390 –Tax credit for volunteer firefighters and search and rescue volunteers
You can claim a tax credit of $700 (14% of $5,000) if you meet the following requirements:
- You were a volunteer firefighter or a search and rescue volunteer in 2023.
- In 2023, you performed at least 200 hours of eligible service.
- You are including tax-exempt remuneration for volunteer search and rescue services (which is shown in box L-2 of your RL-1 slip and can be up to $1,315) in your income (see “Emergency services volunteers” in the instructions for line 101).
Eligible services
Services provided by volunteer firefighters to one or more fire departments offering fire protection on behalf of a government, a municipality or another public authority are eligible if they consist in:
- being on call for and responding to firefighting and related emergency calls;
- attending meetings held by the fire department(s);
- participating in required training on the prevention or suppression of fires.
However, you are not considered to be providing services as a volunteer firefighter or performing duties in that respect when you:
- replace permanent firefighters for short periods;
- are regularly or periodically on duty in a fire station; or
- are remunerated for periods of on-call duty in the territory.
Services provided by search and rescue volunteers to one or more eligible organizations are eligible if they consist in:
- being on call for and responding to situations requiring search and rescue operations and related emergency calls;
- attending meetings held by the eligible organization(s);
- participating in required training related to search and rescue operations.
Claiming the tax credit
Enter the amount of the credit on line 390 and the appropriate number from the following list in box 390.1.
| 01 | Volunteer firefighter |
|---|---|
| 02 | Search and rescue volunteer |
If, in 2023, you provided services both as a volunteer firefighter and as a search and rescue volunteer, you can add the number of hours of eligible services that you provided as a volunteer firefighter to the number of hours of eligible services that you provided as a search and rescue volunteer to determine whether you have performed the required 200 hours. If you have, enter either “01” or “02” in box 390.1.
Do not include the following when calculating your hours:
- the hours during which you performed services as a volunteer firefighter on behalf of a fire department for which you were both a firefighter and a volunteer firefighter;
- the hours during which you performed services as a search and rescue volunteer on behalf of an eligible organization for which you provided services both as a search and rescue volunteer and in a capacity other than as a volunteer.