Apply for the home owner grant
Last updated on April 9, 2024
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If you qualify for the home owner grant, you must apply each year to receive the grant on your principal residence.
Your principal residence is the usual place that you make your home. It's where you live and conduct your daily affairs, like pay bills and receive mail. It's also generally the residence used in your government records for your income tax, medical services plan, driver's licence and vehicle registration.
Your principal residence must be assessed and taxed as an improvement, such as a single family dwelling, a strata duplex or condominium, a townhouse, a manufactured or modular home.
Learn about:
Updating your address
The information you provide on your home owner grant application is not shared with your municipality or BC Assessment. If your address or contact information has recently changed, you must advise your municipality and BC Assessment separately.
Who can apply
Only one qualifying owner can claim the home owner grant for a property each year.
The grant amount may be higher for a homeowner who is a senior, veteran or person with a disability, and that homeowner must be the one who is the applicant to receive the higher grant amount for the principal residence.
Anyone with your permission can apply on your behalf.
Note: If you pay your property taxes through your financial institution, your financial institution will not apply for the home owner grant on your behalf. You or someone with your permission needs to claim the grant.
Building and land owners: Determine if you should apply and how to apply for the multiple home owner grant, if you are claiming a home owner grant on behalf of eligible occupants living in your building or on your property.
If you and your spouse are separated and living apart, you may be able to claim the home owner grant for each of your principal residences.
If each of you wants to claim the home owner grant for your principal residences, before applying for the grant, you must have lived separately and apart for a period of at least 90 days because of the marriage or marriage-like relationship breakdown, or you are subject to a court order recognizing the separation.
You may be required to provide documents that confirm the separation.
You can apply for the home owner grant for a property that is still registered in the name of a deceased owner or the deceased owner’s estate.
You must meet the following requirements:
- You’re the spouse, child, grandchild, parent, brother or sister of the deceased owner
- You’re a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident of Canada
- The deceased owner would have qualified for the home owner grant
- You occupied the residence as your principal residence on the date of the owner’s death
- The property is still your principal residence
If the owner’s death occurred in the current year, you’ll receive the grant amount the deceased owner would have been entitled to. For example, if the owner would have qualified for an additional grant, you'll be entitled to the additional amount.
If the owner’s death occurred in the previous year, you’ll receive the grant amount you qualify for.
You can apply for the home owner grant on a property when the deceased owner is absent from the property because they moved into a residential care facility. In addition to other qualification requirements, you or the owner must have occupied the residence as principal residence immediately before the deceased owner moved into the residential care facility.
The absence of the owner from the residence must have continued on an uninterrupted basis for the years you claim the grant.
At the time of application, you must continue to use the property as your principal residence
When to apply
You can submit your grant application online any time during the tax year. However, the best time to apply is after you receive your property tax notice and before your property tax due date. If you apply before your property tax notice is available, your home owner grant application will remain in a pending status until your tax notice is made available.
You can check the status of your application online using your application confirmation number.
If you apply for the grant after your property taxes are due, late payment penalties may apply to the unpaid portion of your property taxes. The home owner grant is a form of payment towards your property taxes and it's considered a late payment if you apply after the property taxes due date.
You can apply for the home owner grant up to December 31 of the current tax year, even if you have not paid your property taxes.
If you qualified for the grant for the year prior to the current tax year, and you did not apply, you may be able to apply and claim the grant retroactively.
How to apply
The fastest and easiest way to apply for your home owner grant is online. You can also apply by phone.
If you do not have a computer or access to the internet, you can visit a Service BC location.
Anyone with your permission can apply on your behalf.
Apply online
To apply, you need the jurisdiction and roll number for the property. These numbers can be found on any of the following:
- Your property tax notice
- Your BC Assessment notice you received in January (see sample below)
- The BC Assessment website
You’ll also need your social insurance number. Your personal information is encrypted at the time of entry to ensure your personal information is kept secure.
We will contact you if we require additional documents to support your application. To provide additional documentation, use our secure portal through eTaxBC to upload your documents.
After you apply, you can check your status online using your confirmation number or case ID.
Apply by phone using automated self-service
You can apply by phone 24 hours a day, 7 days a week using the self-serve phone system. If you need assistance, agents are available Monday to Friday, 8:30 am to 5:00 pm, excluding statutory holidays. Translation services are available.
Note: The automated system uses voice recognition and keypad entry from a touch phone or keyboard. Rotating dial phones do not work.
The fastest and easiest way to apply for your home owner grant is online.
Be sure to apply before your property tax due date to avoid late payment penalties.
Grant applications are audited for up to 7 years to make sure taxpayers are eligible for the grants they receive.
Contact information
Contact us if you have any questions about the home owner grant.