As a residential property owner in B.C., you may qualify for a Home Owner Grant.
Available to homeowners who pay property taxes to a municipality (or to the province if they live in a rural area), this grant helps to reduce the amount of property tax you pay for your principal residence.
For the purposes of this grant, you can have only one principal residence, which is considered the place you occupy, or essentially where you ‘make your home’. It’s where you carry out day-to-day life, and the location which the Government records you as living for things like income tax, your driver’s license, and so on.
If eligible, you may qualify for a regular (‘basic’) grant, however if you are a senior, veteran, person with a disability (or living with a spouse or relative with a disability) or a spouse or relative of a deceased owner, you may qualify for an additional grant.
When to Apply
You can apply for the grant at any time during the tax year, but we recommend waiting until after you receive your tax notice in the mail, and before your property tax is due. Only one grant can be claimed for a property each year (and you must apply to receive it), and only one qualifying owner can claim.
When you apply, you must be occupying your principal residence at the time, however if you meet certain requirements, you may still be able to apply if you:
- Work outside the province;
- Are absent at the time for medical, travel, or education reasons, or are undergoing home renovations;
- Moved into a residential care facility; or
- Moved out because it was damaged
The Regular Grant
For properties in the Capital Regional District, the Metro Vancouver Regional District, and the Fraser Valley Regional District, the regular grant amount is $570. For all other areas within the province, the grant amount is $770.
The full grant amount may be received if your property is assessed below the current threshold, and you meet certain requirements.
The Grant Threshold
This is the maximum value of an assessed (or partitioned) property where homeowners are eligible to claim the full Home Owner Grant.
For 2023, the threshold is $2,125,000.
If you meet all the requirements, but your property has an assessed (or partitioned) value of more than this amount, you may still qualify for a grant but at a reduced amount.
Partitioned Value
If you previously couldn’t (or could only claim a reduced grant amount) because of the high assessed value of your property, and your property consists of your principal residence and at least one separate residence, partitioning your property value may enable you to claim the Home Owner Grant.
You will need to fill out a separate Home Owner Grant Partitioning Application, and to qualify, each residence must have cooking, sleeping, bathroom and living room facilities.
Do You Qualify?
To qualify for the grant, you must:
- Be the registered owner of the residence (or a spouse or relative of the deceased owner);
- Be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada;
- Live in B.C.; and
- Occupy the residence as your principal residence
And the assessed (or partitioned) value of your property must not exceed the stated grant threshold.
How to Apply:
Online is the fastest and easiest way and it allows you to check the status of your application using your application confirmation number.
When applying online make sure you have the jurisdiction and roll number for the property you are applying for. Not sure where to find these? Check one of the following:
- Your Property Tax Notice
- At the top of your B.C. Assessment Notice (should have been sent out in January) or click online here
Once you’re ready to apply, all you need to do is click here to get started.
Note: You may also be able to apply for a retroactive grant if you qualified last year but didn’t apply. Click here to find out more.
Our family of Stilhavn REALTORS® are only a phone call away and will be more than happy to talk you through your personal Home Owner Grant application and answer any questions you may have. Reach out to us today!