Home -> British Columbia -> Real Estate -> BC Speculation and Vacancy Tax

Note: The BC speculation and vacancy tax is completely separate from the City of Vancouver Empty Homes Tax. If you own residential property in Vancouver, you must submit a declaration annually to the City to determine if your property is subject to the 3% tax. The due date for the declaration regarding the 2023 vacancy reference period is February 2, 2024. For the City of Vancouver, only 1 declaration is required per property. The Empty Homes Tax affects unimproved (vacant) residential (class 1) property (i.e., land) as well as properties with homes on them.

See Vacancy Tax (Empty Homes Tax) By-law 11674, which only allows the City to go back 2 years to assess the tax. This means that any "supplementary tax notice" to be sent for the 2021 tax year must have been issued by the City by the 10^th business day of March, 2023.

Vancouver Empty Homes Tax Exemptions

See Exemptions on the City of Vancouver website. One of the exemptions is "Owner in Care", which applies when the owner or their tenant has entered a care home, but the exemption is not allowed for more than 2 consecutive vacancy reference years except in certain circumstances. For more information see the Owner in Care link.

City of Vancouver Empty Homes Tax Late Declarations

Late declarations for the 2022 tax year are due July 3, 2024. Late declarations for the 2021 tax year can be made until December 31, 2026, by submitting a notice of complaint. See the City of Vancouver Empty Homes Tax web page.

BC Speculation and Vacancy Tax Affected Areas

The BC speculation and vacancy tax affects residential properties (including vacant land, but not including properties with an assessed value of $150,000 or less) in "specified areas". If your assessment notice says "residential", then you own residential (class 1) property which may be subject to the tax. The specified areas for the 2023 tax year reporting in 2024 are:

	municipalities within the Capital Regional District
	municipalities within the Metro Vancouver Regional District
	Abbotsford, City of
	Chilliwack, City of
	Duncan, City of
	Kelowna, City of
	Ladysmith, Town of
	Lantzville, District of
	Lake Cowichan, Town of
	Lions Bay, Village of
	Mission, District of
	Nanaimo, City of
	North Cowichan, District of
	Squamish, District of
	West Kelowna, City of
	that part of Electoral Area A within the Metro Vancouver Regional District that comprises the University of British Columbia and University Endowment Land as defined in section 1 of the University Endowment Land Act

The Act goes on to exclude certain areas, including

	Reserve lands, treaty lands, and lands of self-governing Indigenous Nations
	Islands within the above areas that are usually accessible only by air or water throughout a calendar year, except for Vancouver Island.

Use the Interactive Location Map to determine if your address is an affected property.

Expansion of BC Speculation and Vacancy Tax to More BC Communities

For the 2024 Tax Year - Reporting in 2025

A November 22, 2023 news release announced that the following 13 municipalities are added to the specified areas, effective for the 2024 tax year (first reporting in 2025):

	Vernon, Coldstream;
	Penticton, Summerland;
	Lake Country, Peachland;
	Courtney, Comox, Cumberland;
	Parksville, Qualicum Beach;
	Salmon Arm; and
	Kamloops

For the 2023 Tax Year - Reporting in 2024

A July 20, 2022 news release announced that the following 6 municipalities are added to the specified areas, effective for the 2023 tax year (first reporting in 2024):

	District of North Cowichan
	City of Duncan
	Town of Ladysmith
	Town of Lake Cowichan
	Village of Lions Bay
	District of Squamish

BC Speculation and Vacancy Tax (SVT) Interactive Location Map

The Location Map on the BC government website displays affected areas for the BC speculation and vacancy tax. A search can also be done by address or location.

Due Date For BC Speculation and Vacancy Tax Declarations and Payments

Each homeowner's declaration is due March 31st, and a Notice of Assessment will then be received in the mail, showing you the amount of tax you owe. The tax must be paid by the first business day in July (July 4 in 2023) but can be paid earlier once the Notice of Assessment is received.

When Are Declaration Letters Mailed to Homeowners?

Declaration letters are mailed by the government on various dates, depending on destination area, from the end of January to mid-February. See When to Expect Your Speculation and Vacancy Tax Letter. If you own residential property in any of the designated areas and have not received a letter by late February, contact the government, because information from the letter is required to do the declaration - see links at the bottom of this article.

The declaration letter includes your Letter ID and Declaration Code, which are needed in order to complete your declaration. See How to declare for the speculation and vacancy tax on the BC government website.

Tax Tip: Declare as soon as you get the letter to avoid missing the due date!

Penalties

The late payment penalty is 10% of the unpaid tax, plus interest (at the prescribed rate) on the unpaid taxes and the penalty amount, from the date that the tax was payable.

The penalty for failure to provide the required information in a declaration will be liable, in respect of each failure, for a penalty equal to the greater of:

	$100, and
	$25 for each day during which the failure continues, to a maximum of $2,500.

If a homeowner has not submitted their declaration, they will receive a tax notice charging them the BC Speculation and Vacancy Tax at the maximum tax rate. However, this can be corrected - see Get help with the speculation and vacancy tax on the BC government website, where phone numbers are available for enquiries.

