Days of ownership
Last updated on January 26, 2026On this page
- Days of ownership for presale contracts
- Days of ownership if you acquired a taxable property from a related person
- Days of ownership if you subdivided a property
To determine whether you owned a taxable property for more than 729 days, start counting with the day you acquired the taxable property and end with the day you sold the taxable property.
The day you acquire a taxable property is generally the date you pay for the property. For most people, this will be the closing date, which is the date that the seller transfers ownership to you and is the time the seller is entitled to receive your money for the disposition.
The day you dispose of a taxable property is generally the date you receive money for the property. For most people, this will be the closing date, which is the date you transfer ownership to the purchaser and is the time you are entitled to receive the purchaser’s money for the disposition.
Example 1: If you acquired a taxable property on May 1, 2023 and disposed of the taxable property on January 31, 2025, you owned the taxable property for 642 days:
- Since you did not own the taxable property for more than 729 days, the BC home flipping tax applies on the disposition of the taxable property
Example 2: If you acquired a taxable property on May 1, 2023 and disposed of the taxable property on May 31, 2025, you owned the taxable property for 762 days:
- Since you owned the taxable property for more than 729 days, the BC home flipping tax does not apply on the disposition of the taxable property
Days of ownership are determined differently for specific circumstances:
- If you manage an estate or have acquired a taxable property from an estate, information on the days of ownership can be found on Taxation of estates
- Days of ownership for trusts are also determined differently
Days of ownership for presale contracts
The day you acquire a presale contract is generally the date you pay for the contract, which is also the date you enter into the presale contract.
If you acquire the presale contract directly from a developer, this is generally the date you pay the contract deposit to the developer.
If you acquire or were assigned a presale contract and then acquire the completed property, the date you acquired or were assigned the presale contract is also considered to be the date you acquired the completed property.
Example 1: You enter into a presale contract on June 1, 2025 for a condo that will complete on March 1, 2027:
- If you acquire the condo when it is completed on March 1, 2027, you will be considered to have acquired the taxable property on June 1, 2025
The day you acquire or assign a right to acquire a taxable property, for example a presale contract, is generally the date you receive money from the purchaser or assignee for the right.
Example 2: A person enters into a presale contract on June 1, 2025 for a condo that will be completed on March 1, 2027. On December 1, 2025, the person assigns the right to dispose of the taxable property to you:
- If you acquire the condo when it is completed on March 1, 2027, you will be considered to have acquired the taxable property on December 1, 2025
Days of ownership if you acquired a taxable property from a related person
If a person acquires a taxable property from a related person, the acquisition date is deemed to be when the related person first acquired that property.
The acquisition date is only relevant if you acquire a taxable property from a related person and dispose of it to an unrelated person. If you both acquire from and dispose of a taxable property to a related person, you qualify for the exemption for taxable property dispositions between related persons.
Example 1: If Michael acquires a taxable property on August 1, 2025, from his father, who originally acquired that taxable property on January 15, 2020, Michael is deemed to have acquired the taxable property on January 15, 2020. If Michael disposes of the taxable property, he will not be subject to the BC home flipping tax because he is deemed to have owned the taxable property for more than 729 days.
Example 2: If Jennifer acquires a taxable property on August 1, 2025, from her mother, who originally acquired that taxable property on January 1, 2024, Jennifer is deemed to have acquired the taxable property on January 1, 2024. Jennifer will be subject to the BC home flipping tax if she disposes of the taxable property to an unrelated person on or before December 29, 2025, because she will have owned the taxable property for less than 730 days. However, if Jennifer disposes of the taxable property to an unrelated person after December 29, 2025, she will not be subject to the BC home flipping tax because she will have owned the taxable property for more than 729 days.
If there is a series of acquisitions of a taxable property between related persons, and each acquisition in the series involves related parties, the last person to acquire the taxable property is deemed to have acquired the taxable property on the date it was acquired by the first person in the series. For this rule to apply, each person must acquire the taxable property from a related person, but each person does not need to be related to every person involved in the series of acquisitions.
Example 1: John disposes of a taxable property that he acquired on January 1, 2025, to his brother Steven on April 15, 2026. If Steven disposes of the taxable property to his son Matthew on December 1, 2026, Matthew is deemed to have acquired the taxable property on January 1, 2025. As John’s nephew, Mathew and John aren’t considered related persons. However, because each disposition was to a related person, Matthew will still be entitled to use John’s acquisition date of December 1, 2025, as his acquisition date and won’t be subject to the BC home flipping unless he disposes of the taxable property to an unrelated person on or before December 30, 2026.
Example 2: Corporation A owns all of the outstanding voting shares of Corporation B. Corporation B owns 51% of the outstanding voting shares of Corporation C. Corporation A acquires a taxable property on January 1, 2025, and disposes of the taxable property to Corporation B on January 1, 2026 (Corporations A and B are related persons). Corporation B then disposes of the taxable property to Corporation C on February 1, 2026 (Corporation B and Corporation C are related persons). If Corporation C disposes of the taxable property on March 1, 2027, it is deemed to have acquired the taxable property on January 1, 2025, and is exempt from the BC home flipping tax.
Days of ownership if you subdivided a property
The subdividing of a property does not change the date of ownership of the property as long as the beneficial ownership of the property has not changed.
Example: Julia and Javier acquired a large property on March 15, 2025, and decided to subdivide the property into two on December 1, 2026. Julia and Javier still own both properties, the date of ownership of the newly subdivided properties is still March 15, 2025, and not December 1, 2026, the day it was subdivided. Julia and Javier dispose of one of the subdivided properties to a third party on April 1, 2027. Since Julia and Javier owned the taxable property from March 15, 2025, to April 1, 2027, and for 748 days, they are not subject to the BC home flipping tax and do not have to file a BC home flipping tax return.