Life circumstance exemptions

If you sell your property while arranging your affairs in anticipation that you will pass away, you will not need to pay the BC home flipping tax.

If you sell your property in anticipation of the death of a related individual, you will not need to pay the BC home flipping tax.

If you receive a residential property due to the death of a related individual, you may sell your own property to move into the new property and not pay the BC home flipping tax.

• Example: Sarah inherited her grandmother’s residential property after her grandmother passed away. Sarah decides to sell the residential property that she owned for less than 2 years to live in the residential property she received from her grandmother. Sarah is exempt from the BC home flipping tax.

If you or a related individual suffers from a serious illness or disability, you are exempt from the BC home flipping tax. To claim this exemption, the sale must reasonably be considered to occur due to or in anticipation of a serious illness or disability. Life circumstance exemptions are to accommodate life events that were unexpected to either occur or to imminently occur at the time of the purchase of the property.

• Example 1: George has an illness that has progressed, and he can no longer live in his home that he bought 22 months ago.  George sells his home and will be moving into a long-term residential care facility. George will be exempt from the BC home flipping tax. 
• Example 2: Davinder’s mother has become ill and requires additional care, 7 months after Davinder bought a residential property. Davinder decides to sell the residential property to move in with Davinder’s mother to look after her. Davinder is exempt from the BC home flipping tax.

If you or your spouse or common-law partner make an eligible relocation for one of the following reasons:

• To carry on a business or to be employed at a particular location
• To be a student enrolled full-time in a program at a post-secondary level at a particular location of a university, college, or other educational institution

You can sell your primary residence or a secondary property and be exempt from the BC home flipping tax.

Eligible relocation exemption for your primary residence

To qualify for the eligible relocation exemption to sell your primary residence, your current primary residence must be at least 40 km farther from your new job or school than your new primary residence.

• Example: Sherry got a new job that is 100 km away from her old primary residence. Sherry sold her property that she bought 16 months ago and bought a new residential property that is 5 km away from her new job. Since the distance between her old residential property and her new job is at least 40 km farther away than the distance between her new residential property and her new job, Sherry qualifies for the eligible relocation exemption and is exempt from tax on the sale of her old primary residence.

Eligible relocation exemption for a secondary property

To qualify for the eligible relocation exemption to sell a secondary property that is not your primary residence, the secondary property must be at least 100 km farther from your new primary residence than it was from your current primary residence.

• Example: Todd had a vacation home that was 85 km away from his primary residence. Todd got relocated for work to a new city and now the distance between his new residential property and his vacation home is 250 km. Since the distance between his new residential property and vacation home is 165 km greater than the distance between his old primary residence and his vacation home, Todd qualifies for the eligible relocation exemption and is exempt from tax on the sale of his vacation home.

If there’s a change in household membership that results in a property sale, that property sale is exempt from the BC home flipping tax. A change in household membership can include a person related to you moving in with you, you moving in with a related person, and having or expecting a child.

• Example: Ali and Janna moved into a one-bedroom condo and 8 months later are expecting a baby. Ali and Janna sell their condo to move into a bigger townhouse to accommodate their anticipated larger household. Ali and Janna are exempt from the BC home flipping tax.

If there is a breakdown of your marriage or common-law partnership and you have been living separate and apart from your spouse or common-law partner for at least 90 days prior to the sale, you are exempt from the BC home flipping tax.

• Example: Shanna and Robin were common-law partners and bought a residential property on June 21, 2024. They separated on April 3, 2025, and sold the property on July 11, 2025. Since Shanna and Robin had a breakdown of their relationship and were separated for 100 days at the time of the sale, they qualify for the exemption and are exempt from the BC home flipping tax.

If you, or your spouse or common-law partner, experience an involuntary termination of employment and must sell your property, you are exempt from the BC home flipping tax.

This exemption does not apply to self-employed individuals.

• Example: Terry was terminated from a job due to the corporation going out of business and sells the residential property Terry purchased 12 months ago. Terry is exempt from the BC home flipping tax.

