Property tax refund for forest producers

Conditions

You may claim a property tax refund for each assessment unit listed on your certificate, provided the entire portion of the unit that is a forest area is registered with the Ministère des Ressources naturelles et de la Faune and provided you meet the following conditions:

• In 2005, you were a forest producer certified under the Forest Act.
• You were actively engaged in developing your woodlots.
• You held a valid certificate issued for this purpose by the Ministère des Ressources naturelles et de la Faune.

Amounts

The total amount of property taxes respecting immovable property included in the assessment units listed on your certificate is equal to the total of the following amounts, provided you did not apply for a refund of these amounts for 2004:

• the municipal taxes paid for 2005
• the school taxes paid for 2004-2005 or 2005-2006
• the municipal taxes for 2006 paid before April 30, 2006

Refund

To calculate the amount of your refund, complete Part C of Schedule E. To be entitled to the refund, you must:

• have a report prepared by a forest engineer, stating your eligible development expenses (within the meaning of the Forest Act) for 2005, or have eligible development expenses in reserve (the expenses must be equal to or higher than the amount of property taxes for which the refund may be claimed)
• file with your income tax return:
  • the receipted original of your property tax invoices (or a certified copy of the original) for each unit for which you are claiming a refund
  • a copy of the assessment notice issued by your municipality, if the assessment of your land is not shown on the invoices
  • a copy of the forest engineer's report for 2005

Carry-forward of development expenses

The eligible development expenses incurred in a calendar year after 1996 may be claimed in any of the ten subsequent years, provided you were entitled to a property tax refund for the year in which the expenses were incurred. If you were not entitled to a refund for the year in which the expenses were incurred, the expenses may be carried forward two years only.