Buying a new home in BC brings two taxes that don’t touch resale purchases: a 5% federal GST on the price and a provincial property transfer tax on the home’s fair market value. Rebates and exemptions can offset most of both, and first-time buyers can wipe out the GST entirely on qualifying homes valued up to $1 million. What you actually owe under the new home tax in BC depends on the price, whether you qualify as a first-time buyer, and whether you’ll live in the property as your principal residence.
The 5% GST on New Construction
Ottawa charges 5% GST on every newly built home in British Columbia under the Excise Tax Act. That covers pre-construction condos, custom builds on land you own, and properties that have gone through a substantial renovation. Resale homes are generally exempt, which is why the GST line item catches so many first-time buyers off guard on a new build.
A home counts as substantially renovated when the CRA finds that 90% or more of the existing interior has been removed or replaced, excluding the foundation, exterior walls, load-bearing interior walls, floors, roof, and staircases.1Canada.ca. Substantial Renovations and the GST/HST New Housing Rebate If you’re buying a gut-renovated place, expect the same GST treatment as a brand-new build.
Getting Some of the GST Back
Most buyers don’t absorb the full 5%. The standard GST New Housing Rebate returns 36% of the GST paid, capped at $6,300, and only when the home’s fair market value is below $450,000.2Canada.ca. GST/HST New Housing Rebate On a $350,000 home, that’s $6,300 back on $17,500 paid, dropping the effective rate to about 3.2%. The rebate begins shrinking above $350,000 and disappears at $450,000. In much of Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley, new construction sits well above that ceiling, so the standard rebate mostly helps buyers in smaller communities.
Builders often assign the rebate to themselves and credit it against your price at closing, meaning you pay a lower net amount rather than waiting on the CRA. Your purchase agreement should say who is handling the assignment and whether you need to apply on your own.
The First-Time Buyer GST Rebate
A newer federal program does far more heavy lifting. The First-Time Home Buyers’ GST/HST Rebate eliminates GST entirely on qualifying new homes valued up to $1 million.3Canada.ca. First-Time Home Buyers (FTHB) GST/HST Rebate That’s up to $50,000 saved on a million-dollar property. Between $1 million and $1.5 million, the rebate phases out gradually. Above $1.5 million, first-time buyers get no enhanced relief and fall back on the standard rules.
The rebate stacks on top of the standard new housing rebate, so both can apply to the same purchase. On a $900,000 qualifying home, a first-time buyer effectively pays zero GST rather than $45,000. You apply through the CRA on Form GST190, and the deadline is firm: file within two years of the date ownership or possession transfers to you.4Canada.ca. Applying for the Rebate – Home Purchased From a Builder Miss the deadline and the money is gone regardless of whether you would have qualified.
Property Transfer Tax Rates
Every real estate purchase in BC also triggers property transfer tax on fair market value, using a tiered structure:5Province of British Columbia. Property Transfer Tax
- 1% on the first $200,000
- 2% on the portion from $200,001 to $2,000,000
- 3% on the portion from $2,000,001 to $3,000,000
- A further 2% on any residential value above $3,000,000
On a $1.2 million new home, that comes to $22,000: $2,000 on the first tier plus $20,000 on the second. On a $3.5 million property, the general transfer tax reaches $58,000, plus another $10,000 for the residential portion above $3 million, for $68,000 total. Payment is due at registration; your lawyer or notary collects and remits it when they file the title transfer electronically through the Land Title and Survey Authority.
Newly Built Home Exemption
The Newly Built Home Exemption can wipe out the property transfer tax on a qualifying new home. You get the full exemption when the fair market value is $1,100,000 or less, saving up to $20,000.6Province of British Columbia. Newly Built Home Exemption A partial exemption phases out over the next $50,000 and ends at $1,150,000.
To qualify, you must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, and the property must:
- Serve as your principal residence
- Be located in British Columbia
- Sit on a lot of 0.5 hectares (1.24 acres) or smaller
You must move in within 92 days of registration at the Land Title Office and continue living there as your principal residence for the rest of the first year. A secondary building or rental suite may limit you to a partial exemption. The claim is made at closing when your lawyer or notary enters exemption code 49 on the Property Transfer Tax Return.7Province of British Columbia. Property Transfer Tax Exemption Codes Miss the occupancy requirement and BC will claw back the full amount plus interest.
