Home Owners Grant Basics:
The home owner grant reduces the amount of property tax you pay for your principal residence.
The grant is available to homeowners who pay property taxes to a municipality, or to the province if they live in a rural area. If you pay your property taxes to a First Nation, contact the First Nation directly.
Regular grant
The regular grant amount is $570 for properties located in the Capital Regional District, the Metro Vancouver Regional District and the Fraser Valley Regional District. For all other areas of the province the amount is $770.
If your property is assessed below the threshold and you meet certain requirements, you will receive the full regular grant amount. Properties assessed over the threshold may receive a partial grant (learn about the grant threshold).
Property owners must pay at least $350 in property taxes to help fund services such as road maintenance and police protection. This amount may be less if you qualify for the home owner grant as a senior, veteran or person with a disability. Your grant amount may be adjusted to ensure the minimum amount of annual taxes are paid.
Do I qualify?To qualify for the grant:
- Be the registered owner of the residence (or a spouse or relative of the deceased owner)
- Be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada
- Live in B.C.
- Occupy the residence as your principal residence
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The assessed or partitioned value of your property must not exceed the grant threshold
If you are buying or selling your property, ensure you meet all requirements before claiming the home owner grant.
When to apply for BC Home Owner Grant?You can apply at any time during the tax year, but the best time is after you receive your property tax notice in the mail and before your property tax due date
Grant Threshold
The grant threshold is the maximum value of an assessed or partitioned property where home owners are eligible to claim the full home owner grant.
The grant threshold for 2023 is $2,125,000. You may be able to claim the full regular grant amount if your property has an assessed or partitioned value of $2,125,000 or less.
If you meet all requirements but your property’s assessed or partitioned value is over $2,125,000, you may qualify for a grant at a reduced amount.
The grant is reduced by $5 for each $1,000 of assessed value over $2,125,000. This means properties assessed up to $2,239,000 ($2,279,000 in a northern and rural area) can receive a partial regular grant. For the additional grant, properties assessed higher than $2,294,000 ($2,334,000 in a northern and rural area), are not eligible for a home owner grant.
Partitioned value
Partitioning your property value may enable you to claim the home owner grant if:
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You previously couldn’t, or could only claim a reduced grant, because of the high assessed value of your property, and
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Your property consists of your principal residence and at least one separate residence
You can apply to have the assessed value of your property partitioned using the Home Owner Grant Partitioning application.
The partitioned value of a property is the property’s assessed value divided by the number of residences on that property. To qualify, each residence must have cooking, sleeping, bathroom and living room facilities.
Laneway homes and multi-family dwellings like a duplex, triplex and fourplex qualify as separate residences. A suite in your principal residence doesn’t qualify as a separate residence.
Apply for the home owner grant
You must apply for the home owner grant each year to receive it. Only one grant can be claimed for a property each year.
Find out when and how to apply for the home owner grant. You may also be able to apply for a retroactive grant if you qualified last year but didn't apply.
Applying for the multiple home owner grant
If you’re the registered owner of a land co-operative or multi-dwelling leased parcel, you can work together with eligible occupants living in your building or on your property to apply for the multiple home owner grant.
Notice of disentitlement
If you have received a Notice of Disentitlement that indicates you're not eligible for a home owner grant, find out how to pay your outstanding balance.
Auditing
Grant applications are audited for up to 7 years to make sure taxpayers are eligible for the grants they receive.
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