How the speculation and vacancy tax works

The speculation and vacancy tax is designed to turn vacant homes into housing for people in British Columbia, and ensure foreign owners and those with primarily foreign income contribute fairly to B.C.’s tax system.

This tax is an annual tax that applies based on:

• How property owners use their residential property
• The property owner’s residency status
• Where property owners earn and report their income

The revenue collected through the tax supports affordable housing in the areas where the tax applies. 

To learn about how the tax is calculated, see Tax rates.

The speculation and vacancy tax has an annual declaration process and is administered by using data from partner agencies.

This tax is different from Vancouver’s empty homes tax and the Government of Canada's Underused Housing Tax. 

Annual declaration process

In most cases, owners of residential property in a designated taxable area must complete a declaration each year to declare their residency status and how their property has been used, unless a special circumstance applies.

You have to declare each year because your circumstances may change during the year.

Your declaration is due on March 31 of each year.

If you do not complete a declaration, you will need to pay the speculation and vacancy tax at the maximum rate of 2 percent of your property's assessed value. 

Learn more about:

• The declaration timeline
• Why everyone must declare
• Why we need you to complete a declaration
• Why we ask for your social insurance number

Declaration timeline

• Receive your declaration letter mid-January to mid-February

• Declare by March 31

Declare how you used your property last year. If asked about your income, use income from the year before last year, as information from your most recent income tax return will not be available.

• If you owe tax, pay by the first business day in July. A 10 percent penalty, as well as interest, applies to any balance after the due date. 

For example:

• Received letter January 30, 2024

• Declare by March 31, 2024

You declare how you used your property in 2023. If asked about your income, use income from 2022.

• If you owe tax, pay by July 2, 2024

Why everyone must declare

If a property has more than one owner, a separate declaration must be made for each co-owner, even if the other owner is a spouse or relative. 

This tax is based on how each owner uses the property and whether they have foreign income. This is why each owner on title must declare separately.

Why we need you to complete a declaration

You must declare your residency status, whether you pay taxes in Canada and how you use your property so that we can determine:

• If you are eligible for an exemption
• Which tax rate applies if you have to pay the tax
• If you’re eligible for a tax credit

We do not use information from other sources such as your home owner grant application because that process does not collect the right information for this tax.

Why we ask for your social insurance number (SIN)

The declaration requires you to provide your SIN and date of birth. This information is required to:

• Confirm your residency
• Assist in identifying if you pay income taxes in Canada
• Verify if you're eligible to receive the principal residence exemption or other exemptions
• Determine what tax rate will apply, if you have to pay the tax
• Determine which tax credit you may be eligible for

The Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner confirmed that collecting SIN and date of birth on your declaration is necessary for us to administer the tax.

The online declaration application securely protects your information. All information entered into the application is encrypted at the time of entry. Only ministry staff with special security clearance can view your personal information.

If you do not know your SIN number, or do not yet have one, contact Service Canada for assistance.

Partner agencies

The speculation and vacancy tax is administered using data from both the Land Title and Survey Authority of British Columbia (LTSA) and BC Assessment.

LTSA provides title and legal description data to BC Assessment, such as:

• All owners listed on title for a property
• Mailing address(es) of owner(s)
• Legal description of property

BC Assessment provides assessment roll data to us, such as:

• Your property classification - to determine if you should get a speculation and vacancy tax letter
• Your mailing address - to mail your speculation and vacancy tax letter
• The assessed value of your property - to calculate any speculation or vacancy tax you may owe if you aren’t eligible for an exemption

Since BC Assessment uses information from LTSA to generate the assessment roll data, it’s important that your information with both LTSA and BC Assessment is accurate.

Read on to learn more about when to contact each agency if you need to update your information.

Land Title and Survey Authority’s role

The Land Title and Survey Authority of British Columbia (LTSA) registers changes to property ownership in B.C., such as:

• A mailing address change
• A name change
• Adding or removing someone from title, like a deceased owner

If you need to make changes to your property ownership, follow the processes outlined by LTSA.

BC Assessment’s role

BC Assessment determines property values in B.C. They also determine the classification of your property, such as residential or commercial.

The speculation and vacancy tax only applies to properties classified as residential that are also in the designated taxable areas.

If you have concerns about your assessed property value or property classification, contact BC Assessment. The deadline to file a notice of complaint (appeal) with BC Assessment is January 31 each year.

Vancouver’s empty homes tax

The speculation and vacancy tax is different from Vancouver's empty homes tax. The rules for each tax and how they apply are not the same.

This means that if you own residential property in the City of Vancouver, you:

• Must declare separately for each tax
• May be exempt from one tax but have to pay the other

Underused housing tax

The Government of Canada announced new measures related to housing in Canada. These measures are different from the speculation and vacancy tax. 

Learn about the underused housing tax and the affordability plan for Canadians, which includes measures to prevent speculative trading in the housing market. 

Home owner grant program

The speculation and vacancy tax is not connected to the home owner grant program. The processes for the two programs are different and administered separately.