On this page
- What the BC Training Tax Credit Is Worth to an Employer
- Basic, Completion and Enhanced Credits: The Three Levels
- Eligibility: Which Apprentices and Which Programs Qualify
- How Much You Can Claim per Apprentice (Rate Table)
- How to Claim: Schedule 428 on Your T2, or T1014-1 on Your T1
- Stacking With the Federal Apprenticeship Job Creation Tax Credit
- Records SkilledTradesBC and CRA Expect You to Keep
- Deadlines and How Far Back You Can Claim
- FAQ: The BC Training Tax Credit for Employers
- Not Sure If Your Apprentices Qualify? Send Us Your Payroll List
What the BC Training Tax Credit Is Worth to an Employer
If you employ apprentices in BC and you are not claiming the training tax credit, you are leaving real money on the table. Not a deduction. A refundable credit, which means BC sends you a cheque even if your corporation owes no tax at all.
Here is the short version for a BC employer:
- Basic credit: 20% of eligible wages, up to $4,000 per apprentice, in the first 24 months of a non Red Seal apprenticeship.
- Completion credit: 15% of eligible wages, up to $2,500 at level 3 and $3,000 at level 4, for both Red Seal and non Red Seal programs.
- Enhanced credit: an extra 50% on top if the apprentice is registered under the Indian Act or is a person with a disability.
- Separately, the federal Apprenticeship Job Creation Tax Credit gives you 10% of wages up to $2,000 for Red Seal apprentices, and you can claim both.
The program runs to January 1, 2028, and you have 36 months after a tax year ends to claim, so if you have had apprentices on payroll for the last two or three years and never claimed, you can probably still go back and get it.
Let us walk through it.
The headline number for a single apprentice who goes all the way through a non Red Seal program:
| Credit | Maximum |
| Basic (first 24 months) | $4,000 |
| Completion, level 3 | $2,500 |
| Completion, level 4 | $3,000 |
| Total per apprentice | $9,500 |
Add the enhanced credit for an eligible apprentice and the same person is worth up to $14,250.
For a Red Seal apprentice there is no basic credit from BC, but you get the completion credits (up to $5,500) plus the federal AJCTC (up to $2,000 per year for the first two years), so roughly $9,500 as well through a different mix.
Now put that against a shop with six apprentices on the floor. This stops being an accounting footnote fairly quickly.
The part that makes it genuinely valuable: the BC credit is refundable. A newly incorporated contractor with a loss year still receives the cash. That is unusual and it is why this credit is worth chasing even in a slow year.
Basic, Completion and Enhanced Credits: The Three Levels
The basic credit rewards you for taking someone on at the start. It covers the first 24 months from the date the apprenticeship agreement begins, at 20% of eligible salary and wages paid in that window, capped at $4,000. It is only available for non Red Seal programs, because Red Seal apprentices are covered by the federal credit instead.
The completion credit rewards you for keeping them long enough to finish. It is paid at 15% of eligible wages in the 12 months leading up to completion of a level, capped at $2,500 for level 3 and $3,000 for level 4. This one is available for both Red Seal and non Red Seal programs.
The enhanced credit applies on top of either of the above, at 50% of the credit you already qualified for, when the apprentice is:
- Registered as an Indian under the Indian Act (Canada), or
- A person with a disability who is eligible for the disability tax credit
| Enhanced amount | Cap |
| On the basic credit | $2,000 |
| On the level 3 completion credit | $1,250 |
| On the level 4 completion credit | $1,500 |
The enhanced credit is claimed on the same schedule. You do not apply separately for it, but you do need to be able to support the apprentice’s status if asked.
Eligibility: Which Apprentices and Which Programs Qualify
To claim anything, all of the following have to be true:
- The apprentice is registered in a program administered through SkilledTradesBC
- The apprenticeship is in a recognised program (the list of eligible non Red Seal programs is published by the Province and does change, so check it against the trade you are training)
- You paid salary or wages to that apprentice in the period being claimed. Amounts paid to a subcontractor do not count
- You have a permanent establishment in BC and the apprentice works in BC
- For a corporation, the claim is made on the T2. For an unincorporated business, on the T1
What does not qualify:
- Apprentices you engage as independent contractors rather than employees
- Wages paid outside the eligible window (the first 24 months for basic, the 12 months before completion for completion)
- Any portion of wages funded by another government assistance program, which reduces the eligible amount
- Programs that are not on the recognised list
The Red Seal versus non Red Seal distinction is the one that confuses people most, so here it is plainly:
| Non Red Seal program | Red Seal program | |
| BC basic credit | Yes | No |
| BC completion credit, levels 3 and 4 | Yes | Yes |
| BC enhanced credit | Yes | Yes, on the completion credit |
| Federal AJCTC | No | Yes |
How Much You Can Claim per Apprentice (Rate Table)
| Credit | Rate | Maximum | Eligible period | Programs |
| Basic | 20% of eligible wages | $4,000 | First 24 months of the agreement | Non Red Seal |
| Completion, level 3 | 15% of eligible wages | $2,500 | 12 months before completing level 3 | Both |
| Completion, level 4 | 15% of eligible wages | $3,000 | 12 months before completing level 4 | Both |
| Enhanced, basic | 50% of the basic credit | $2,000 | Same as basic | Non Red Seal |
| Enhanced, level 3 | 50% of the level 3 credit | $1,250 | Same as level 3 | Both |
| Enhanced, level 4 | 50% of the level 4 credit | $1,500 | Same as level 4 | Both |
| Federal AJCTC | 10% of eligible wages | $2,000 per year | First 24 months | Red Seal only |
Quick sanity check on the caps. The $4,000 basic cap is reached at $20,000 of eligible wages, which most full time apprentices hit inside a year. So for a full time non Red Seal apprentice you are usually claiming the maximum rather than doing a percentage calculation.
