B.C.’s Newest Tax On $3 Million Dollar Home Owners

There have been a lot of changes within the Vancouver real estate market over the past year. Most notably, last year’s introduction of the Empty Homes Tax and the newest change, is B.C.’s tax increase on homes worth over $3 million. This new tax came into place in February, and has been the topic of numerous conversions here in our real estate law and notary office.

What Is This New Tax?

The Property Transfer Tax has been raised from 3% to 5% on any home worth over $3 million. In addition to this, a 0.2% school tax has been introduced on properties of the same value. For properties over $4 million in value, the school tax will be 0.4%.

If those owners aren’t earning income within B.C., they will also face a new speculation tax as of fall 2018.

The Reason Behind The New Tax

The tax increases are to raise money so that the New Democrat government can implement their plans to build 114,000 new affordable homes over the next decade.

Vancouver is known for having a very competitive real estate market, with prices increasing rapidly. New affordable homes will be very well received in the area.

How Is It Affecting People?

While taxing those with more assets can be seen as a fair way to raise money to help B.C. residents who are less able to buy property, the tax is also getting called unfair by many.

People who have owned their homes for decades and have seen the value of it drastically increase, will also face the tax. It may not necessarily mean that they have the income to support such a tax increase, potentially forcing people to sell their lifelong homes.

To find out more about the new taxes, schedule an appointment to meet with our real estate notary public and lawyer in his downtown Vancouver office.

Or, if you are already in the process of selling your home, our experienced Vancouver real estate notary and lawyer can help make sure the sale of your property goes smoothly.