Delta residents should keep an eye on their mail in the next few weeks to ensure they received their tax exemption declaration letters, so they don’t get dinged by B.C.’s speculation and vacancy tax.
Those letters will tell people how to file their declaration online, attesting to the government that the home they’re living in is their principal residence.
While more than 99 per cent of B.C. residents will be exempt, every homeowner must file the declaration by the deadline of March 31.
“The majority of property owners who use their unit as a principal home, rent it out for more than six months of the year, or meet other exemption criteria, do not have to pay the tax,” said a release from the Ministry of Finance.
The speculation and vacancy tax was implemented to encourage owners to either rent out their homes or sell them in order to reduce the number of homes sitting empty during a multi-year housing crisis.
If a property isn’t exempt, Canadian citizens or permanent residents will have to pay a tax of .5 per cent of the assessed value of the house.
If homeowners are foreign owners, they must pay a two-per-cent speculation and vacancy tax.
Declarations letters should be delivered to all homes by the end of February. If letters haven’t been received by then, people can contact 1-833-554-2323.
The fastest way to file a declaration is online, following directions in the letter, but people can also declare by telephone.
When a property has more than one owner, each person on title needs to make a separate declaration, even if the other owner is a spouse or relative.
Delta homeowners also recently received assessment notices showing the value of their homes based on the market from last July 1.
According to BC Assessment, the value of the typical single-family home in Delta dropped by two per cent from the previous year, to $1.4 million.
However, condos and townhouses in Delta jumped by two per cent, to a typical value of $747,000.
A typical, single-detached property’s value in Ladner was up by just under one per cent and down 5.8 per cent in Tsawwassen, with the Boundary Bay neighbourhood up by one per cent.
The finance ministry said that more than $81 million has been raised in 2022 by the speculation and vacancy tax for affordable housing projects.
A total of 59 cities and towns throughout B.C. are subject to the tax.
Some of the new communities added this year are, North Cowichan, Lake Cowichan, Duncan, Ladysmith, Lions Bay, and Squamish.
Cities that will be included under the tax for 2025 are, Vernon, Kamloops, Penticton, Salmon Arm, Summerland, Lake Country, Peachland, Courtenay, Comox, Cumberland, Parksville, Qualicum Beach, and Coldstream.
