The B.C. budget presented on February 19, 2013, will not pass the legislature before the provincial election in May but, if enacted by the next elected government, B.C. families are set to enjoy at least one new tax incentive.
The B.C. Training and Education Savings Grant is meant to encourage saving for post-secondary education. Families who open a Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP) for a six-year-old child will receive a $1,200 deposit from the provincial government. This is in addition to any Canada Learning Bond from the federal government.
No deposit into the RESP is required to receive the $1,200. Parents just need to open an RESP account in the child’s name, either before or after the budget announcement. And the B.C. grant will not be income based; it will be available to all parents.
To be eligible, a child must be born on or after January 1, 2007, be a resident of B.C. when the application is made and must be enrolled in an education program. Families with children born in 2007 will have until February 28, 2014, to establish an RESP to take advantage of the program. For children born after 2007, families have a full year between the child’s sixth and seventh birthdays to apply for the grant.
At this point the status of the grant is up in the air, but parents with children of the correct age should keep an eye on this grant. If the measure passes, this is a win-win offering for B.C. parents.