Volunteer Firefighter Tax Credit update
January 25, 2012CAFC Members,
As you know, the CAFC has been working with Revenue Canada to address concerns raised by a number of Volunteer Fire Departments and CAFC members regarding the Volunteer Firefighter Tax Credit. We are pleased to update CAFC members with positive news about the application of the tax credit.
The primary concern was that the eligibility rules might not consider all volunteer on-call hours as qualifying towards the 200 hour threshold. This could have made it more difficult for volunteer firefighters from smaller Fire Departments to meet the 200 hour requirement. The CAFC was concerned that this could limit the positive impact of this initiative for the volunteer firefighters that protect rural and remote communities, many of whom are on-call all the time or for extended periods of time.
- The CAFC is pleased to report that the Canada Revenue Agency has confirmed that all on-call hours will count towards a volunteer’s eligible hours of service.
The CAFC led the campaign for tax relief and has continued to work with the federal government to resolve issues of concern or confusion. On behalf of CAFC members and the entire Canadian Fire Services, the CAFC worked with the Canada Revenue Agency to update their Question and Answer page to clarify the eligibility rules. Please visit their website for more information.
We are pleased with this result as it ensures that volunteer firefighters in rural and remote communities who are on-call for extended periods of time have an equal opportunity to qualify for the tax credit as those working in Fire Departments with a higher volume of emergency calls.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you who have raised issues of concern in your community. Working together we have achieved great results on a number of priority issues and we have significantly raised the CAFC’s profile with the federal government and the national media.
We are proud to serve as the national voice of the Canadian Fire Services and work constructively with the Government of Canada and our partners in the Fire Services to ensure the safety of Canadians, our communities and our firefighters.
Sincerely,
Fire Chief Rob Simonds
President, CAFC
The Official Canadian memorial pin developed by The Canadian Fallen Firefighters Foundation and approved by the CAFC. 
