Deadline to declare your property under Vancouver’s empty homes tax is Feb. 2

Homeowners in Vancouver are being reminded they have two weeks to declare their property as a primary residence or face charges under the city’s empty homes tax.

The deadline to declare for the 2022 tax year is Feb. 2. Declarations posted after that date could be hit with a $250 bylaw fine.

The City of Vancouver reports about 65 per cent of residential owners have declared their properties’ status as of Thursday. That leaves just under 70,000 still needing to declare, who will be receiving reminder notices.

A property deemed vacant under the empty-homes program will be taxed at a rate of three per cent of its 2022 assessed value. (Keep in mind those assessments may be higher than a property’s real 2023 value because of a spike in the real estate market last year.)

Declarations can be subject to an audit to verify a property’s status.