Definitions

141   In this Part:

"eligible individual" means an individual, other than a trust, who meets the following requirements:

(a) the individual was resident in British Columbia on the last day of the taxation year;

(b) the individual

(i) was a qualifying individual for the taxation year in which a qualifying expenditure was paid in respect of a qualifying renovation to the individual's qualifying principal residence, or

(ii) was a qualifying relation of a qualifying individual at the end of the taxation year in which a qualifying expenditure was paid in respect of a qualifying renovation to the individual's qualifying principal residence;

"principal residence", in respect of an individual, means premises, including a non-seasonal mobile home, that are occupied by the individual as the individual's primary place of residence;

"qualifying expenditure", of an individual for a taxation year, means an outlay or expense made or incurred by, or on behalf of, the individual in the taxation year that is directly attributable to a qualifying renovation by the individual and includes such an outlay or expense for permits required for, or for the rental of equipment used in the course of, the qualifying renovation, but does not include such an outlay or expense

(a) to acquire goods that have been used, or acquired for use or lease, by the individual or by a qualifying relation of the individual, for any purpose before they were acquired by the individual or the qualifying relation of the individual,

(b) made or incurred under the terms of an agreement entered into

(i) before April 1, 2012, if the individual is a senior or a qualifying relation of a senior, or

(ii) before February 17, 2016, if the individual is

(A) a qualifying individual by reason of paragraph (b) of the definition of "qualifying individual", or

(B) a qualifying relation of another individual who is a qualifying individual by reason of paragraph (b) of the definition of "qualifying individual",

(c) to acquire a property that can be used independently of the qualifying renovation,

(d) that is the cost of annual, recurring or routine repair, maintenance or service,

(e) to acquire a household appliance,

(f) to acquire an electronic home-entertainment device,

(g) for financing costs in respect of the qualifying renovation,

(h) made or incurred for the purpose of gaining or producing income from a business or property, or

(i) in respect of goods or services provided by a person not dealing at arm's length with the individual, unless the person is registered for the purposes of Part IX of the Excise Tax Act (Canada);

"qualifying individual", in respect of a taxation year, means an individual who

(a) is a senior at the end of the taxation year, or

(b) is entitled to a deduction under section 118.3 (1) of the federal Act, or would have been entitled to that deduction if that section were read without reference to paragraph (c) of that section, for the taxation year;

"qualifying principal residence", of an individual for a taxation year, means a residence located in British Columbia that is,

(a) if the individual is a qualifying individual for the taxation year, the principal residence of the individual at any time during the taxation year or a residence that is reasonably expected to become the principal residence of the individual within 24 months after the end of the taxation year, or

(b) if, at the end of the taxation year, the individual is a qualifying relation of another individual who is a qualifying individual for the taxation year, the principal residence of the individual at any time during the taxation year and that is, at the same time, also the principal residence of the other individual, or a residence that is reasonably expected to become such a shared principal residence within 24 months after the end of the taxation year;

"qualifying relation", of an individual, means a person who is connected or related to the individual in any manner described in section 251 (6) or 252 (2) of the federal Act;

"qualifying renovation" means a prescribed improvement or an improvement

(a) that is part of a renovation or alteration of a qualifying principal residence of a qualifying individual or of the land on which the residence is situated, or that is part of the construction of the residence, that can reasonably be considered to be undertaken

(i) to enable the qualifying individual to gain access to, or to be mobile or functional within, the residence or the land, or

(ii) to reduce the risk of harm to the qualifying individual within the residence or the land, or in gaining access to the residence or the land,

(b) that

(i) is of an enduring nature and that is integral to the residence or the land on which the residence is situated, or

(ii) relates to the purchase and installation of a modular or removable version of an item of a type that can otherwise be installed as a permanent fixture to the residence or the land, including modular ramps and non-fixed bath lifts,

(c) whose primary purpose is not to increase the value of the residence or the land,

(d) that would ordinarily be undertaken by, or on behalf of, a person who has an impairment to enable the person to gain access to, or to be mobile or functional within, the person's residence or land, and

(e) that is not a prescribed excluded improvement;

"senior" means an individual who is 65 years of age or older.

Home renovation tax credit for seniors and persons with disabilities

142   (1) Subject to the other provisions of this section, an eligible individual may claim a tax credit for the taxation year in the amount determined by the formula:

(2) Subject to subsection (3), for the purposes of this section, a qualifying expenditure is deemed to have been paid on the earlier of the date on which the expenditure was paid and the date the expenditure became payable.

(3) If a qualifying expenditure in respect of a qualifying renovation is paid by an individual in 2 or more instalments, the total of all instalments with respect to the qualifying expenditure is deemed to have been paid on the earlier of the date on which the last instalment was paid and the date the last instalment became payable.

(4) A qualifying expenditure of an individual includes an outlay or expense made or incurred by a co-operative housing corporation, a strata corporation or a similar entity (in this subsection referred to as the "corporation"), in respect of a property that is owned, administered or managed by the corporation and that includes the qualifying principal residence of the individual, to the extent of the individual's share of that outlay or expense, if

(a) the outlay or expense would be a qualifying expenditure of the corporation if the corporation were a natural person and the property were the principal residence of that natural person, and

(b) the corporation has notified the individual, in writing, of the individual's share of the outlay or expense.

(5) A qualifying expenditure of an individual includes an outlay or expense made or incurred by a trust, in respect of a property that is owned by the trust and that includes the qualifying principal residence of the individual, to the extent of the share of that outlay or expense that is reasonably attributable to the individual, having regard to the amount of the outlays or expenses made or incurred in respect of the principal residence of the individual including, for this purpose, common areas relevant to more than one principal residence, if

(a) the outlay or expense would be a qualifying expenditure of the trust if the trust were a natural person and the property were the principal residence of that natural person, and

(b) the trust has notified the individual, in writing, of the individual's share of the outlay or expense.

