BC Speculation and Vacancy Tax
Also known as: SVT · BC SVT · Speculation Tax
An annual BC tax on residential property held in specified urban areas not used as a principal residence or rented at least 6 months — rates double for the 2026 tax year to 1% (Cdn citizens / PRs) and 3% (foreign owners + satellite families).
The BC Speculation and Vacancy Tax (SVT) applies to residential properties in specified urban areas that are not used as a principal residence and not rented for at least 6 months in a calendar year. Every residential property owner in a specified area must file an annual declaration by March 31 of the following year, even if they qualify for an exemption — failure to declare results in the maximum tax being assessed.
For the 2026 tax year (declarations due March 31, 2027), the SVT rate doubles: 1.0% for Canadian citizens and permanent residents, 3.0% for foreign owners and "satellite families" (households where the majority of worldwide income is reported outside Canada). Specified areas include Metro Vancouver, the Capital Regional District, and several other urban centres — the boundary list is updated periodically by regulation.
Related terms
- Property Transfer Tax — A provincial tax payable to the Province of British Columbia on the registered fair market value of any residential property title transfer, calculated using marginal-rate brackets.
See also
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@misc{bronsonjob-bc_svt_rates_2026,
author = {Job, Bronson},
title = {{BC Speculation and Vacancy Tax rates (2026 tax year)}},
howpublished = {BC Real Estate Codex},
year = {2026},
url = {https://www.bronsonjob.com/codex#bc.svt.rates_2026},
urldate = {2026-05-08},
note = {Fact ID: bc.svt.rates_2026, version 2.}
}Job, B. (2026). BC Speculation and Vacancy Tax rates (2026 tax year). *BC Real Estate Codex*. Retrieved 2026-05-08, from https://www.bronsonjob.com/codex#bc.svt.rates_2026
BC Speculation and Vacancy Tax rates (2026 tax year) — Bronson Job, BC Real Estate Codex (2026-05-08). https://www.bronsonjob.com/codex#bc.svt.rates_2026
Fact id: bc.svt.rates_2026 · v2 · machine-readable: /api/v1/facts/by-id/bc.svt.rates_2026.json
Verified sources (1)Click to expand
Every claim on this page is sourced to a primary government, regulator, or industry-association URL. We re-verify quarterly; the verification dates below show when each source was last confirmed against the live government page.
- BC Governmentretrieved 2026-05-08Speculation and Vacancy Taxhttps://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/taxes/speculation-vacancy-tax
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