What is different in BC

This table sets out the BC rule only. Compare it with what you know from where you live now.

Property transfer tax

BC charges property transfer tax when a property is registered at the Land Title Office. You or your lawyer or notary file the return and pay it when the transfer is registered, so it has to be in your budget on top of the down payment. It is worked out on the fair market value, which is normally the price you pay.

For the first-time buyer at $750,000, the exemption removes the tax on the first $500,000: 1% of $200,000 plus 2% of $300,000, which is $8,000. That leaves $13,000 − $8,000 = $5,000.

These figures assume the whole property is residential and that no other exemption applies. Foreign nationals, meaning people who are not Canadian citizens or permanent residents, and some foreign corporations and taxable trustees, pay an additional 20% property transfer tax on residential property in Metro Vancouver.

The first-time buyer exemption depends on time in BC

A first-time buyer who qualifies pays no property transfer tax on the first $500,000 of the price when the home is worth $835,000 or less, with a partial exemption between $835,000 and $860,000. To qualify you must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, have never owned a principal residence anywhere in the world, and have never had this exemption before. The home must be 0.5 hectares or smaller and used only as your principal residence.

The residency condition is the one that catches people moving from another province. The Province requires one of these:

• You lived in BC for at least a year immediately before the date you register the property, or
• You filed at least 2 income tax returns as a BC resident in the last 6 taxation years immediately before the registration date.

If you arrive in BC and buy within the first year, and you have not filed BC returns before, you may not meet either test on your completion date. You also need to move in within 92 days of registration and live there as your principal residence until the first anniversary to keep the full exemption.

Speculation and vacancy tax

The City of North Vancouver, the District of North Vancouver and the District of West Vancouver are all taxable areas. In most cases every owner of residential property in a taxable area must complete a declaration each year, and each co-owner declares separately, even a spouse. The declaration is due by 31 March and covers how the home was used in the previous year. Any tax owed is due by the first business day in July.

Rates are a percentage of the property’s assessed value. The rate does not change because you live in another province. What changes is which exemptions and credits you can claim.

Three business days to cancel an accepted offer

In BC, a buyer of residential property can cancel within three business days after the offer is accepted. Weekends and holidays are not counted. To do it, you notify the seller in writing before the period ends and pay a fee of 0.25% of the offer price. The right cannot be waived by the buyer or the seller. It does not apply to:

• Residential property on leased land
• A leasehold interest in residential property
• Residential property sold at auction
• Residential property sold under a court order or the supervision of a court

This is a statutory right with strict timing. Speak to your lawyer or notary before you use it.

The home owner grant needs a BC principal residence

The home owner grant reduces the property tax you pay each year. For 2026 the regular grant is $570, with the full grant for homes assessed at $2,075,000 or less and a reduced grant up to $2,189,000. To claim it you must be the registered owner, a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, live in BC, and occupy the home as your principal residence. You apply every year; it is not automatic.

Above $2,075,000 the grant is reduced by $5 for each $1,000 of assessed value. A home assessed at $2,125,000 is $50,000 over the threshold, so the grant is reduced by 50 × $5 = $250, to $320. At $2,189,000 it reaches $0.

Other things the Province and ICBC set dates for

Your first 90 days after moving, and the first declaration

• As soon as you arrive: apply for MSP. Your wait is the rest of that month plus two more months, so keep your former province’s plan until BC coverage starts.
• Within 30 days: register, license and insure your vehicle with ICBC. Commercial vehicles must be done immediately.
• Within 90 days: switch to a BC driver’s licence. Bring accepted ID, your current licence, proof of driving experience and the fee. You surrender your old licence.
• Your first property tax bill: apply for the home owner grant if the home is your principal residence.
• Mid-January to mid-February: look for your speculation and vacancy tax declaration letter. Each owner declares by 31 March for how the home was used the year before.

Your residency on 31 December matters for the speculation and vacancy tax: the BC resident credit needs you to be a BC resident for income tax purposes on that date.

Checklist before you write an offer

• Count your time in BC and your BC tax returns against the first-time buyer test, using your likely completion date.
• Budget for property transfer tax on completion, in cash, on top of the down payment.
• Plan when you will become a BC resident for income tax purposes, and ask the Province how that affects speculation and vacancy tax in the year you buy and the year after.
• Put 31 March in your calendar for the yearly declaration, one for each owner.
• Know that you have three business days to cancel after acceptance, and what the 0.25% fee would be on your price.
• After you move in, apply for the home owner grant each year with your property tax.