Foreign Buyers 15% Property Transfer Tax (PTT)

Foreign Buyers 15% Property Transfer Tax (PTT)

This additional PTT applies to residential property buyers in Metro Vancouver communities including Anmore, Belcarra, Bowen Island, Burnaby, Coquitlam, Delta, Langley City and Township, Lion’s Bay, Maple Ridge, New Westminster, North Vancouver City and District, Pitt Meadows, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody, Richmond, Surrey, Vancouver, West Vancouver, White Rock, and Electoral Area A. Exemptions include residential property on the Tsawwassen First Nation and non-residential property.

Residential property includes detached units, duplexes, multi-family units, apartment buildings, condominiums, mixed-use (residential portion only), manufactured homes, nursing homes, rest homes, bare, undeveloped land and farms.

This tax is charged when foreign entities, including foreign nationals or foreign-controlled corporations, register their title. The new PTT applies even if the contract of purchase and sale was signed before August 2, 2016.

The new 15% PTT is in addition to the current PTT which is charged at a rate of:

1 per cent on the first $200,000;
2 per cent on the portion between $200,000 and $2,000,000; and
3 per cent on any amount over $2,000,000.
Example

$1.5 million home

A foreign buyer of a $1.5 million home will pay

1% on the first $200,000 = $2,000

2% on the portion between $200,000 and $2,000,000 = $26,000

15% foreign buyer PTT = $225,000

Total PTT: $253,000

Revenue from the new tax will help fund a new Housing Priority Initiatives Fund for provincial housing and rental programs. The government will announce the details of this fund in September.

Learn more from this Ministry of Finance Tax Information Sheet.

This article is courtesy of rebgv.ca