First-Time Home Buyers’ PTT Exemption
If you’ve never owned a principal residence anywhere in the world, a separate exemption applies to both new and resale homes. A qualifying first-time buyer pays no property transfer tax on the first $500,000 of the price when fair market value is $835,000 or less.8Province of British Columbia. First Time Home Buyers Program A partial exemption runs from $835,000 to $860,000, then disappears.
You need Canadian citizenship or permanent residency, plus either one year of BC residency before registration or two BC income tax filings in the previous six years. The same 92-day move-in rule and one-year occupancy requirement apply. A false declaration that you’ve never owned before triggers a penalty equal to the exemption amount on top of the tax owed, effectively doubling what you pay.
You generally can’t combine the Newly Built Home Exemption with the first-time buyer PTT exemption on the same purchase. For new construction above $835,000, the Newly Built Home Exemption reaches farther up the price scale and is usually the better choice. Below $835,000, compare the two and claim whichever saves more.
Foreign Buyers
Foreign nationals, foreign-controlled corporations, and taxable trustees face an additional 20% property transfer tax on residential property in five designated regions: Metro Vancouver, Fraser Valley, Capital, Central Okanagan, and Nanaimo Regional Districts.9Province of British Columbia. Additional Property Transfer Tax for Foreign Entities and Taxable Trustees On a $1 million home in one of those areas, that’s $200,000 above the standard transfer tax. Tsawwassen First Nation treaty lands are excluded.
Separately, the federal government currently prohibits most non-Canadians from buying residential property in Canada, and that ban has been extended to January 1, 2027.10Canada.ca. Government Announces Two-Year Extension to Ban on Foreign Ownership of Canadian Housing Narrow exceptions exist for development purchases and certain visa holders, but as a rule, foreign buyers cannot close residential transactions during the ban.
Filing, Deadlines, and Audit Risk
Your lawyer or notary files the Property Transfer Tax Return electronically through the Land Title and Survey Authority at closing. Payment and any exemption claim go through the same filing; there’s no separate provincial application. For the federal GST rebate, you’ll need the builder’s GST registration number, the exact pre-tax and post-tax price, and the property’s legal description including the Parcel Identifier. If the builder isn’t assigning the rebate, you submit Form GST190 to the CRA yourself within two years of taking ownership or possession.4Canada.ca. Applying for the Rebate – Home Purchased From a Builder Keep the contract, GST calculations, closing statement, and receipts for at least six years; the CRA can request records during that window.11Canada.ca. GST/HST Records to Keep
The province takes exemption enforcement seriously. Filing a return or exemption claim with incorrect or misleading information to avoid tax carries a penalty equal to the tax you should have paid, doubling the bill.12Government of British Columbia. File and Pay Property Transfer Tax The most common audit trigger on new-home exemptions is the occupancy requirement. The province checks whether you actually moved in within 92 days and stayed the full year. Renting the place out, listing it on short-term rental platforms, or not establishing it as your real address can each reverse the exemption with interest running from the original registration date.
Annual Filings After Closing
The taxes above are the ones triggered by the purchase itself. Once you own the home, a few recurring filings apply, and each has its own deadline even when you owe nothing.
BC’s Speculation and Vacancy Tax requires owners in designated areas to file an annual declaration by March 31, even for a principal residence.13Province of British Columbia. Speculation and Vacancy Tax For 2026, rates are 1% of assessed value for Canadian citizens and permanent residents (who aren’t earning untaxed worldwide income) and 3% for foreign owners.14Government of B.C. Tax Rates for the Speculation and Vacancy Tax The principal-residence exemption has to be claimed each year.
In the City of Vancouver, a separate Empty Homes Tax applies on top of the provincial one. Properties declared or deemed empty for the 2025 reference year are taxed at 3% of assessed value, and failing to file the annual declaration means the city treats the home as vacant automatically.15City of Vancouver. Empty Homes Tax
On the relief side, the Home Owner Grant reduces the annual property tax bill on a principal residence. For 2026, the grant begins phasing out above an assessed value of $2,075,000, shrinking by $5 for every $1,000 over that threshold.16City of Vancouver. Are You Eligible for a Home Owner Grant You have to apply each year; it isn’t automatic.