[updated August 23, 2016]
The BC government has announced an additional property transfer tax on residential property transfers to foreign entities in the Greater Vancouver Regional District. The additional tax applies on all applicable transfers registered with the Land Title Office on or after August 2, 2016, regardless of when the contract of purchase and sale was entered into. For transactions involving Canadian citizens and permanent residents, their social insurance number must be collected and their identity verified against official government issued identification. The additional tax also has some unique features. For instance, it applies to transfers to a surviving joint tenant and various other transfers that may normally be exempt from property transfer tax. Lawyers will want to familiarize themselves with these and other features of the new tax, including issues relating to tax liability and anti-avoidance provisions, in order to properly advise clients. For details, read the Ministry of Finance’s tax information sheet and the legislation. Note that as changes may be made to the tax information sheet, you will want to subscribe to the government’s What's New page to receive email updates.
The updated Property Transfer Tax form (version 27) is available for download through the Land Title and Survey Authority’s website.
For further information, see the following contact information:
- Online: gov.bc.ca/propertytransfertax
- Toll free in Canada: 1.888.355.2700
- Email: pttenq@gov.bc.ca
- Subscribe to the government’s What's New page to receive email updates when information changes.