Can I defer my property taxes in BC, and what does it cost?

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Accepted Answer

Yes, if you're 55 or older, a surviving spouse, a person with disabilities or supporting a child: the Province pays this year's tax on your home as a loan, with interest, secured on the title and repaid when you sell. Once you're approved, it pays this year's property tax on your principal residence after the due date and registers a lien on the title; the loan, with interest and fees, is repaid when the home is sold or the title changes, or earlier if you choose. Look up the address or PID on PlaceDossier to see the record for that lot. Who qualifies: The regular program takes owners 55 or older during the year, a surviving spouse of any age, or a person designated with disabilities; the families with children program takes a parent, stepparent or other person financially supporting a child under 18, or a child of any age in school or with a disability. Each owner must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, a registered owner, have lived in BC for a year, and have paid every earlier year's tax, utility fees, penalties and interest (the Province's eligibility page). Which home: Only your principal residence, taxed as residential (class 1) or residential and farm (1 and 9); a cottage, summer home or rental doesn't qualify, nor tax on other classes, which is paid to the tax office as usual. Leased land (from a First Nation, a municipality or the Crown), a title held by a corporation, wholly in trust or by an estate's executor, a float home without a title and a manufactured home without fire insurance on land you don't own are left out (the Province's eligibility page). Enough equity: Registered charges on the title, a line of credit at its limit, plus the tax to defer, may be at most 75% of the BC Assessment value under the regular program and 85% under the families program, so 25% or 15% equity, kept every year you defer. Without fire insurance only the land's value counts (the Province's equity page). Interest and fees: Tax deferred for 2026 and later years is charged prime plus 2% under both programs, compounded monthly; tax deferred up to 2025 keeps simple interest at prime minus 2% (regular) or prime (families). The regular program charges a $60 fee to apply and $10 each year you renew, added to the loan (the Province's interest and fees page, July 2, 2026). Applying: Apply or renew on eTaxBC between May 1 and December 31, best before the tax due date to avoid the council's late penalty; every registered owner must agree within 28 days, and claim the home owner grant first. A renewal can be set to happen each year (the Province's apply and before-you-apply pages). The lien on title: The deferment agreement is registered on the title and, with the deferred tax and interest, is a lien ranking ahead of every charge registered after it (Land Tax Deferment Act s. 11 (1)); no transfer of the property can be registered without the Province's consent. The loan must be paid in full to sell, add someone to the title other than a spouse, refinance or subdivide (the Province's repaying page). When it ends: The agreement ends when the property is sold or disposed of, when the owner asks, or if tax falls 6 months into arrears, and the deferred tax and interest are then due at once (Land Tax Deferment Act ss. 4 (1), 8 (1)). What it means for a buyer: A home with a deferment on title is bought like one with a mortgage: the seller's lawyer pays the loan out of the sale money from a payout letter, and the Province then releases the lien, which can take weeks. A buyer who qualifies can apply in their own name the next year; it doesn't carry over.

Can I defer my property taxes in BC, and what does it cost?

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Before you buy: who to ask