Residential property owners in designated speculation and vacancy tax (SVT) areas will soon receive their annual declaration letter.

They’re required to complete and submit a declaration by March 31.

Home owners with empty homes are taxed at a rate of:

• two per cent for satellite families and foreign owners; and
• 0.5 per cent for Canadian citizens.

The BC government estimates 99 per cent of British Columbians are exempt from the SVT.

The SVT, also known as the empty homes tax was introduced in 2017. The BC government advises that the goal of the SVT is to help curb real estate speculation and encourage residential property owners to rent or sell their empty homes.

• Anmore

• Belcarra
• Burnaby
• Coquitlam
• Delta
• Lions Bay
• Maple Ridge
• New Westminster
• North Vancouver City
• North Vancouver District
• Pitt Meadows
• Port Coquitlam
• Port Moody
• Richmond
• Squamish
• Vancouver
• West Vancouver
• UBC lands
• University Endowment Lands

To find out if your residential property is in a taxable area, use this interactive map. Here’s a list province-wide of all taxable areas. 

Vancouver home owners collectively paid $19,080,000 in speculation and vacancy tax (SVT) in 2022 – the most province wide, according to data released by the BC Ministry of Finance on December 4, 2023.

West Vancouver homeowners paid the second-highest at $8,754,000, followed by Richmond home owners who collectively paid $8,747,000.

The finance ministry estimates revenue from the tax province-wide, for the 2022 tax year, at $81.9 million – up from $78.4 million in 2021.

Anmore: 15 owners of nine non-exempt properties paid $99,000 in SVT. Of 773 residential properties in Anmore, foreign owners, satellite families, corporations or a combination of owners owned 36 properties.

Here, nine non-exempt BC residents paid $9,000. There is no data for what non-exempt foreign owners paid.

Belcarra: 15 owners of non-exempt properties (no number of properties available), paid $83,000 in tax. Of 298 residential properties in Belcarra, foreign owners, satellite families, corporations or a combination of owners owned five properties. Here, 15 non-exempt BC residents paid $16,000. There is no data for what non-exempt foreign owners paid.

Burnaby: 679 owners of 427 non-exempt paid $4,679,000 in tax. Of 81,914 residential properties in Burnaby, foreign owners, satellite families, corporations or a combination of owners owned 4,846 properties. Here, 152 non-exempt BC residents paid $491,000, while 88 non-exempt foreign owners paid $1,667,000.

Coquitlam: 289 owners of 163 non-exempt properties paid $1,776,000 in SVT. Of 49,231 residential properties in Coquitlam, foreign owners, satellite families, corporations or a combination of owners owned 2,261 properties. Here, 55 non-exempt BC residents paid $251,000 while 35 non-exempt foreign owners paid $558,000+.

Delta: 206 owners of 80 non-exempt properties paid $765,000 in tax. Of 32,765 residential properties in Delta, foreign owners, satellite families, corporations or a combination of owners owned 780 properties. Here, 152 non-exempt BC residents paid $200,000 while nine non-exempt foreign owners paid $94,000.

Maple Ridge: 202 owners of 127 non-exempt properties paid $1,572,000 in tax. Of 30,146 residential properties in Maple Ridge, foreign owners, satellite families, corporations or a combination of owners owned 806 properties. Here, 142 non-exempt BC residents paid $550,000 while 91 non-exempt foreign owners paid $280,000.

New Westminster: 150 owners of 76 non-exempt properties paid $471,000 in tax. Of 24,439 residential properties in New Westminster, foreign owners, satellite families, corporations or a combination of owners owned 1,025 properties. Here, 93 non-exempt BC residents paid $75,000 while 14 non-exempt foreign owners paid $76,000.

North Vancouver City: 183 owners of 101 non-exempt properties paid $788,000 in tax. Of 18,678 residential properties in North Vancouver City, foreign owners, satellite families, corporations or a combination of owners owned a total of 1,021 city properties. Here, 113 non-exempt BC residents paid $159,000 while 22 non-exempt foreign owners paid $277,000.

North Vancouver District: 171 owners of 72 non-exempt properties paid $1,079,000 in tax. Of 28,797 residential properties in North Vancouver District, foreign owners, satellite families, corporations or a combination of owners owned 963 properties. Here, 119 non-exempt BC residents paid $239,000 while 16 non-exempt foreign owners paid $282,000.

Pitt Meadows: 20 owners of seven non-exempt properties paid $142,000 in tax. Of 6,679 residential properties in Pitt Meadows, foreign owners, satellite families, corporations or a combination of owners owned 180 properties. Here, 20 non-exempt BC residents paid $15,000 while non-exempt foreign owners paid $16,000.

Port Coquitlam: 82 owners of 37 non-exempt properties paid $331,000 in tax. Of 20,629 residential properties in Port Coquitlam, foreign owners, satellite families, corporations or a combination of owners owned 873 properties. Here, 41 non-exempt BC residents paid $59,000 while 10 non-exempt foreign owners paid $38,000.

Port Moody: 90 owners of 103 non-exempt properties paid $1,609,000 in tax. Of 12,688 residential properties, foreign owners, satellite families, corporations or a combination of owners owned 533 properties. Here, 46 non-exempt BC residents paid $230,000 while 13 non-exempt foreign owners paid $176,000.

Richmond: 891 owners of 654 non-exempt properties paid $8,747,000 in tax. Of 77,666 residential properties in Richmond, foreign owners, satellite families, corporations or a combination of owners owned 6,484 properties. Here, BC residents paid $1,099,000 while foreign owners paid $2,254,000. Here, 369 non-exempt BC residents paid $1,099,000 while 155 non-exempt foreign owners paid $2,254,000.

Vancouver: 1,615 owners of 873 non-exempt properties paid $19,080,000 in tax. Of 196,780 residential properties in Vancouver, 18,169 foreign owners, satellite families, corporations or a combination of owners owned properties. In Vancouver, 292 non-exempt BC residents paid $1,566,000 in tax, while 189 non-exempt foreign owners paid $7,465,000 in tax.

West Vancouver: 302 owners of 197 non-exempt properties paid $8,754,000 in tax. Of 15,757 residential properties in West Vancouver, 1,378 foreign owners, satellite families, corporations or a combination of owners owned properties. Here, 71 non-exempt BC residents paid $1,400,000 while 43 non-exempt foreign owners paid $3,070,000.

• Government news release on preparing for the SVT.

• Speculation and Vacancy Tax Annual Mayor’s Consultation, Technical Briefing, 2022 Tax year (opens 14-page pdf).
• Speculation and Vacancy Tax (SVT) Summary Tables (opens 78-pages of tables organization by municipality).

If you have questions about the speculation and vacancy tax, contact the Ministry of Finance speculation and vacancy tax line at 1-833-554-2323 (toll-free) or Harriet Permut, director of government relations at hpermut@rebgv.org.