BC Property Transfer Tax

The four rates

Each rate applies only to the slice of price inside its band. The tax is on fair market value, which for an open-market sale is the price.

• 1% on the first $200,000.
• 2% on the part from $200,000 to $2,000,000.
• 3% on the part from $2,000,000 to $3,000,000.
• 5% on the residential part above $3,000,000. That is the 3% rate plus a further 2%.

The full Property Transfer Tax calculator adds the exemptions and the foreign buyer tax. For the whole closing-day bill, see BC closing costs.

Worked at four prices

These are example prices, not sales. Tax is the general tax with no exemption.

Above $2,000,000 each extra $100,000 of price adds $3,000 of tax, and above $3,000,000 it adds $5,000.

First time home buyers’ program

The program removes the tax on the first $500,000 of price, and it ends at $860,000. A home at or under $500,000 pays none. From $500,000 to $835,000 the exemption is $8,000. It then phases out to nothing at $860,000. On a $700,000 home the tax drops from $12,000 to $4,000.

At the time the transfer is registered you must:

• Be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident.
• Have lived in BC for the last year, or have filed two BC income tax returns in the last six years.
• Never have owned a principal residence anywhere in the world, or received this exemption before.

The home must be your principal residence, on 0.5 hectares or less, with only residential improvements. You must move in within 92 days and live there to the first anniversary. If one co-buyer does not qualify, only the qualifying share gets the exemption. Model it with the first-time buyer calculator.

Newly built home exemption

The exemption is full up to $1,100,000 and ends at $1,150,000. The home must never have been occupied, and this must be its first registration with a finished building. You must be a citizen or permanent resident and live there as your principal residence, on 0.5 hectares or less.

You cannot claim this and the first-time program on the same purchase. Section 12.10 of the Act bars it. Run the newly built calculator to see the saving. GST is separate: see the GST rebate guide.

Selling a presale before completion? The assignment brings its own tax: see selling a presale assignment.

Extra tax for foreign buyers

A foreign national, foreign corporation or taxable trustee pays 20% more on the residential value in five regional districts. They are Metro Vancouver, Capital, Fraser Valley, Nanaimo and Central Okanagan. It applies to the share of title you take.

A foreign national taking a 50% share of a $1,000,000 home pays 20% of $500,000, which is $100,000. The general tax of $18,000 is on top. Foreign entities cannot use the first-time or newly built exemptions. Model it with the foreign buyer calculator.

The federal ban on foreign buyers is a separate law, set to end January 1, 2027, unless extended. The federal budget of November 5, 2026 proposes extending it to January 1, 2029 for existing homes, with new homes exempt; that is not law yet. See the federal ban guide.