Speculation Tax and Empty Homes Tax: What Multiplex Buyers Actually Need to Do

Somewhere between the offer and the keys, every Vancouver-area buyer hears about them: the speculation tax and the empty homes tax. The names sound ominous, the rates sound expensive, and more than one family has quietly worried they were about to owe tens of thousands of dollars for the crime of buying a home.

Here is the answer up front, because you deserve it before the details: if you live in the home you are buying, you will almost certainly pay neither tax. But, and this is the part people miss, you must declare that fact, in writing, every single year, sometimes twice. The taxes are aimed at homes sitting empty. The paperwork is aimed at everyone. This post explains both programs for one specific reader: a family buying a new multiplex unit in Greater Vancouver to live in it.

Two different taxes, two different governments

Buyers routinely blur these together, which causes most of the confusion. They are separate programs from separate governments, with separate declarations and deadlines:

• BC's Speculation and Vacancy Tax (SVT) is provincial. It applies in 59 communities across BC, per the Province's January 2026 update, including nearly all of Metro Vancouver. One declaration per owner, due March 31 each year.
• Vancouver's Empty Homes Tax (EHT) is municipal and applies only inside the City of Vancouver. One declaration per property, due in early February each year.

So a family buying in the City of Vancouver deals with both declarations. A family buying in Burnaby, Langley, Maple Ridge, or anywhere else in the region deals with the provincial one only. Neither declaration costs anything for an owner-occupier. Both cost real money if ignored.

The Speculation and Vacancy Tax, in plain terms

The SVT is a provincial tax on residential properties left empty in designated communities. If you occupy the home as your principal residence, you qualify for an exemption, and the Province's own numbers make the point: according to BC's January 2026 announcement, more than 99% of BC residents are exempt. The tax generated nearly $80 million in 2024, from the small minority who leave homes vacant.

The rates matter mostly so you understand what is at stake if you ever stopped living in the home. Per the Province's published rate schedule, for the 2025 calendar year, declared in spring 2026, the rate was 0.5% of assessed value for Canadian citizens and permanent residents, and 2% for foreign owners and untaxed worldwide earners. Starting with the 2026 calendar year, the one you will declare next spring, those rates double to 1% and 3%, and the foreign-owner rate rises again to 4% from 2027 onward. On a $1.5 million home, 1% is $15,000 a year. The exemption is worth taking seriously.

Now the part that actually affects you. Every owner in a taxable area must declare annually, exempt or not. The Province mails a declaration letter each winter containing a Letter ID and Declaration Code; you declare online or by phone using that letter, your social insurance number, and your date of birth, by March 31. And note this carefully, because it is the single most common surprise for multigenerational buyers: per the Province's declaration instructions, each person on title must make a separate declaration, even spouses, even parents and children on title together. A multiplex unit owned by four family members needs four declarations, every year.

If tax is ever owed, payment is due the first business day of July. For an owner-occupier who declares on time, the annual experience is ten minutes per owner and a confirmation screen.

Vancouver's Empty Homes Tax, in plain terms

The City of Vancouver runs its own, older program with the same goal. The Empty Homes Tax charges 3% of a property's assessed taxable value if the home was empty for more than six months of the reference year. Homes used as a principal residence are exempt. The city requires one declaration per property (not per owner, unlike the SVT), and the declaration for the 2025 reference year was due February 3, 2026, with payment for those who owed due April 16, 2026. Expect the same rhythm each year: declare in early February, describing how the home was used the previous calendar year.

The penalty structure is where forgetful owners get hurt. Fail to declare and the city deems your home vacant and issues a bill for 3% of assessed value, plus a $250 fine, and it falls to you to unwind it with a late declaration. On a $1.5 million assessment, that is a $45,000 problem created entirely by a missed form. In our opinion this is the least forgiving piece of routine paperwork in Vancouver homeownership, and the first thing any new Vancouver owner should put in their calendar.

What this actually means for your family

Take the standard MultiLiving reader: a family, often two generations, buying a brand new multiplex unit to live in. Here is your situation in four sentences.

You will live in the home, so it is your principal residence, and you qualify for exemptions under both programs. You still declare: once per property for the EHT if you are in the City of Vancouver, and once per owner on title for the SVT anywhere in the taxable areas. Your declarations cost nothing and take minutes. The only way this goes wrong is not doing it.

A few specific situations worth knowing about:

• The year you buy. Both programs have rules covering homes that changed hands or were newly completed during the year, so a mid-year purchase or a brand new home does not trap you into a vacancy bill. You declare and answer the questions honestly; the forms walk you through it.
• Many owners on title. Families pooling resources often put three or four names on title. For the SVT, that means three or four separate declarations. Assign one family member to chase the others every March. Genuinely, put a name on the job.
• A suite you rent out. Rented homes are generally the other main exempt category in both programs, and renting a lock-off suite while living in the home does not threaten your principal-residence status. The tenancy rules themselves are a separate topic we cover elsewhere.
• A winter spent away, a work posting abroad, a long stay caring for family... any year where the home might sit empty for months, read the exemption lists on the official pages before assuming. Both programs publish their full exemption lists, and both have caught well-meaning owners who assumed.

One boundary note: this post is about local owner-occupiers. The separate federal and provincial rules that apply to foreign buyers and non-resident owners are their own topic, and if that is your situation, get advice specific to it.

The annual calendar

For a Vancouver multiplex owner, the annual rhythm looks like this:

• Late January / early February: City of Vancouver EHT declaration for the previous calendar year. One per property. The 2025-year deadline was February 3, 2026.
• Late winter: the Province mails SVT declaration letters to owners in taxable areas.
• March 31: SVT declaration deadline. One per owner on title.
• April 16 (2026 date): EHT payment deadline, only for those who owed.
• First business day of July: SVT payment deadline, again only for those who owed.

