British Columbia
Three taxes touch a home in British Columbia, at three different moments, and they get confused with each other constantly. One is charged when you buy, one while the home sits empty, and one only sometimes when you sell. Ask Relta to work through the tax that applies to your situation.
Transfer tax, first $200K
1%
Empty home, resident
1%
Empty home, foreign
3%
Rates verified
2026-07-22
Charged once, on completion, on a rising scale: 1% of the first $200,000, 2% to $2,000,000, 3% above that, and a further 2% on residential value over $3,000,000. A qualifying first-time buyer pays none of it on the first $500,000 of value.
| Purchase price | Transfer tax |
|---|---|
| $500,000 | $8,000 |
| $1,000,000 | $18,000 |
| $2,000,000 | $38,000 |
Type a purchase price to see the transfer tax on it.
Property transfer tax
$18,000
Charged every year on assessed value, but only in designated areas and only where the home sits empty. Living in it, renting it out for enough of the year, or qualifying for one of the exemptions removes it entirely. The rates rose for 2026 and are legislated to rise again for 2027, so both are below. A declaration is required from every owner in a designated area each year, including owners who owe nothing, and missing it is charged at the maximum rate.
| Assessed value | Citizen or PR, 1% | Foreign owner, 3% |
|---|---|---|
| $800,000 | $8,000 | $24,000 |
| $1,200,000 | $12,000 | $36,000 |
| $2,000,000 | $20,000 | $60,000 |
British Columbia residents can claim a non-refundable credit of up to $4,000 against this tax, which cancels it entirely below that threshold. The credit does not reach foreign owners or untaxed worldwide earners, which is the point of the tax rather than an oversight. For 2027 the foreign rate becomes 4%.
There is no calculator here on purpose. The exemption usually removes the gain entirely, and where it does not, the answer turns on your cost base, how the property was used, and your marginal rate, none of which this page knows. A number would be confidently wrong for most readers. Here is the shape of the question instead.
A home that was your principal residence for every year you owned it is generally exempt from capital gains tax when you sell. That is why most people selling the home they live in owe nothing, and why this only gets complicated when the property was something else for part of the time.
A basement suite you rented out, years spent as a rental before you moved in, a cabin you also claimed, or a stretch living abroad all reduce the share of years that qualify. The exemption is prorated across the years it applies to rather than lost outright.
Where a gain is taxable, a portion of it is included in your income and taxed at your marginal rate, rather than the whole gain being taxed. The inclusion rate is federal and has changed more than once, so confirm the rate for the year you actually sell.
Legal fees, the transfer tax you paid on the way in, commission on the way out, and capital improvements all raise your adjusted cost base and lower the gain. Ordinary repairs do not. Keep the receipts: reconstructing twenty years of renovations after the fact is the expensive way to do this.
Even a fully exempt sale of a principal residence has to be reported on your return for that year. Not reporting it is what turns a non-event into a penalty.
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Provincial rates verified against gov.bc.ca on 2026-07-22. Capital gains is federal and depends on facts this page does not have. General information only, not tax or legal advice: confirm your own position with an accountant or your conveyancer before acting on any of it.