How to pay the speculation and vacancy tax

The speculation and vacancy tax is due on the first business day in July (July 2 in 2024).

However, you can pay the tax any time after you receive a Notice of Assessment in the mail, which will show the amount of speculation and vacancy tax you owe, including penalties and interest, if applicable.

After you declare, a Notice of Assessment will be generated and mailed to you only if you owe the tax. We will not send you a Notice of Assessment if you do not owe tax, unless it is confirming the cancellation of tax you previously owed. 

You can pay the tax:

• Online using eTaxBC
• Through your bank or financial institution (allow enough time for the payment to reach us by the due date)
• At certain government offices
• By mail

You must pay in Canadian funds, even if you're paying from outside Canada. You can wire transfer your payment through your financial institution or you can send us a postal money order or bank draft if your payment is greater than $500.

The speculation and vacancy tax cannot be paid by credit card.

Learn about refunds for the speculation and vacancy tax. 

Penalty and interest

A 10 percent penalty, as well as interest, applies to any unpaid tax after the due date. 

Interest will continue to accumulate and compound monthly on overdue balances until your account is paid in full. 

The interest rate is 3 percent per year above the provincial government banker's prime rate. 

You’re responsible for any errors made by a third party acting on your behalf for tax-related purposes. For example, an accounting firm might use the wrong property identifier when processing your payment. 

Note: Interest was not charged from March 24 to September 30, 2020 on any outstanding balances. Effective October 1, 2020, interest charges resumed on outstanding balances and interest will continue to accumulate until the balance has been paid. 

Online using eTaxBC

Pay your speculation and vacancy tax by enrolling for eTaxBC. To enrol for access to eTaxBC, you’ll need the following information:

• Your account type: speculation and vacancy tax
• Your account number shown on the Notice of Assessment or Statement of Account

If you already have an account for other taxes, you need to enrol for a separate eTaxBC account for speculation and vacancy tax.

Once you’re enrolled, you can pay the tax, set up your account for pre-authorized debit (PAD) payments or use this option to make a one-time post-dated payment. For help with eTaxBC, please call the eTaxBC support line at 1-877-388-4440.

Payments through eTaxBC can only be made in Canadian funds, from a Canadian bank account set up for online banking.

Bank or financial institution

You can pay your speculation and vacancy tax through the bank, credit union or other financial institution where you have an account. When you use your bank or financial institution, we recommend you always confirm when your payment will be processed by your bank to avoid late payment penalties or interest. For example, banks will often process payments received in the afternoon with the date of the next business day.

There are three ways you can pay the tax through your bank or financial institution:

• Bill payment service
• Wire transfer
• Electronic funds transfer

Note: You cannot make a payment at a financial institution where you do not have an account.

Bill payment service - online banking

To pay the tax using an online bill payment service through your bank, you'll need to add a payee for speculation and vacancy tax by using the following information:

• Payee name:  BC – Stmt of Acct
• Your account number shown on the Notice of Assessment or Statement of Account, which will appear as SPT-1111-1111

You can also send us a post-dated payment via online banking (allow 3-5 business days for the payment to reach us by the due date).

If you have questions about adding your specific account as a payee, contact your financial institution directly. 

For your records, write down the confirmation number generated when you complete your payment. This will help if we have to request a trace on the payment.

Wire transfer

To successfully submit a payment through wire transfer, you must:

• Make the payment in Canadian dollars
• Provide your bank account information
• Validate your payment by sending us your payment details

You may want to ask your bank if service charges apply.

Account information (wire transfer)

Provide your bank the following account information:

Beneficiary name:	Province of British Columbia
Beneficiary address:	4th Floor - 1802 Douglas Street Victoria, BC  V8T 4K6
Bank name:	Bank of Montreal
Bank address:	1225 Douglas Street Victoria BC V8W 2E6
Beneficiary account number:	1988166
Bank number:	001
Transit number:	00120
Bank code:	//CC 000100120
Swift:	BOFMCAM2
Description or reference field	Your account number

Validate your payment (wire transfer)

As soon as you make a payment, you must validate your payment by sending us the following payment details:

• Your account number
• The amount of your payment
• The date your payment was made

You can send the payment details through:

• Email at RSBCClientCare@gov.bc.ca with the subject line “Wire Transfer – [Your Amount] – [Your Account Number]”

           or

• Fax to 250-405-4415, attention Electronic Payments Clerk, Revenue Services of British Columbia

If you do not validate your payment, we cannot match your payment to your account. This may result in late payment penalties and interest.

Electronic funds transfer

To successfully submit a payment through electronic funds transfer (EFT), you must:

• Make the payment in Canadian dollars
• Provide your bank account information
• Validate your payment by sending us your payment details

EFT payments take up to three days to get to us from your bank. Make sure you make your payment early enough to avoid additional interest.

If you do not have an EFT account, you can set one up with your bank or financial institution. You should set up your EFT account well before your payment is due. You may want to ask your bank if service charges apply.

Account information (EFT)

Provide your bank the following account information:

Account name:	Province of British Columbia
Bank/number:	Bank of Montreal (0001)
Bank transit/address:	00120 1225 Douglas Street Victoria BC V8W 2E6
Account number:	1988166

Validate your payment (EFT)

As soon as you make a payment, you must validate your payment by sending us the following payment details:

• Your account number
• The amount of your payment
• The date your payment was made

You can send the payment details through:

• Email at RSBCClientCare@gov.bc.ca with the subject line “EFT – [Your Amount] – [Your Account Number]”

or   

• Fax to 250-405-4415, attention Electronic Payments Clerk, Revenue Services of British Columbia

Government office

To pay at a government office, bring your payment and the remittance advice found at the bottom of your Statement of Account.

You can make your payment at one of the following locations:

• In-person - Service BC Centre
  Payments by cash, debit, cheque, bank draft or money order made payable to the Minister of Finance are accepted.
• Drop box only - 1802 Douglas Street in Victoria 
  Drop off your envelope with payment by cheque, bank draft or money order made payable to the Minister of Finance.

Mail

To pay by mail you must send a cheque, bank draft or money order made payable to the Minister of Finance. Write your account number on your payment so your account can be easily identified when your payment is processed. Make sure you leave enough time for your payment to be received in our office by the due date. Postmark dates are not accepted as date of payment.

If you mail us a post-dated cheque, ensure the cheque is dated on or before the due date.

In an envelope, put in your payment and the remittance advice located at the bottom of your Statement of Account and send it to:

Speculation and Vacancy Tax
Property Taxation Branch
PO Box 9472 Stn Prov Govt
Victoria BC V8W 9W6

Refunds

If you have made an overpayment, we will send you a cheque for the amount overpaid, less any outstanding debt on your account. There is no need for you to do anything further. 

Contact us if you have questions about speculation and vacancy tax refunds.