The administrator may at any time waive or cancel all or part of any interest or penalty under the BC Speculation and Vacancy Act.

Request to Waive Penalties and Interest

Form FIN 563, Request to Waive Penalties, can be used to request waiving speculation and vacancy tax penalties and interest if you were not able to make a payment due to a circumstance beyond your control.

This form should be used if you have already declared, and if you have reviewed your eligibility for an exemption or a tax credit.

If you made an error completing your declaration, this can be corrected by updating the declaration through eTaxBC.

Speculation and Vacancy Tax Rate

The tax is charged on each owner's share of the assessed value of the residential (class 1) property. If there are 2 joint owners, then each will pay based on 50% of the assessed value. The Act does not consider beneficial ownership, except as it relates to a corporate interest holder or a property registered in the name of a trustee. If there are 2 tenants in common, their share will each be 50% of the assessed value, unless their ownership interest is specified on the title to the property, in the registered agreement for sale or in the registered lease.

The lowest tax rate of 0.5% was applicable to every owner for the 2018 calendar year (tax to be paid in 2019).

For 2019 and subsequent calendar years:

The lowest tax rate of 0.5% is applicable to owners who are BC residents, specified Canadian Citizens or specified permanent residents of Canada, including corporations in respect of which all of the corporate interest holders are BC residents, specified Canadian citizens or specified permanent residents of Canada. See the definition of corporate interest holder in the Act.

The highest tax rate of 2% is applicable to other owners, and to any owner who fails to file a declaration for the calendar year, to claim an exemption (see Exemptions below).

The tax payable = tax rate x (owner's % interest x assessed value) less tax credit, if applicable.

Tax Tip: Declare as soon as you get the letter to avoid missing the due date!

Exemptions from the Speculation and Vacancy Tax

To claim an exemption from the tax, each and every owner of residential property in the affected areas must file a declaration form by March 31st of every year. The province mails out information to all property owners in the affected areas. The declaration can be filed online, or can be done over the phone. Language translation services are available over the phone.

There are various exemptions from the tax, including for

	principal residence
	properties with tenants,
	strata accommodation properties (2018 and 2019 only)
	residential property without a residence (2018 only)
	some daycares
	properties under construction or renovation, if specified "building activities" are started or continued
	some heritage properties

If the homeowner has entered a residential care facility due to age, disability, addiction, illness or frailty, they are exempt from the tax for up to 2 years. The care facility must offer services such as daily meals, housekeeping or nursing care. See Previous principal residence on the BC website.

Most of the above exemptions have criteria that limit the exemptions, and not all exemptions are listed above. To review the details of exemptions and see examples, go to Exemptions for the speculation and vacancy tax on the government of BC website.

For a complete list of exemptions in the legislation, see the BC Speculation and Vacancy Tax Act Part 3 - Exemptions from Tax.

Exemption for Principal Residence: Does not apply to individuals who are not Canadian citizens or Permanent Residents (as per the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act of Canada).

However, if the non-eligible owner is a person with disabilities at any time in the calendar year, they are eligible for the principal residence exemption.

Maybe You're Not Really a BC Resident, Even If You Are!

For purposes of the Speculation and Vacancy Tax, a resident of British Columbia is an individual who:

is a specified Canadian citizen or specified permanent resident of Canada, and
is, for the income tax year that ends at the end of the calendar year, either
1. resident only in BC for the purposes of the federal Act, or
2. deemed, under section 2607 of the Income Tax Regulations (Canada), to have been resident in BC for the purposes of the federal Act,

but doesn't include an individual who is deemed not to be a resident of Canada for the purposes of the federal Act.

If you (or your spouse) are not a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, you will not be eligible for the exemption for principal residence, and will pay the highest rate of tax. Examples of the application of this tax to BC residents who are not Canadian citizens or permanent residents:

Couple hit with BC vacancy tax despite living in home

Another family comes forward to say they, too, were stung by BC vacancy tax

Tax Credit for BC Residents or Eligible Taxpayers

Tax Credit for BC Residents

An individual who is a BC resident (see above) may reduce the speculation and vacancy tax payable on their residential property by $2,000 x the owner's % interest in the property. If the individual owns more than 1 residential property which is subject to the tax, the maximum tax credit is a total of $2,000 for all properties, not each property.

Tax Credit for Eligible Taxpayers

An "eligible taxpayer" for the 2019 and subsequent calendar years, according to s. 52(1) of the BC Speculation and Vacancy Tax Act, is an owner of a residential property

	who is subject to the highest tax rate for other owners, OR
	who is a specified Canadian Citizen or specified permanent resident of Canada who is subject to the lowest tax rate,

but does not include an owner who holds an interest in the residential property as a partner in a partnership.

The tax credit for an eligible taxpayer is more complicated, and depends in part on the taxpayer's income earned in the taxation year in BC (BC Income). See How is this tax credit calculated?

For more information see the BC government information Tax credits for the speculation and vacancy tax, and the BC Speculation and Vacancy Tax Act s. 55 Tax credit for eligible taxpayer.