2024 Nova Scotia Budget Highlights

Nova Scotia Minister of Finance and Treasury Board Allan MacMaster tabled the province’s 2024 budget on Thursday, February 29, 2024. This year’s budget, titled Building Nova Scotia, Faster, is focused on managing the cost of living, action for health care, and building a skilled workforce to support more housing and a healthy economy.

No corporate or personal income tax rate changes were announced.

Tax highlights:

• Personal income tax brackets and several non-refundable tax credits will be subject to indexation starting January 1, 2025.
• The government remains committed to delivering on previously announced tax measures, including:
  • Expansion of the More Opportunity for Skilled Trades (MOST) tax refund program to include nurses (excluding travel nurses) starting in 2023; and
  • The Purpose-Built Rental Housing Rebate, which will apply to the provincial portion of the HST on purpose-built rental housing projects started on September 14, 2023, through December 31, 2030. Construction of these projects must be completed by December 31, 2035.
• Continuation of various personal tax credits including the following:
  • Children’s Sports and Arts
  • Fertility and Surrogacy
  • Affordable Living
  • Volunteer Firefighter/Ground Search and Rescue, and
  • Innovation Equity
• Continuation of various business tax credits including the following:
  • Digital Media
  • Digital Animation
  • Capital Investment
  • Venture Capital, and
  • Food Bank (for farmers)

More details and highlights of the 2024 Nova Scotia Budget can be found here.