If you’re unable to pay your property taxes this year, you may be able to defer your property taxes if you qualify for one of the following property tax deferment programs:
You may qualify for the Regular Program if you’re one of the of the following:
You must also meet applicant, property and equity qualifications to be eligible for the Regular Program:
To qualify for this program, you must:
You must also be either:
To qualify for this program, your eligible property must:
You must have and maintain a minimum equity of 25% of the property's assessed value. This means that all charges registered against your property plus the amount of taxes you want to defer can’t be more than 75% of the BC Assessment value of your property in the year you apply.
If you have a secured debt on your property, such as a mortgage or a line of credit, contact your lender before you apply to ensure your approval into the tax deferment program doesn't conflict with the terms of your loan.
Find out how your equity is calculated.
If you meet all the above criteria, there are some instances where you may not be eligible for the program. See other eligibility criteria for more information.
You may qualify for the Families with Children Program if you're a parent, stepparent or financially supporting a child.
You must also meet applicant, property and equity qualifications to be eligible for the Families with Children Program:
To qualify for this program you must:
You must also be financially supporting either:
You may need to show proof that you're financially supporting a child under the age of 18 who doesn’t live with you.
To qualify for this program, your eligible property must:
You must have and maintain a minimum equity of 15% of the property's assessed value. This means that all charges registered against your property plus the amount of taxes you want to defer can’t be more than 85% of the BC Assessment value of your property in the year you apply.
If you have a secured debt on your property, such as a mortgage or a line of credit, contact your lender before you apply to ensure your approval into the tax deferment program doesn't conflict with the terms of your loan.
Find out how your equity is calculated.
If you meet all the above criteria, there are some instances where you may not be eligible for the program. See other eligible criteria below for more information.
You or your property may not be eligible for the property tax deferment program if:
Contact your lender prior to applying to ensure approval into the program does not conflict with the terms of your loan.
If there's an option to purchase on the property title, the property may not qualify for deferment. Contact us for more information before you apply.
If you're thinking of selling your home or your home is listed for sale, contact us to find out if you're eligible to defer your property taxes.
If you qualify for the program, you can submit an application to defer your unpaid property taxes between early May and December 31 of the current taxation year. However, we recommend applying after you receive your property tax notice and before your property taxes are due. If you didn't receive your tax notice by the end of June, contact your property tax office.
If you're a resident of the City of Vancouver, see below.
Instructions for City of Vancouver residents with two property tax billing periods
If you’re a City of Vancouver resident with two property tax billing periods, you can do one of the following:
Pay your advance tax notice amount before the designated tax due date to avoid any penalties. Wait until you receive your main tax notice and apply to defer only that portion, or
Pay the late filing penalty fee (5%) to the City of Vancouver for not paying the advance tax notice amount. Wait until you receive your main tax notice and apply to defer the advance and main tax notice amounts
In subsequent years, your November advance tax notice will indicate you have a zero balance and your June tax notice will include the advance and main tax notice amounts. You may defer both portions without being penalized as long as you continue to qualify for tax deferment and you renew your application on or before the July tax due date.
If you chose to automatically renew your tax deferment application, your deferral will be processed automatically for the July tax due date and you’ll receive a statement of account each year in May. Remember to apply for your home owner grant before the tax due date, if applicable.
Deferment applications for the current year are not accepted past December 31 and we do not accept early applications for the following year.
Applications are only open from May through to December 31 each year. Applications received between January and the end of April for the current tax year will be cancelled. Here's what you can expect if you apply outside of the recommended application time:
You applied before receiving your property tax notice
If you applied in May, but before you received your property tax notice, your application will be held until the current year’s property tax information is available from your municipality.
You applied after property taxes are due
If you applied after your property taxes are due, you must pay any late payment penalties to your municipality. Only your current year’s taxes classed as residential (class 1) and residential and farm (class 1 and 9) will be deferred. Property taxes for classes 2 to 8 must be paid directly to your municipality and cannot be deferred.
You applied before property taxes are due but your application was approved after the due date
If you applied before property taxes are due but your application was approved after the due date, you won't be charged late payment penalties on the deferred taxes. However, if we find you aren’t eligible for deferment or authorization is not provided by all registered owners and it's past the property tax due date, then your property tax office may charge you late payment penalties on the unpaid taxes. Applications are done in the order they are received. They may take several months to review and process. To check you application status, refer Step 5.
Your property tax office may charge you a late payment penalty if:
Late payment penalties are applied after the tax due date and are legislative and cannot be waived or removed.
You can read the following resources for more details about the property tax deferment program:
Before you apply or renew your deferment application, check below to make sure you're ready.
Contact all registered owners to provide their authorization for the program once you submit your online application. Refer to Step 4 below.
We verify your citizenship, equity and residence with your SIN and date of birth. This is a loan program and is very similar to the process of asking for a loan at your financial institution.
Your personal information is encrypted at the time of entry to ensure your information is kept secure.
The application has a built-in equity calculator to confirm your eligibility. Having the following documents available may help you answer the equity questions:
You can apply for tax deferment or renew your application between May and December 31 each year.
Ensure you meet all eligibility requirements and have the information you need ready before you apply or renew an application.
You may need to submit supporting documentation with your application if you’re applying:
When you apply, you may set up automatic renewal for subsequent years.
If your automatic renewal is set up, you don't need to submit an application. Our office will determine if you meet the program requirements and may contact you by email or mail requesting additional information.
Requested information is due 30 days from the date the email request was sent or when the letter was issued. If the requested information isn't received by the due date, your application will be cancelled and late penalties will apply if it's after your property tax due date.
