income. The climate credit made its final payment in April 2025.
The end of the credit
The B.C. government page on the climate action tax credit, last updated in January 2026, opens with two sentences: the program has ended, and the payment of April 2025 was the final one. The credit was paid by the CRA on behalf of the province and combined with the federal GST/HST credit into one payment, which is why many families never saw it as a separate line. From July 2025, the same quarterly deposit continued without the B.C. part, and since July 2026 it carries the federal Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit instead.
A deposit that seems smaller than it used to be in 2025 can therefore have two causes at once: the missing B.C. climate amount and a change in the federal benefit itself. The federal benefit rose by 25 % in July 2026, as the CRA explains, but that increase does not restore the B.C. credit; it is a separate, national measure.
Back years: the only way the credit is still paid
The province leaves one door open. If you have not filed your returns for 2023 and prior years, you may be eligible for the climate action tax credit for those years. Filing is the whole procedure: the CRA determines eligibility and calculates the amount automatically. No later year gives a credit, so filing an overdue 2024 return brings other benefits but no climate credit for current periods. The federal carbon rebate, which ended in the same month, has a similar rule for unfiled returns.
The B.C. family benefit, paid every month
For families with children under 18, the main provincial payment is the B.C. family benefit. The CRA page for British Columbia describes it as a tax-free monthly payment combined with the Canada child benefit. For July 2026 to June 2027, it pays up to $1,750 a year for a first child, $1,100 for a second and $900 for each additional child. Above an adjusted family net income of $30,176, the amount is reduced by 4 % of the excess, but not below a guaranteed minimum of $775, $750 and $725. That minimum is reduced in turn, at the same rate, above $96,562.
| 2025 family net income | One child | Two children | Three children |
|---|---|---|---|
| $25,000 | $1,750 | $2,850 | $3,750 |
| $50,000 | $957 | $2,057 | $2,957 |
| $80,000 | $775 | $1,525 | $2,250 |
| $110,000 | $237 | $987 | $1,712 |
The table shows the plateau created by the guaranteed minimum: between the two thresholds, a family keeps the same amount whatever its income. Single parents add a supplement of up to $500 a year. A single mother with two children and $45,000 of income receives $2,757.04, or $229.75 a month, deposited on the same day as her child benefit. Reading across the table, a two-parent family with two children receives $2,057 at $50,000 and still $987 at $110,000, once the second reduction has started. The B.C. family benefit calculator handles any family size.
B.C. family benefit now that the climate credit is gone
B.C. family benefit, per year
$2,057.04
| Each month, with the CCB | $171.42 |
| Ceiling for this family | $2,850 |
| Climate action tax credit in 2026 | $0 |
July 2026 to June 2027 amounts, based on 2025 income. The climate credit made its final payment in April 2025.
The Senior’s Supplement
For seniors, the provincial payment is the Senior’s Supplement, a monthly top-up for low-income seniors who receive Old Age Security and the Guaranteed Income Supplement and have no other significant taxable income, such as CPP. People aged 60 to 65 who receive the federal spouse’s allowance may also qualify, and the recipient must be a permanent resident of British Columbia. There is nothing to apply for: it starts one month after the first OAS and GIS payment and arrives the same way.
The amount runs from a dollar up to $99.30 a month for a single senior, up to $220.50 for a couple and up to $99.83 for a spouse who receives the federal Allowance. Its 2026 calendar is the province’s own: usually the 27th, with June 29, 2026, September 28, 2026 and December 22, 2026 as exceptions. Over a full year, the ceilings come to $1,191.60 for a single senior and $2,646.00 for a couple, on top of OAS and the GIS; the province publishes a range that starts at one dollar, so the ceiling is not a promise. The GIS calculator shows whether the federal supplement, the gateway to this payment, applies.
What B.C. households can count on in 2026
In short, the climate credit is not coming back, and the province’s page names no replacement. A B.C. family with children keeps the B.C. family benefit on the 20th with the child benefit; a low-income senior keeps the Senior’s Supplement around the 27th; and both receive the federal groceries benefit each quarter if their income is low enough, as the groceries benefit guide details. The amounts actually paid are those on your CRA notice or your provincial statement.