Owners outside the City of Vancouver can delete the first and fourth lines. Everything else stands, everywhere from Burnaby to Langley to Maple Ridge.

If you forget

It happens: a new home, a new mailing address, a declaration letter that never gets forwarded. The recovery paths differ.

For the EHT, a missed declaration means the home is deemed vacant, the 3% levy is issued, and a $250 fine applies; the city allows late declarations for years afterward, so the bill can usually be reversed for a genuinely occupied home, but you will spend unpleasant weeks proving it. For the SVT, failing to declare means the Province can assess the tax; late declarations are accepted and, filed before the July payment date, usually resolve things cleanly. In both cases the moment you realize you missed a deadline, declare immediately rather than waiting for mail. And a practical tip from experience: update your mailing address with BC Assessment and the city the week you complete your purchase, because the declaration letters follow the address on file, not the address you actually live at.

Questions buyers ask about these taxes

Do I pay the speculation tax if I live in my home?

Almost certainly not. Living in the home as your principal residence qualifies you for an exemption, and the Province reports more than 99% of BC residents are exempt. You must still file the annual declaration by March 31 to claim that exemption. The tax targets empty homes, not occupied ones.

Do I pay Vancouver's Empty Homes Tax if I live in my home?

No. A home used as a principal residence is exempt. But the exemption is claimed through the annual declaration, one per property, due in early February. Skip the form and the city deems the home vacant and bills 3% of assessed value plus a $250 fine, then makes you unwind it.

What are the current speculation tax rates?

For the 2025 calendar year, declared in spring 2026: 0.5% for Canadian citizens and permanent residents, 2% for foreign owners and untaxed worldwide earners. For the 2026 calendar year, declared next spring, rates double to 1% and 3%, per the Province's published schedule, with the foreign-owner rate reaching 4% from 2027.

Where does the speculation tax apply?

In 59 designated communities across BC as of the Province's January 2026 update, covering nearly all of Metro Vancouver, including Vancouver, Burnaby, Surrey, both Langleys, Maple Ridge, and Pitt Meadows. The Province publishes an interactive map; check any address before you buy rather than assuming.

Does every owner on title really need their own declaration?

For the provincial SVT, yes: each person on title declares separately, even spouses. For Vancouver's EHT, no: one declaration covers the property regardless of how many owners it has. Multigenerational families with several names on title should treat the March SVT round as a group task.

What do I need in hand to declare?

For the SVT: the declaration letter the Province mails each winter (it carries your Letter ID and Declaration Code), plus your social insurance number and date of birth. The EHT declaration runs through the city's online portal using your property information. Both take minutes once the letter is in front of you.

I am buying a brand new multiplex unit that completes in November. Am I in trouble for the empty months?

No. Both programs include rules for homes that were newly completed or changed ownership during the year, so a late-year completion does not read as a year of vacancy. Declare honestly and the forms route you to the right outcome. If your situation is unusual, the official pages list every exemption.

Does renting out our suite affect our exemptions?

No. Living in the home keeps your principal-residence exemptions intact, and rented homes are themselves generally exempt in both programs. If you ever moved out entirely and kept the home, tenancy would become the relevant exemption, with its own conditions to read first.

What happens if I miss the Empty Homes Tax deadline?

The city deems the property vacant, issues the 3% levy, and adds a $250 fine. Late declarations are accepted afterward and can reverse the levy for a genuinely occupied home, but the burden shifts to you. File the late declaration the moment you notice; do not wait for correspondence.

Are these the same as the foreign buyer rules?

No. The SVT and EHT are vacancy programs that apply to everyone who owns in the covered areas, local families included. Rules aimed specifically at foreign buyers and non-resident owners are separate, and we cover them separately. An owner-occupying local family should think of vacancy declarations as routine annual paperwork.

Do these taxes apply in Burnaby, Langley, or Maple Ridge?

The provincial SVT does; all sit within the designated taxable areas, so every owner there declares by March 31. Vancouver's EHT does not; it stops at the City of Vancouver's boundary. Buying outside Vancouver means one declaration season instead of two.

Where do I find the official information?

Two places, and only two: the Province's speculation and vacancy tax pages at gov.bc.ca, and the City of Vancouver's Empty Homes Tax pages at vancouver.ca. Rates, deadlines, and exemption lists change by year, so check the official page for the current year before acting on anything, including this post.

What this comes down to

• Live in your home and you are exempt from both taxes. The declarations, not the taxes, are your actual obligation.
• Two programs, two governments: BC's SVT (59 communities, declaration per owner, March 31) and Vancouver's EHT (city only, declaration per property, early February).
• Rates are real money if ignored: SVT doubles to 1% for the 2026 year, and Vancouver's EHT runs 3% of assessed value, with a missed form treated as a vacant home.
• Multigenerational families: every name on title files its own SVT declaration. Put one person in charge of the March declarations.
• The year you buy is covered by transition rules in both programs; declare honestly and a mid-year or new-home purchase resolves cleanly.
• Update your mailing address everywhere the week you complete, so the declaration letters can actually find you.

Taxes like these are exactly why buyers use us instead of going it alone: the rules are manageable, but nobody warns you about the calendar. If you are shopping for a new multiplex home and want the full picture of what ownership actually involves, browse the homes on MultiLiving or ask our team your specific questions. We would rather spend ten minutes on your declaration calendar now than hear about a $45,000 surprise later.