Vacancy Tax Explained

City of Vancouver - Vacancy Tax Office.

other

With regards to your inquiry, the definition of the “principal residence” per the Vacancy Tax Bylaw No. 11674 is as follow:

“principal residence” means the usual place where an individual lives, makes his or her home and conducts his or her daily affairs, including, without limitation, paying bills and receiving mail, and is generally the residential address used on documentation related to billing, identification, taxation and insurance purposes, including, without limitation, income tax returns, Medical Services Plan documentation, driver’s licenses, personal identification, vehicle registration and utility bills and, for the purposes of this by-law, a person may only have one principal residence;

Also, Section 4.7 and 4.8 of the bylaw;

• 4.7 The Collector of Taxes may require a registered owner to provide information at any time and for a period of up to two years after the applicable vacancy reference period ……...
• 4.8 The Collector of Taxes may require a registered owner to submit evidence to verify a property status declaration and the status of the property.

For your reference, you can also find a copy of the Vacancy Tax By-Law No.11674, here: https://bylaws.vancouver.ca/11674c.PDF

Most properties will not be subject to the Empty Homes Tax / Vacancy Tax, including those:

• Used as a principal residence by the owner, his/her family member or friend, or other permitted occupier for at least six months of the current year
• Rented for residential purposes for at least six months of the current year, in periods of 30 or more consecutive days
• Meeting the criteria for one of the exemptions

You can learn more about the Vacancy Tax at the Vancouver.ca/eht or by following this link.

A reminder, pursuant to the Vacancy Tax Bylaw No. 11674 - every owner of class 1 residential property in the City of Vancouver must make a Property Status Declaration every year. The declaration period for 2018 Property Status Declaration is now open. The 2018 Empty Homes Tax property status declaration period will open until February 4, 2019. Failure to declare by February 4, 2019, will result in your property being deemed vacant and subject to a tax of 1% of its assessed taxable value.

During the declaration period, you can make your Property Status Declaration through one of the following options:

• Online - at the City’s website vancouver.ca  - with your folio number and access code you can make your declaration from anywhere, anytime with internet connection
• By calling 3-1-1 within the City of Vancouver or 604-873-7000 (from outside the city) - our staff at the calling centre are available from 7:00am to 10:00pm 7-days a week including holidays
• At the City Hall - during business hours
• At your local Vancouver Public Library - during library’s hours, please have your folio number and access code available