(6) For the purposes of this section, the following rules apply:

(a) if more than one individual is entitled to claim a tax credit under this section for a taxation year in respect of a single residence that is the qualifying principal residence of all of the individuals at the same time during the taxation year, the total amount of qualifying expenditures that may be claimed by all of the individuals in respect of the residence cannot exceed $10 000;

(b) subject to subsection (7.1), if an individual and the individual's spouse or common-law partner on December 31 of a taxation year are both entitled to claim a tax credit under this section, the total amount of qualifying expenditures that may be claimed by the 2 individuals for the taxation year cannot exceed $10 000.

(7) If the individuals cannot agree as to what portion of the amount each can claim under subsection (6) (a) or (b), the minister may fix the portions.

(7.1) Subsection (6) (b) does not apply if, on December 31 of the taxation year, the individual and the individual's spouse or common-law partner

(a) have been living separate and apart for a period of at least 90 days because of a breakdown of their marriage or common-law relationship, or

(b) are living separate and apart because of medical necessity.

(8) An outlay or expense is not a qualifying expenditure unless the work to implement the qualifying renovation to which that outlay or expense is directly attributable begins within a reasonable time after the outlay or expense is made or incurred.

Part-year residents

143   (1) An individual who is resident in Canada for only part of a taxation year is entitled to claim for the year only the amount the individual would be entitled to claim for the year under section 142 [home renovation tax credit for seniors and persons with disabilities] that can reasonably be considered wholly applicable to any period in the year throughout which the individual was resident in Canada, computed as though that period were the whole taxation year.

(2) The amount that may be claimed under section 142 must not exceed the amount that the individual would have been entitled to claim under this section if the individual had been resident in Canada throughout the year.

Bankruptcy

144   (1) An individual who becomes bankrupt in a calendar year is entitled to claim, for each taxation year that ends in the calendar year, only those amounts that the individual is entitled to claim for the taxation year under section 142 [home renovation tax credit for seniors and persons with disabilities] as can reasonably be considered wholly applicable to the taxation year.

(2) The sum of all amounts that may be claimed under section 142 for all taxation years of the individual ending in a calendar year must not exceed the total amount that the individual would have been entitled to claim under that section in respect of the calendar year if the individual had not become bankrupt.

(3) If an individual becomes bankrupt in a calendar year and, when the bankruptcy occurs, the individual is not a qualifying individual for the taxation year that ends at the time of the bankruptcy but becomes a qualifying individual for the taxation year that ends at the end of the calendar year, the bankrupt individual is eligible to claim a tax credit under section 142 for the taxation year that ends at the time of the bankruptcy.

(4) If an individual becomes bankrupt in a calendar year and, when the bankruptcy occurs, the individual is a qualifying relation of another individual who is not a qualifying individual at that time but becomes a qualifying individual for the taxation year that ends at the end of the calendar year, the bankrupt individual is eligible to claim a tax credit under section 142 for the taxation year that ends at the time of the bankruptcy.

Death

145   (1) If, when an individual dies, the individual is not a senior but would have become a senior by the end of the calendar year in which the individual dies, the individual is eligible to claim a tax credit under section 142 [home renovation tax credit for seniors and persons with disabilities] for the taxation year that ends on the date of death.

(2) If, when an individual dies, the individual is a qualifying relation of another individual who is not a senior at that time but becomes a senior by the end of the calendar year in which the death occurs, the deceased individual is eligible to claim a tax credit under section 142 for the taxation year that ends on the date of death.

(3) If an individual is a qualifying relation of another individual who, immediately before death, is not a senior but who would have become a senior by the end of the calendar year in which the death occurs, the individual who is the qualifying relation is eligible to claim a tax credit under section 142 for a taxation year that ends in the calendar year as if the other individual had not died.

Relationship to other credits

146   (1) Section 248 (28) of the federal Act applies for the purposes of section 142 [home renovation tax credit for seniors and persons with disabilities].

(2) Despite section 248 (28) (b) of the federal Act, an individual may include qualifying expenditures in determining both an amount under section 4.5 (1) [medical expense credit] and an amount under section 142 (1), if those amounts otherwise qualify to be included for the purposes of those provisions.

Deemed payment of tax

147   An individual who has claimed and is eligible for a tax credit under this Part for a taxation year is deemed to have paid, at the time referred to in section 156.1 (4) of the federal Act, as that section relates to the taxation year, the amount of the credit on account of the individual's tax payable under this Act.

Filing requirements

148   An individual who wishes to claim the tax credit under this Part must file, with the individual's return of income filed under section 29 [application of federal provisions — returns of income and assessments of tax] for the taxation year,

(a) an application for the tax credit in the form, and containing the information, required by the Commissioner of Income Tax, and

(b) other records required by the Commissioner of Income Tax.

Powers of audit

149   Without limiting any provision of this Act or the federal Act, for the purpose of determining eligibility for the tax credit under this Part, the Commissioner of Income Tax has powers equivalent to the federal minister under sections 230 (3), 231, 231.1 and 233 of the federal Act, and for that purpose those sections apply.

Power to make regulations

150   (1) Without limiting section 48 (1) and (2) [power to make regulations], the Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations as follows:

(a) prescribing improvements for the purpose of the definition of "qualifying renovation" in section 141 [definitions];

(b) prescribing excluded improvements for the purpose of the definition of "qualifying renovation" in section 141;

(c) prescribing programs for the purpose of paragraph (c) of the description of "D" in section 142 (1) [home renovation tax credit for seniors and persons with disabilities].

(2) A regulation made under this Part may be made retroactive to April 1, 2012 or a later date, and if made retroactive is deemed to have come into force on the specified date.