Is the BC Speculation and Vacancy Tax mandatory?

Direct answer

Yes — every owner of residential property in a designated SVT area must file an annual declaration, even if they owe nothing. The Speculation and Vacancy Tax applies in designated areas of Metro Vancouver, the Capital Regional District, Kelowna, Nanaimo, Lantzville, Abbotsford, Mission, Chilliwack, and several other municipalities; the BC government publishes the full list. Declarations are due March 31 of the year following the tax year (e.g., 2026 tax-year declaration due March 31, 2027). For 2019–2025 tax years rates were 0.5% of assessed value for Canadian citizens/permanent residents and 2.0% for foreign owners + satellite families. BC budget materials announced a doubling to 1.0% / 3.0% for the 2026 tax year — confirm the operative rate against the live BC government SVT page before relying on the doubled rates for closing-cost projections. Most BC residents owe nothing because they live in their property as a principal residence, but failing to declare results in default tax assessment as if the property were vacant. The tax is separate from the federal Underused Housing Tax (UHT), which can stack on the same property.