British Columbia Employee Investment Tax Credit

The British Columbia (B.C.) employee investment tax credit combines the Employee Share Ownership Plan (ESOP) and the Employee Venture Capital Corporation (EVCC) tax credits. When you claim this non-refundable tax credit, you’ll receive the lesser of:

  • The amount shown on the tax credit certificate you were issued, or
  • $2,000

If you purchased shares from a registered British Columbia employee share ownership plan in 2024 or within the first 60 days of 2025, you’ll be issued a Certificate ESOP 20. If you invested in a registered British Columbia employee venture capital corporation during the same time frame, you’ll be issued a Certificate EVCC 30. These certificates will let you know how many shares you bought and the credit amount you’re allowed to claim on your return.

If you’ve received an EVCC 30, you’re also eligible to claim the federal tax credit. This federal tax credit will be automatically calculated for you when you enter your information into H&R Block’s tax software.

Keep in mind, you can’t carry forward or carry back any unused amounts of the British Columbia employee investment tax credit.

Tax Tip: If you bought ESOP or EVCC shares in the first 60 days of 2025, you can choose to claim the B.C. employee investment tax credit on either your 2024 or 2025 return.

Follow these steps in H&R Block’s tax software to file your 2024 taxes:

Before you begin, make sure you tell us that you lived in British Columbia on December 31, 2024.

  1. On the left navigation menu, under the Credits & deductions tab, click Tax Topics.

  2. Select the Investment income & expenses checkbox.

  3. At the bottom of the page, click Add selected topics to my return.

  1. Under the INVESTMENT INCOME heading, select the checkbox labelled British Columbia employee share ownership plan tax credit and/or British Columbia venture capital tax credit, then click Continue.

  2. When you arrive at the pages for your British Columbia employee share ownership tax credit and/or British Columbia employee venture capital tax credit, enter your information into the software.