How to Claim: Schedule 428 on Your T2, or T1014-1 on Your T1
Corporations: complete Schedule 428 (T2SCH428), British Columbia Training Tax Credit, and file it with the T2. The refundable amount flows through to the refundable credits section of the return.
Unincorporated businesses and individuals: complete Form T1014-1, British Columbia Training Tax Credit (Employers) and file it with your T1.
Partnerships: the credit is calculated at the partnership level and allocated to the partners, who each claim their share on their own return.
A practical note on bookkeeping: you need eligible salary and wages by apprentice by period, which is not how most payroll reports are organised by default. Set up a payroll code or a job code per apprentice at the start of the year rather than trying to reconstruct it from twelve months of pay runs in March.
Stacking With the Federal Apprenticeship Job Creation Tax Credit
The AJCTC is the federal companion program, and it is worth knowing the differences:
| BC training tax credit | Federal AJCTC | |
| Rate | 20% basic, 15% completion | 10% |
| Maximum | $4,000 basic, $5,500 completion | $2,000 per apprentice per year |
| Trades covered | Non Red Seal (basic), both (completion) | Red Seal only |
| Period | First 24 months, plus completion windows | First 24 months |
| Refundable? | Yes | No |
| Form | T2SCH428 or T1014-1 | T2SCH31 or T2038(IND) |
| Unused amounts | Refunded | Carry back 3 years, forward 20 |
Because the AJCTC is a non refundable investment tax credit, a business with no tax payable does not get the cash this year. It carries. The BC credit does not have that problem.
Also: government assistance reduces the eligible wage base. Claiming the federal credit reduces the wages eligible for the BC credit in the following year through the assistance rules, so the two do not simply add up dollar for dollar in every case. This is exactly the sort of interaction worth having someone run properly rather than estimating.
Maxpro Financials prepares T2 and T1 returns for contractors and trades businesses across BC, and we check apprentice credits as part of the year end rather than waiting to be asked.
Records SkilledTradesBC and CRA Expect You to Keep
Keep these for each apprentice, for six years:
- The apprenticeship agreement or registration confirmation from SkilledTradesBC, showing the start date and the program
- Confirmation of level completion from SkilledTradesBC, with the date
- Payroll records showing salary and wages paid to that apprentice, by pay period
- Evidence of the employment relationship, meaning T4s, not invoices
- For the enhanced credit, documentation supporting the apprentice’s status under the Indian Act, or the disability tax credit certificate
- Any government assistance received in respect of those wages
The two records that go missing most often are the level completion date and the apprenticeship start date. Both are what define the eligible window, and without them the claim is hard to defend on review.
Deadlines and How Far Back You Can Claim
- Basic credit: claim within 36 months after the end of the tax year in which the wages were paid.
- Completion credit: claim within 36 months after the end of the tax year in which the apprentice met the completion requirements.
- The program applies to eligible periods ending before January 1, 2028.
The 36 month window is the good news for anyone reading this and realising they have never claimed. A corporation with a December year end can, in 2026, still reach back to its 2023 tax year. That is often three apprentices and several thousand dollars.
To claim a prior year, you file an amended T2 or a T1 adjustment for that year with the schedule attached. It is not complicated, but it does need to be done year by year.
FAQ: The BC Training Tax Credit for Employers
Is the BC training tax credit refundable? Yes. You receive it even if your business has no tax payable, which is what makes it worth claiming in a loss year.
My apprentice is in a Red Seal trade. Do I get nothing from BC? You get no basic credit, but you do get the level 3 and level 4 completion credits, plus the federal AJCTC.
Can I claim for an apprentice who quit partway through? You can claim the basic credit for eligible wages actually paid within the first 24 months. Completion credits require the level to be completed.
Does the credit apply to the apprentice’s whole wage? It applies to eligible salary and wages in the relevant window, reduced by any government assistance received for that employee. The caps usually bind before the percentage does.
What if I pay my apprentice through a subcontract? Then there is no claim. The credit requires an employment relationship, supported by payroll and a T4.
Can two employers claim for the same apprentice? Each employer claims based on wages it actually paid, within the eligible window and subject to the shared caps. If an apprentice moved mid program, get the dates confirmed by SkilledTradesBC before either employer files.
How do I claim for a previous year I missed? File an amended T2 with Schedule 428, or a T1 adjustment with Form T1014-1, for that year. You have 36 months from the end of the tax year.
Does claiming this credit affect my corporate tax return anywhere else? Yes. Government assistance, including this credit, generally reduces the related expense or is included in income, depending on the treatment. Your accountant should be handling that on Schedule 1.
Is there a limit on how many apprentices I can claim for? No. The caps are per apprentice, not per employer.
Is the program ending? It currently applies to eligible periods ending before January 1, 2028. It has been extended several times, but plan around the date that is legislated rather than the one you hope for.
Not Sure If Your Apprentices Qualify? Send Us Your Payroll List
Most of the work in this credit is not the tax calculation. It is matching apprenticeship start dates and level completion dates against payroll, then working out which credit applies to which window, and whether the federal credit changes the BC number.
Maxpro Financials does that as part of year end for trades and construction clients across BC and Alberta. If you have apprentices on payroll and have never claimed, send us the payroll summary and the SkilledTradesBC registrations and we will tell you what is claimable, including the prior years still inside the 36 month window.
Book a consultation or call BC +1 (778) 951 1269 / Alberta +1 (403) 437 6016.
