Buying a home in BC
Property transfer tax on a $1,400,000 BC home is $26,000, and it is due in cash on completion day unless an exemption applies. The guides below follow the order a buyer meets them: what it costs, how an offer works, and what happens once it is accepted.
What it costs
The price is the start. These cover the bills that land on completion day.
- Closing costs in BCProperty transfer tax at four prices, and what else is due at completion.
- Property transfer taxThe brackets, who pays, when it is due, and the first-time-buyer exemption.
- Closing-day cash calculatorThe one number you wire to the notary on completion day.
- Default insuranceThe $1.5M cap, who qualifies for thirty-year amortization, and how the premium is priced.
- GST on a new homeThe first-time buyer rebate and the older one.
- The foreign buyer banWho counts as non-Canadian, and how the federal ban and BC’s 20% tax stack.
Making an offer
What to check before subjects come off, and what a subject-free offer gives up.
- Subject-free offersWhat going subject-free gives up, and the 3-business-day rescission period.
- Buyer due diligenceTwelve things to check before you remove subjects, in the order they come up.
- Rescission period calculatorYour rescission deadline, counted from the acceptance date.
- The mortgage stress testThe qualifying rate lenders test you at, defined.
After the offer is accepted
From accepted offer to keys, and the risks specific to a condo, a new build or a renovated home.
- The closing timelineThirty to ninety days from accepted offer to keys, and why completion and possession differ.
- Strata insurance deductiblesWhat the Form B shows and what to read first before you buy a condo.
- New-home warrantyThe 2-5-10 headline, the shorter windows inside it, and the homes it does not cover.
- Builders liensA contractor’s 45 days to file, and what it means if you buy a renovated home or a new build.
Sources(2)
Also drawn from: Government of British Columbia.
- Property Transfer TaxBC Government, retrieved Nov 4, 2026
- Property Transfer Tax Act, RSBC 1996, c. 378BC Government, retrieved Nov 4, 2026
- bc.ptt.brackets, v2, in the Codex
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Last reviewed by Bronson Job PREC, REALTOR®. Licence CC BY 4.0. How we verify.
I’m Bronson Job, a REALTOR® (PREC) with Momentum Realty Inc., so I earn a commission when I help someone buy or sell. This is general information, not advice on your situation, and I take no payment from any third party named here. How I verify.