B.C. introduces new home tax exemptions to boost construction

VICTORIA – British Columbia is putting new home tax exemptions in place to encourage residential home and rental construction.

As part of Budget 2024, a release said, the threshold for the first-time homebuyers’ program has increased from $500,000 to $835,000 for those buying their first home.

Qualifying individuals buying homes up to $835,000 now receive an exemption on the property transfer tax on the first $500,000 of the home’s value. Qualifying individuals can get a reduced exemption for qualifying homes valued between $835,000 and $860,000.

The threshold for the newly built home exemption increases from $750,000 to $1.1 million, which the provincial government estimated would boost new home building and help 10,400 individuals and families move up the property ladder every year, 2,400 more than in previous years, the release said.

Purchasers of qualifying new purpose-built rental buildings of four units or more, purchased between Jan. 1, 2025, and Dec. 31, 2030, may qualify for an exemption from the general property tax, the release said.

“These new property transfer tax thresholds will definitely benefit our first-time homebuyers. Buying a home is one of the biggest and most important purchases a person makes in their lifetime. Anything to make that first home more attainable is fabulous,” Victoria Real Estate Boad chair Laurie Lidstone said.