You can submit an application for a refund after registering for the fuel tax credit registration refund programme for people with disabilities and receiving your registration confirmation letter. The provincial motor fuel tax you paid when filling up your car in British Columbia is refundable up to $500 per calendar year. The refund amount cannot be carried over to the following year.
Application preparation
Only one vehicle may be used to apply for a fuel tax rebate (the vehicle you registered with the program). As long as you’re asking for a refund of $10 or more, we advise you to submit a refund application once every year (the minimum amount we can refund).
You can request a fuel tax refund by filling out the Application for Refund of Provincial Fuel Tax for Persons with Disabilities (FIN 472) (PDF, 314KB) and mailing it to us with your original fuel receipts.
In the event that your spouse qualifies under your registration, they can submit an application for a refund by filling out the Application for Refund of Provincial Fuel Tax for Spouses of Persons with Disabilities (FIN 474) (PDF, 386 KB) and mailing it to us along with their original fuel receipts.
Note: Only receipts for fuel that you purchased can be submitted (in other words your name appears on the invoice or credit card used). Only fuel that your spouse purchased may be submitted in the form of receipts. Unless you have a power of attorney or a representation agreement in place, you cannot claim fuel that was purchased by someone other than you or your spouse. See Bulletin MFT 004, Fuel Tax Refund Program for Persons with Disabilities, for further details (PDF, 164KB).
Limitations
Fuel tax refund applications must be submitted within four years of payment.
The deadline for submitting a refund application is April 10, 2021, for instance, if you paid the fuel tax on April 10, 2017. Any gasoline receipts with a date of purchase older than four years from the time we receive your application are not accepted.
A receipt for fuel
The original fuel receipt must be included with your refund application. You must include the following information on your receipts:
- Date on which the fuel was purchased
- Gas, diesel, or propane (the type of fuel you purchased)
- Approximately how much fuel you purchased
- Address and name of the fuel seller
The amount of fuel purchased may differ from what is reported on pre authorized or prepaid fuel receipts.
Fuel receipts are subject to a one-time exception
If you didn’t save your gasoline receipts before receiving your confirmation letter, we could accept alternative types of identification instead. Only fuel purchases between the day your impairment was confirmed and the date of your confirmation letter are eligible for this one-time exception (your registration effective date).
Among the proofs we may accept are:
- A statement showing the fuel you purchased in British Columbia on your credit card or debit card.
- Fuel purchased in British Columbia is shown on your account statements.
- You must sign a statement for each calendar year you are claiming, which includes the following information:
- Fuel purchased in liters
- Your choice of fuel (gas, diesel, or propane)
- The location in British Columbia where the fuel was purchased
- What method you used to determine how much fuel you used
Review of refund applications
To confirm the amount of tax you paid, we routinely check refund requests. We might need further details from you as part of this review. For instance, if you used several credit cards to buy fuel in a short period of time, we would ask you to show us documentation that each of those cards was issued in your name. Your return amount can be diminished if we’re unable to confirm how much tax you actually paid.