If you or a related person who lives with you experiences a threat to personal safety and you sell your property, you are exempt from the BC home flipping tax.

• Example: Thalia owns a home and was assaulted during a home invasion. Thalia no longer feels safe in the home and sells the property purchased 7 months ago. Thalia is exempt from the BC home flipping tax.

If you are recognized as bankrupt or insolvent in any of the following ways, you are exempt from the BC home flipping tax:

• You have done at least one of the following under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (Canada):
  • Made an assignment in bankruptcy
  • Filed a notice of intention to make a proposal with the official receiver
  • Made a proposal under Division I or II of Part III of that Act
  • Had a bankruptcy order made against you
• You are a corporation and obtained a court order granting a stay of proceedings under section 11.02 of the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (Canada)
• You had a winding-up order made against you under the Winding-Up and Restructuring Act (Canada) based in whole or in part on you being insolvent
• You made an application to the administrator under section 5 of the Farm Debt Mediation Act (Canada) and were found by the administration to be eligible to make that application
• You are a corporation and the only shareholder of the corporation is a person who is described above

If you sell your residential property because your housing unit is uninhabitable or cannot be rebuilt due to it being destroyed or damaged by:

• An earthquake
• A fire
• A flood
• A landslide
• A spill or leakage of oil, gas or another poisonous or dangerous substance
• Any other natural disaster or dangerous event

You are exempt from the BC home flipping tax.

• Example: Levi purchased a residential property and 3 months later the housing unit was destroyed due to a landslide. Levi decides to sell the property and is exempt from the BC home flipping tax.

If you experience the expropriation of your residential property, you are exempt from the BC home flipping tax.

• Example: Alisha bought a property and a few months later the BC government is planning to build a new highway right where the property is. The property is sold to the government, but Alisha will be exempt from the BC home flipping tax.

If you purchase residential property through a lottery and sell that property, you are exempt from the BC home flipping tax.

• Example: Nick won a home through a fundraising lottery and decides to sell the property. Nick will be exempt from the BC home flipping tax.

If you receive a residential property as a direct consequence of the distribution of the property of a deceased person, you may sell that residential property and not pay the BC home flipping tax.

• Example: Loreta’s friend left her a residential property in her will. Loreta decides to sell the inherited property and will be exempt from the BC home flipping tax.

You are exempt from the BC home flipping tax if the sale of your residential property is due to:

• The registered owner of a charge on the residential property exercising a power of sale
• Any other order of a court ordering a sale of the residential property

You are exempt from the BC home flipping tax if you meet all of the following:

• You enter into an agreement to purchase a new housing unit that’s going to be constructed or placed on the residential property
• You are given a new estimated completion date and that date is more than 365 days later than the original estimated completion date given to you when you entered into the agreement
• The developer provided you with the original and new estimated completion dates in writing

Example 1: Lea and Chen entered into a pre-construction agreement for a lot from a developer. The developer provided written notice that the new housing unit should be built within 2 years from the time they signed the agreement. About a year into the project the developer provided written notice that it will take at least another 390 days to complete. Lea and Chen decide that they cannot wait that long for a housing unit and decide to sell their agreement to Jason and Darcy after receiving the estimated time of delay from the developer in writing. Lea and Chen will be exempt from the BC home flipping tax.

If you did not receive a written estimate at the time of purchase, the last estimated completion date provided before you purchased the property is deemed to have been the estimated completion date provided to you at the time of purchase.

Example 2: John entered into a pre-construction agreement with a developer and had a written estimate that the new housing unit should be built by June 2025.  John then assigns his agreement to Maya without providing the original written estimated completion date. The developer then provides Maya with the new written estimated completion date that says the new housing unit will take an additional 14 months to complete, August 2026.  Maya is deemed to have been provided with the written estimate of June 2025, and the new written notice of August 2026. Maya qualifies for the exemption from the BC home flipping tax.