BC’s Speculation Tax
- It will be levied on empty homes owned by people who do not pay income tax in the province.
- It is an annual property tax.
- It will be applied in Metro Vancouver, the Fraser Valley, Kelowna, Victoria and Nanaimo.
Already people are saying the speculation tax is more like the empty homes tax. It does not really affect people flipping (buying and selling homes for profit in a short period of time) but people with vacation homes, satellite families or snow birds will be affected.
In an article by First National Financial LP, BCsays it does not know if the plan will actually make housing more affordable but it does expect to collect $1.3 billion in new revenue over the next three years. Read more here.
More articles about the Speculation Tax:
Why B.C.’s new real estate speculation tax is not a speculation tax
Vaughn Palmer: Speculation tax caveat makes B.C. property owners antsy
Foreign Buyers Tax
- The foreign buyers tax that was put in place in 2016 will be increased from 15% to 20%.
- It will be expanded to apply in Metro Vancouver, the Fraser Valley, Kelowna, Victoria and Nanaimo.
Real estate groups question expansion of foreign buyers’ tax to Okanagan, Vancouver Island
Property Transfer Tax Changes
The property transfer tax rate is:
- 1% on the first $200,000,
- 2% on the portion of the fair market value greater than $200,000 and up to and including $2,000,000,
- 3% on the portion of the fair market value greater than $2,000,000, and
- if the property is residential, a further 2% on the portion of the fair market value greater than $3,000,000 (effective February 21, 2018).
You can find information about these changes at gov.bc.ca/propertytransfertax