Penalties and waiver of penalties for BC home flipping tax

If you don't file your BC home flipping tax return and pay the tax by the filing due date, you will be charged penalties. If penalties resulted from circumstances beyond your control, you may request a waiver of penalties.

A BC home flipping tax return continues to be required if your calculation of tax owing is nil or if you claim an exemption. There are exceptions to the requirement to file a BC home flipping tax return for specific exemptions.

Penalties 

Late filing penalties are assessed if you did not file your return and pay your tax by the filing due date. The penalty is calculated as:

The greater amount of either $500 or 5% x the balance owing (in respect of the sale of the property on the filing due date) + (1% x A x B)

A = greater of $500 and the balance owing (in respect of the sale of the property) on the filing due date

B = the number of months, up to a maximum of 12 complete months, from the filing due date to the earlier of:

• The date you filed the return, and
• The date you were assessed a penalty

Late filing penalties for repeated failure to file are assessed if you did not file your return and pay your tax by the filing due date, and you:

• Subsequently did not file your return within the time required after being issued a written demand, and
• Have been assessed late filing penalties for a previous taxable transaction

The penalty is calculated as:

The greater amount of either $500 or 10% x the balance owing (in respect of the sale of the property on the filing due date) + (2% x A x B)

A = greater of $500 and the balance owing (in respect of the sale of the property) on the filing due date

B = the number of months, up to a maximum of 20 complete months, from the filing due date to the earlier of:

• The date you filed the return, and
• The date you were assessed a late filing penalty for repeated failure to file

Waiver of penalties 

You may request a waiver of penalties on BC home flipping tax if they were caused by circumstances beyond your control or our actions, such as:

• Disasters, such as flood or fire
• Civil disturbances or disruptions in services, such as a postal strike
• Serious illness or accident
• A delay in our process caused you to not be informed within a reasonable time that an amount was owing
• An error in information we provided caused you to file a return or make payment(s) incorrectly
• There was a delay in our ability to make the information you needed to file a return or make a payment available to you

Request a waiver

To request a waiver, you or your authorized representative need to write a letter and provide the following information:

• Your name, address and account number
• The date of the taxable transaction
• The facts and reasons why the penalties should be waived due to circumstances beyond your control or our actions
• Any supporting documents or correspondence
• If applicable, a completed Authorization or Cancellation of a Representative (FIN 146) (PDF, 260KB)

You can send your request and supporting documents for the waiver by:

• Email: ITBTaxQuestions@gov.bc.ca
• eTaxBC: Contact the Ministry by sending us a message through eTaxBC
• Mailing address:
  Ministry of Finance
  Income Taxation Branch
  PO Box 9444 STN Prov Govt
  Victoria B.C. V8W 9W8
• ​Courier address:
  Ministry of Finance
  Income Taxation Branch
  1802 Douglas Street
  Victoria B.C. V8T 4K6

When your request is reviewed, the following facts will also be considered when we make our decision:

• Your compliance history
• If you exercised a reasonable amount of due care and weren’t negligent or careless
• If you acted quickly to remedy any delay or omission