Good news for first time home buyers in British Colombia. The BC provincial budget increased the maximum eligible purchase for the property transfer tax exemption from 425k to 475k.
Property transfer tax (PTT) is a one time cost paid on any purchase of real estate in BC. It’s an often overlooked cost of purchasing real estate in Vancouver. Here’s how to calculate property transfer tax:
1% on the first $200,000 + 2% of the balance. So a 425k purchase price would have a tax of $6500. A 475k purchase price would have a transfer tax of $7500.
First time home buyers are exempt from this tax, but *only* if the purchase price is less than 475k. If you purchase property for 480k, you do not receive the benefit. So this change in policy will be a major win for those first time home buyers purchasing in the 425k-475k range. You just made $7,000.
Interested in learning more as a first time home buyer? Check out my first time home buyer guide: