Frequently asked questions

Find the answers to your questions about the Property tax deferment program.

• General questions
• Consent
• Equity
• Payments
• My application was cancelled and I'm now charged a late payment penalty

General questions

Deferring property taxes while selling your home

If you are selling your home, you may continue to defer your taxes while your home is on the market. However, you will not be able to finalize the sale of your home until the property tax deferment account is paid in full. After you have paid, the lien will be removed from your property.

Contact our office to receive a payout letter and pay your account.

Consent

How do I give consent for another property owner to apply for the tax deferment program?

To be able to apply for the tax deferment program, a property owner must have the consent of all the other registered owners at the time of application or within 28 days from the date of the application.

Each registered owner must go into the application online and provide their consent. Verbal consent to the applicant or over the phone to our office is not accepted.

When the consent portion of the application is completed by all registered owners, they will receive a confirmation number for the tax deferment application. This confirmation number can be used for future reference.

What happens if other registered owner(s) do not provide consent within 28 days or do not agree to the program?

If a registered owner does not provide their consent within 28 days from the date of the initial application or they do not agree with the program, the application is cancelled. If your application is cancelled after your property tax due date, you will be subject to a late payment penalty applied by your property tax office for the unpaid property taxes. Late payment penalties are legislative and cannot be waived or removed.

If your application is missing the consent from the other registered owner(s), it is considered incomplete. Only completed applications are reviewed by our staff. Our office issues and mails a consent reminder letter 14 days after the initial application date, reminding the applicant to obtain consent from all other registered owners.

I am trying to apply for tax deferment, but one of the owners passed away, can I apply for tax deferment without the other deceased owner’s consent?

To prevent your application from being cancelled, ensure that any deceased registered owner(s) are removed from the property title prior to applying for the property tax deferment program. Contact the Land Title Survey Authority or the Personal Property Registry (for manufactured homes owners) to remove the deceased owner(s) from title.

After you submit your application, you only have 28 days to remove the deceased owner from your property title and obtain all the other registered owners’ consent. Removing a deceased owner from your property title might take more than 28 days, so if you have already submitted your application, and the deceased is still registered on title, contact our office immediately.

How do I know if all registered owners provided consent successfully?

If a registered owner has not provided their consent, a reminder letter will be mailed to the main applicant 14 days after the date of the initial application. This reminder letter informs you if any owners have not consented.

You can check your application status to verify if our office is still waiting to receive consent from the other registered owners. Any missing consent will be shown as "pending consent required."

Please wait 24 to 48 hours from the time you apply for your status to be updated online.

I did not receive a consent reminder letter by mail. What is next?

The consent reminder letter is a courtesy letter that is mailed to the address that is provided on the application form 14 days after the initial application was submitted. This courtesy letter informs the applicant whether our office is still waiting for consent to be received from one or more registered owners. Throughout the online application form, there are reminders regarding all owners are required to provide their consent within 28 days.

Letters are mailed by Canada Post and our office does not have control over of the mail services.

If your application does not have consent from all owners within 28 days, your application will be cancelled. You may reapply on a new application. If you apply after your property tax due date, you will be subject to a late payment penalty from your property tax office. Penalties are legislative and cannot be waived or removed.

Equity

I received an Equity letter for my bank to fill out. What do I do next?

An equity letter is mailed and/or emailed to the main applicant when our office is unable to determine the equity in your home and additional information is required.

If you there are multiple registered charge(s) against your home, you will receive an equity letter for each registered charge.

On the letter it will indicate who must complete the information. If you have multiple equity letters for the same financial institution, you must provide your lender with all the letters. Each registered charge must be completed individually, we will not accept combined finances on the same letter for the different registered charges. We do not accept monthly statements from you to prove your loan information. Letters must be filled out, signed and stamped by your lender.

All letters issued by our office will be given 30 days to complete and send back to us. After your lender has completed and signed the letter(s), you or your lender can email us at taxdeferment@gov.bc.ca

If you do not return all the letters with the complete information as instructed, your application will be denied.

If your application is denied after your property tax due date, you will be subject to a late payment penalty for the portion of the unpaid property taxes. Penalties are applied by your property tax office, are legislative and cannot be waived or removed.

What if my Lender refuses to sign my Equity letter?

We cannot compel financial institutions to change their terms of service for you to join our program. If your lender is unwilling or unable to sign your equity letter, contact us so we can cancel your application.

We suggest all applicants talk to their lender prior to applying to ensure our program does not conflict with the terms of your loan.

You will then need to contact your property tax office to make payments including any late payment penalties or fees that may apply.

Payments

I made a payment to close my account, but have received a letter saying I still owe money. Why?

Payout letters indicate the current balance as of the date the letter is issued plus interest calculated for the following 3 months. The interest is calculated until the 22 of each month. If you made a payment amount for the balance calculated up to the 22, but your payment was received by our office after the 22 of the month, the next month’s interest will be added to your balance and remains outstanding until paid. Our office will issue a partial payment letter including the outstanding amount still owing.

It may take several days for payments to be processed onto the account. For additional information, see How to repay your deferred property taxes.

I just made a payment towards my account. How do I expedite the release of the lien?

We cannot expedite the release of the tax deferment liens. Payment and funds must be processed and cleared. Depending on the method of payment, this process might take up to several weeks. For example, if you pay using non-guaranteed funds, such as a general or personal cheque, the payment will take up to 30 days before it applies to your outstanding balance owing. Once payment funds have been cleared, our office will issue a Notice of Satisfaction and instruct the Land Title Survey Authority to discharge the lien, a process that might take several weeks.

We cannot send our release document to any 3^rd party, such as a law firm or notary to release it faster.

When should I pay the tax deferment loan off?

The tax deferment is a loan program, and you can pay it down at any time without penalty. As our lien is restrictive, if you want to make title changes, such as sell your home, add a person other than your spouse on title, remove a registered owner, other than the deceased owners from title, refinance or subdivide the property, you will be required to repay your tax deferment account in full. For more information on payments, visit How to repay your deferred property taxes.

My application was cancelled and I am now being charged a late payment penalty

My tax deferment was cancelled. Can you cancel my penalties?

No. If your application was cancelled or denied after your property tax due date, you are responsible for any late payment penalties for the unpaid property taxes. The penalties are charged by your municipal or rural property tax office and are legislative and cannot be waived or removed. For more information regarding penalties or fees contact your property tax office directly. The Tax Deferment Office does not apply penalties.

Why am I being charged a penalty by my property tax office if I applied for the tax deferment in time and was approved for the tax deferment program?

You may be charged a late payment penalty by your property tax office for any of the following reasons:

• You applied for the tax deferment program after the property tax due date
• You have claimed your home owner grant after the property tax due date (if applicable)
• You have not claimed your home owner grant
• You have current tax year unpaid utilities such as water, sewer, garbage, or recycling
• You have unpaid property taxes for the portion of the property classed 1 to 8
  • Note: only property taxes for the property classed as residential (class 1) or residential and farm (class 1 and 9) can be deferred

My application was cancelled because I had taxes in arrears owing. I have now paid them, but my new application keeps getting cancelled and says I have arrears owing. Why?

If you have recently paid your taxes in arrears to your property tax office and reapplied for the tax deferment program on the same day, the application might be denied. Payments take up several days to be applied and clear your property tax account debt. Before reapplying for the deferment program, contact your property tax office to ensure your payment was received & processed and your property tax account is now in good standings. Once your payment has cleared, you may reapply for the property tax deferment program.