Property Transfer Tax Calculator

BC property transfer tax is 1% on the first $200,000 of the price, 2% on the portion from $200,000 to $2,000,000, 3% on the portion over $2,000,000, and a further 2% on the residential portion over $3,000,000. On an $800,000 home that is $14,000. On a $1,500,000 home it is $28,000.

It is calculated in slices of the fair market value, which is usually the purchase price. Each slice is taxed at its own rate: 1% up to $200,000, 2% from $200,000 to $2,000,000, 3% above $2,000,000, and 5% on a home's value above $3,000,000. Add the slices together and that is the tax. A $1,000,000 home is $2,000 on the first slice plus $16,000 on the second, $18,000 in total.

Most first-time buyers pay less, not zero. The first-time home buyers' exemption removes the tax on the first $500,000 of value, a saving of up to $8,000, on homes up to $835,000. The saving shrinks to nothing between $835,000 and $860,000. On an $835,000 home, the Province's own example, the tax is $14,700, the exemption is $8,000, and you still pay $6,700.

You qualify if you are a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, have lived in BC for the 12 months before the purchase (or filed two BC income tax returns in the last six years), have never owned a principal residence anywhere in the world, and will live in the home as your principal residence. The home must be priced under $860,000. If only some of the buyers qualify, the exemption is scaled to their share: one of two joint owners on an $835,000 home saves $4,000.

Yes, up to $1,100,000. The newly built home exemption removes the whole tax on a new home worth up to $1,100,000 and a shrinking part of it up to $1,150,000. You must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident and live in it as your principal residence. A $1,125,000 new home has $20,500 of tax, and the partial exemption cuts it to $10,250.

No. You claim one exemption on a purchase, and this calculator applies whichever saves you more. On a new home a first-time buyer usually does better with the newly built exemption, because it covers the whole tax rather than only the first $500,000.

The additional property transfer tax is 20% of the fair market value of a home bought by a foreign buyer in specified areas, including Greater Vancouver. It is charged on top of the regular property transfer tax, and foreign buyers cannot claim the first-time buyer or newly built exemptions.

Property transfer tax is paid when the transfer is registered at the Land Title Office, which is normally your completion day. Your lawyer or notary collects it from you with the rest of your closing funds and pays it on registration. Budget for it as cash, separate from your down payment.

It is based on fair market value on the date of registration. In an ordinary sale between strangers that is the purchase price, not the BC Assessment value. If a home changes hands for less than it is worth, the tax is still on what it is worth.

Besides the down payment and property transfer tax, a buyer pays a lawyer or notary, usually a home inspection, title insurance, sometimes an appraisal if the lender does not cover it, and on a condo the strata move-in fee. Add the foreign buyer tax if it applies. This calculator lets you set each one and totals the cash you need on completion day.

Property transfer tax on a $1,000,000 home in BC is $18,000: 1% on the first $200,000 ($2,000) plus 2% on the next $800,000 ($16,000). A first-time buyer gets no exemption at that price, because it is above $860,000. If the home is newly built and you qualify, the whole $18,000 is exempt.

Yes, and the top rate is 5% on the residential value above $3,000,000: the 3% bracket plus a further 2%. A $3,500,000 home pays $2,000 plus $36,000 plus $30,000 on the slices up to $3,000,000, and $25,000 on the last $500,000, for $93,000 in total.