| Measure | Province of BC, read 5 October 2026 |
|---|---|
| Who pays | Anyone selling BC residential property, or a presale contract, held less than 730 days, on or after 1 January 2025; property bought before 2025 included |
| The rate | 20% of the profit at 365 days or less; 20% × [1 − (days held − 365) ÷ 365] from 366 to 729 days; nothing from 730 days |
| By days held | 400 days 18.082%; 500 days 12.603%; 600 days 7.123%; 700 days 1.644% |
| Primary residence | Up to $20,000 off the profit if you used it as your primary residence and owned it for at least a year |
| Life events | Exemptions include death, serious illness or disability, a move for work or study (40 km test), a change in household, separation (90 days apart), involuntary job loss and a threat to safety |
| The return | Due within 90 days of the sale, through eTaxBC, even when nothing is owed or an exemption applies |
The tax is on the profit, not the price: what you sold for, less what it cost to buy and to improve. The rate is 20% for a sale within 365 days and then falls a little each day, about 1.7 percentage points a month, until it reaches nothing at 730 days. The Province’s own example: bought for $900,000 on 1 December 2023, sold for $1,000,000 on 1 January 2025, with $10,000 of appliances. That is $90,000 of taxable income at 398 days and a rate of 18.192%; the $20,000 primary residence deduction leaves $70,000, and the tax is $12,734.40. Sold within 365 days, the same sale would owe $18,000, with no deduction.
A sale with no taxable income owes no flipping tax, but a return is still due within 90 days of the sale, and missing it brings penalties and interest.
The tax covers presale contracts, so assigning a presale inside two years is a sale under it. One of the exemptions is for presales: the developer gives written notice that completion is delayed 365 days or more past the original estimate.
On a $100,000 profit, before any deduction, the tax is $18,082 at day 400, $12,603 at day 500, $7,123 at day 600 and $1,644 at day 700; from day 730 it is nothing.
| Days held | Rate | Tax | Tax after the $20,000 primary residence deduction |
|---|---|---|---|
| 365 or fewer | 20% | $20,000 | no deduction within the first year |
| 400 | 18.082% | $18,082 | $14,466 |
| 500 | 12.603% | $12,603 | $10,082 |
| 548 (about 18 months) | 9.973% | $9,973 | $7,978 |
| 600 | 7.123% | $7,123 | $5,699 |
| 700 | 1.644% | $1,644 | $1,315 |
| 730 or more | 0% | $0 | $0 |
From day 366 the rate is 20% × [1 − (days held − 365) ÷ 365], so it falls by about 0.055 percentage points a day. The deduction column assumes the home was your primary residence for the time you owned it and that you owned it for at least a year.
For individuals: a sale because of your death or a relative’s, or in anticipation of it; serious illness or disability; a move for a new job or full-time study where the new home is at least 40 km closer (a secondary property must end up at least 100 km farther away); a change in household, including having or expecting a child; a marriage or common-law breakdown after at least 90 days living separate and apart; involuntary loss of a job, not for the self-employed; and a threat to your safety or a relative’s. For individuals, corporations and partnerships alike: bankruptcy and insolvency, a home destroyed by fire, flood, earthquake or similar, expropriation, a lottery win, a distribution from an estate, foreclosure, and a presale whose completion the developer delays by 365 days or more in writing. Builders adding units, rebuilding or substantially renovating have their own exemptions. Every one still needs a return filed.
A return is due within 90 days of selling any property you owned for less than 730 days, filed with the Ministry of Finance through eTaxBC. It is required even when the taxable income is $0, or you are claiming an exemption, unless the exemption is listed as not needing a return. Filing or paying late brings penalties and interest.
Yes, since 1 January 2025: up to 20% of the profit on residential property, presale contracts included, sold within 730 days of buying it.
At 548 days the rate is about 10.0%. On a $100,000 profit that is $9,973, or $7,978 if the home was your primary residence and you claim the $20,000 deduction.
Yes. A return is due within 90 days of the sale even when the net taxable income is $0.
Yes. A presale contract is taxable property, so assigning it within two years of acquiring it is a sale under the tax, unless an exemption applies, such as a completion delay of 365 days or more that the developer gives notice of in writing.
Death, serious illness or disability, a move for work or study where the new home is at least 40 km closer, a change in household including a new child, separation after 90 days apart, involuntary job loss and a threat to safety. You still have to file a return.
Every source is listed and dated under the short answer. Analysis: Hamish Ross.
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