Note: Approved renewals are not issued an approval letter. You can verify your renewal status online, or if you have an eTaxBC logon.
Renewal applications will be cancelled and our office won't pay your property taxes if we verify the applicant is no longer eligible for the program. Some examples include:
Find out more about:
Important: If there are multiple registered owners, complete Step 4 below after you apply.
Switching Programs: You can apply online to switch programs. Familiarize yourself with the program eligibility, equity requirement, interest rates and fees (if applicable). If approved, your original program will be placed on hold and will accrue monthly interest until paid in full. Refer to Interest and fees for each program.
If there’s more than one registered owner or authorized representative of the property, they each must agree to the application’s terms and conditions.
For them to agree, you must share the following information with them:
Each registered owner or authorized representative must enter into an agreement and agree to the terms and conditions within 28 days of the application date.
Your application will not be processed until all owners enter into the agreement.
A reminder letter will be mailed to the address you provided on your application 14 days after you apply if the other owners have not yet entered into the agreement.
Your application will be cancelled if each owner does not enter into the agreement within the 28 days.
If a registered owner is deceased, you must contact the Land Title Office or the Personal Property Registry (for manufactured homes) to remove their name from the property title or manufactured home.
If you miss the due date for registered owners to provide authorization or the deceased owner is not removed and your application is cancelled, you can re-apply for tax deferment up to December 31 for the current year; however, late payment penalties will apply after your property tax due date.
Important: On the date an application has been submitted, all other registered owners must provide their authorization within 28 days. Failure to provide authorization within this time will result in the application being cancelled. You can apply for tax deferment up to December 31 for the current year; however, late payment penalties will apply if it’s after your property tax due date.
The application will not be processed or considered complete until all owners provide their authorization. Applications are done in the order they are received. They may take several months to review and process. To check your application status, refer to Step 6.
We may request additional information by mail or email when we process your application to confirm your eligibility.
If you need to submit additional information, you have 30 days from when the email request was sent or when the letter was issued to do so. If they’re not received by the due date, your application will be cancelled and late payment penalties will apply if it’s after your property tax due date.
Important: Late payment penalties are legislated and cannot be waived or removed.
You can check your application status online using:
Important: Some applications may take over 24 hours to reflect on the system.
Applications are done in the order they are received and may take several months to review and process.
If you applied for the first time on your property and your application is approved:
If you renewed your application:
You can check your application status online at any time.
Note: Only property classifications for Residential (01) and Residential and Farm (01/09) are deferrable. All other property classifications must be paid to your property tax office by the property tax due date to avoid late payment penalties.
Fees
If you applied for or renewed the Regular Program, a fee is added to your account. This fee is not required to be paid at the time of your application.
There are no fees for the Families with Children Program.
Interest
Simple interest is charged on the deferred tax amount starting from the date your property taxes are due or the date you applied to defer, whichever is later. Find out how interest is applied to your tax deferment loan.
If your application is denied, you may try applying again next year.
If your application is denied after the tax due date, you'll be charged a late payment penalty for any unpaid taxes by your property tax office.
Your application may have been denied if:
Important: Late payment penalties are legislated and cannot be waived or removed.
If you've been approved for the program, you can enrol for an eTaxBC logon to manage your property tax deferment account online.
Creating an eTaxBC logon to view your property tax deferment account allows you to:
If you need to update your name, you must first update it with the Land Title Office and the BC Assessment Office. Our records must match their records.
To enrol, you'll need your:
You can find your account number and letter ID on your Statement of Account.
You can repay all or part of your tax deferment loan any time during the year. Monthly interest will be added to your account balance on the 23rd of each month until it is paid in full.
If you would like to pay your loan and keep your account open, leave a minimum balance of $25.00. However, if you’re selling your home or adding someone who's not a spouse to your property title, your account must be paid in full.
If you plan on refinancing, check with your lender to see if they require you to pay out your loan.
Before you make a payment to your tax deferment account, confirm your balance:
Your payout letter will include:
The letter will also indicate whether the balance due includes the current year taxes or not.
Payout letters are calculated on the date they are created. We cannot backdate the payout letter for a date of death of an agreement holder or provide the per diem.
Interest rates may change on April 1st and October 1st each year and depending on when the payout letter is created, the balance owing may differ.
Note: If you request a payout letter, your account will freeze. This means if you submit a renewal or have signed up for automatic renewal, and our office has not approved and disbursed the funds to your property tax office, the current year taxes may not be applied to your account balance. This information will be reflected in the letter. Your renewal will be cancelled. If you want to defer the current year taxes and have it reflected in your payout letter, contact us.
You can repay your deferred property taxes using any of the available payment methods.
If a lawyer, notary or another party is paying your loan on your behalf, see lawyer, notary or other party for more information.
If you pay your account in full, your agreement will close. The Land Title Office or Personal Property Registry (for manufactured homes) will release the tax deferment lien when they receive a Notice of Satisfaction from our office.
We’ll send the Notice of Satisfaction once your payment has been processed or cleared.
If you repay your loan in full using non-guaranteed funds, such as a personal cheque, it will take at least 30 days to clear your payment. We can’t change this clearing time. We'll mail your confirmation when your payment has been processed.
It may take several weeks for the lien to be removed after your tax deferment account is paid in full. Contact the Land Title Office to follow up on the status of your lien.
To defer your property taxes in the future, you must submit a new application. Renewal applications will not be accepted on a closed account.
To defer on the same property after our office has paid the current year taxes on your behalf, wait until May the following year to apply.
Contact us with your questions about deferring your property taxes.
