Property Transfer Tax

For most out of province buyers, finding out about Property Transfer Tax often comes as an unpleasant shock. Property Transfer Tax is charged on every transfer of freehold title in the Province of British Columbia as is calculated as 1% of the first $200k and 2% of the remainder of the Purchase Price

This means a $300,000 home buyer will pay $4,000.00 in Property Transfer Tax on closing. Similarly, a $600,000 home buyer will pay $10,000.00 in Property Transfer Tax on closing. This tax hit is made even more difficult as banks will not finance this payment.

The tax can be avoided if you qualify for a limited set of exemptions, the two most common are:
a) the first time home buyer exemption; and,
b) the related induvidual exemption.
I will discuss this exemptions in more detail in later posts.