Alberta and Saskatchewan cattle producers affected by bovine TB outbreak in 2016 and this year will receive additional tax relief.

Farmers who received compensation under the Health of Animals Act from livestock destroyed due to the bovine tuberculosis outbreak in 2016 and 2017 in Alberta and Saskatchewan are eligible for livestock tax deferral provisions. These allow them to defer a portion of their 2017 sale proceeds of breeding livestock until 2018 to help replenish the herd. The cost of replacing the animals in 2018 will offset the deferred income, thereby reducing the tax burden associated with the original sale.

Eligibility for the tax deferral is limited to those producers located inside the designated prescribed areas. Producers can request the tax deferral when filing their 2017 income tax returns.

The federal government also released its 2017 list of designated regions for livestock tax deferral in Alberta, B.C., Saskatchewan and Quebec affected by drought, flood or excess moisture. In Alberta, those regions are the counties of Cardston, Clearwater, Cypress, Forty Mile, Lacombe, Kneehill, Lethbridge, Mountain View, Newell, Paintearth, Red Deer, Rocky View, Starland, Stettler, Vulcan, Warner, and Wheatland. It also includes Special Areas No. 2, 3, 4; the city of Calgary, and the municipal districts of Bighorn, Foothills, Pincher Creek, Ranchland, Taber, and Willow Creek.

For more information, visit ‘Livestock Tax Deferral Provision’ on the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada website.