An Act to amend the Income Tax Act (volunteer firefighting and search and rescue volunteer tax credit)

This bill increases two tax credits in the Income Tax Act that are available to volunteer firefighters and to search and rescue volunteers. Currently, eligible volunteers can claim a credit based on an amount of $6,000; the bill raises that amount to $10,000, meaning a larger tax credit for people who meet the eligibility requirements for volunteer firefighting or search and rescue volunteer services.

The bill also slightly updates the definition of "eligible volunteer firefighting services." It clarifies that these are services provided by someone acting as a volunteer firefighter who is available or on call to perform firefighting, emergency, and non-emergency duties for a fire department as needed, and that the person may receive only a small, token payment that does not amount to a real living wage, without losing their volunteer status for tax purposes.

These changes would apply starting with the 2026 tax year and later, meaning they would not affect tax returns for 2025 or earlier years.

This bill changes the Income Tax Act to raise the amount used to calculate the tax credits for volunteer firefighting and search and rescue volunteer services, and adjusts the definition of who qualifies for the firefighting credit.

• Credit amount — the figure used to calculate both the volunteer firefighter tax credit and the search and rescue volunteer tax credit rises from $6,000 to $10,000, multiplied by the "appropriate percentage" for the tax year to determine the actual deduction.
• Definition change — "eligible volunteer firefighting services" is redefined to cover being available or on call to perform firefighting services, emergency services, and non-emergency duties as needed, and explicitly allows the volunteer to receive a "nominal remuneration" as long as it does not amount to a "liveable wage."
• Who is affected — individuals who provide eligible volunteer firefighting or search and rescue services and file for the credit under sections 118.06 and 118.07 of the Income Tax Act.
• Effective date — the changes apply starting with the 2026 and subsequent taxation years, with no application to earlier years.
• Scope of the bill — it makes only these two changes (the credit amount and the firefighting services definition); it creates no new body, office, discretionary power, or regulatory authority, and sets out no reporting or review mechanism.