Residential property owners required to declare by February 2
As of January 4, 50% of residential property owners in Vancouver have completed their annual Empty Homes Tax (EHT) property status declaration. Declarations, which relate to the property’s status in the 2021 tax year, are due by February 2, 2022. A $250 by-law fine will apply to declarations received after this due date.
If a property is declared vacant, or deemed or determined vacant under the EHT program, it will be subject to the tax at a rate of 3% of its 2021 assessed taxable value (note the rate has increased from 1.25% for 2020).
Most homes will not be assessed the tax, as it does not apply to principal residences, properties that are rented out for at least six months of the year, or properties that are eligible for an exemption. Even if a property meets these criteria, an annual declaration is still required. If a property is co-owned, only one owner is required to declare.
Declare online today
Declarations can be made online quickly and easily at vancouver.ca/eht-declare.
For help, chat live with an advisor at vancouver.ca, or call 3-1-1 (outside Vancouver: 604-873-7000).
Declaration instructions
- English PDF file (257 KB)
- Traditional Chinese PDF file (664 KB)
- Simplified Chinese PDF file (644 KB)
- Punjabi PDF file (253 KB)
- Tagalog PDF file (224 KB)
- Vietnamese PDF file (324 KB)
Purpose of the Empty Homes Tax
We introduced the Empty Homes Tax in 2017 with the goal of returning empty or under-utilized properties to the rental market as long-term rental homes for people who live and work in Vancouver. Statistics released in the latest Empty Homes Tax Annual Report PDF file (460 KB) show that this goal is being realized, with the number of vacant homes continuing to decrease year over year. In addition, $86.6 million in revenue from the tax has been allocated to support affordable housing initiatives.
The City of Vancouver’s Empty Homes Tax is separate from the provincial government’s Speculation and Vacancy Tax; inquiries regarding the province’s tax may be directed to spectaxinfo@gov.bc.ca or by calling 1-833-554-2323.