BC Home Owner Grant

The BC Home Owner Grant reduces the property tax payable by an owner who occupies their property as a principal residence on December 31 of the assessment year. Two grant amounts apply: $570 (basic — most of BC) and $770 (northern and rural — outside Metro Vancouver, Fraser Valley, and Capital Regional Districts). Up to $275 additional applies to seniors 65+, persons with disabilities, and certain veterans / surviving spouses. The grant phases out by $5 for every $1,000 of assessed value above an annually-set threshold (the 2025 threshold was $2,175,000; verify the current year's threshold against gov.bc.ca/homeownergrant).

The trap most BC owners fall into: forgetting to claim the grant. The grant is NOT automatic — you must claim it annually, typically online via the Province's home-owner-grant portal, before your property tax due date (July 2 in most BC municipalities). Forget to claim and you pay full tax. New buyers sometimes assume the seller's grant claim carries over; it does not — the grant attaches to the OWNER on December 31, not the property. If you bought on December 30, you must claim; if you bought on January 2, the seller's claim covered that calendar year and you claim the next year. The grant is also reflected in the Statement of Adjustments at closing — see /glossary/adjustment-date — but only insofar as the parties have actually claimed it.