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In October 2018, the Finance Minister Carole James introduced the BC Speculation Tax despite the protests of mayors and development communities.

The tax ranges from 0.5% on secondary homes which are left vacant by BC residents, up to 2% on foreign-owned properties. 

The Government have recently advised that ALL homeowners are going to be required to file for an exemption and if you miss the March 31 deadline, you will be required to pay the tax.

You should be receiving a letter from the BC Government in the next week or so regarding the new Speculation Tax.  Ensure you respond to this letter in order not to be charged.

The Government has supplied maps for areas in BC which are taxable and exempt:

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/taxes/property-taxes/speculation-and-vacancy-tax/taxable-regions

If you have any questions about investment properties, speculation tax or real estate, please don’t hesitate to contact me and I’d be happy to help!

By now, you will have received your BC Assessment in the mail.  You’ll notice that there is likely a modest increase as compared to last year which was typically a lot higher for most homes.

BC Assessment is the determination of a property’s market value, classification and applicable exemptions and is the basis used for determining the share of municipal and provincial property tax owners will pay each year.

When establishing market value, BC Assessment appraisers consider each property’s unique characteristics, lot size, layout, shape, age, garages/carports and more.  Comparisons of recent sales are also used.

So why is the assessed value often so different from market value?  BC Assessments reflect the value as of July 1 of the previous year, while a market value is done in real-time.  We all know that market values can change drastically from month to month with things like interest rates, economies, mortgage and government rules changing things.  An increase in inventory will often lower prices, whereas a shortage of homes will increase value. 

If you feel like your BC Assessment is not correct, there is an option to appeal it.  I have personally done this in the past and been successful.  I’d be happy to discuss it with you if you require some additional information to support your dispute.  The deadline for appeals is January 31.  For more information, here is a link for appealing your Assessment:  https://info.bcassessment.ca/Services-products/appeals

*Some information is taken from www.bcassessment.ca