Correct your speculation and vacancy tax declaration

You may correct your speculation and vacancy tax declaration if you:

• Made an error to a declaration you already submitted
• Want to claim an exemption you didn’t claim in a previous tax year

Generally, you can correct your declaration up to three years after the end of the tax year. For example, if you completed a declaration in February 2020 for the 2019 tax year, you can update the declaration until December 31, 2022.

You can still correct your declaration even if you already received a Notice of Assessment or paid tax for that year.

If you’re unable to correct your declaration online, it may be because your account is being reviewed or audited for the tax year. Contact us if you need help updating your declaration.

Find out:

• How to correct your declaration
• What to expect once you’ve corrected your declaration

How to correct your declaration

To correct your declaration:

1. You’ll need the following information for the tax year you’re correcting:
   • Your Confirmation Code from your confirmation email
   • Your Letter ID from your declaration letter
2. Go to the declaration
3. Select I want to change or continue an existing declaration
4. Enter your Confirmation Code and Letter ID
5. Select Next on the bottom right of your screen

If you’re unable to access your declaration online or if you need help making changes to your declaration, contact us.

After you correct your declaration

What happens after you correct your declaration depends on whether you had previously been assessed speculation and vacancy tax.

Find out what you need to do if:

• You owe tax after you updated your declaration
• You don’t owe tax after you updated your declaration

Tax owing

If an amount of tax is assessed as a result of your corrected declaration, you’ll receive a Notice of Assessment or Reassessment in the mail, along with a Statement of Account.

Your Notice of Assessment or Reassessment shows the amount of tax assessed and, if applicable, interest or penalty charged for that tax year.

Your Statement of Account shows the total account balance you must pay. This includes any interest that may have accrued on any outstanding amounts.

To pay the tax, see payment options.

Note: a late payment penalty of 10% may apply if you do not pay your assessed amount on or before July 2, 2021.

If you previously paid tax for the tax year and less tax is assessed as a result of your updated declaration, you’ll receive a Notice of Reassessment with a credit balance. You may request a refund or leave the credit in your account for future tax years.

If you’re unsure about why you were assessed tax, contact us. 

If you believe tax was incorrectly assessed in your case, several options are available for you related to your Notice of Assessment.

No tax owing

If no tax was assessed after your original declaration and, again, no tax is assessed as a result of your updated declaration, no action is required.

If you previously paid tax for the tax year and no tax is assessed as a result of your updated declaration, you’ll receive a Notice of Reassessment with a credit balance. You may request a refund or leave the credit in your account for future tax years.

Tax credits

If you’re a B.C. resident, a tax credit is automatically applied on your Notice of Assessment.

If you owe speculation and vacancy tax, and you don’t qualify for a B.C. resident tax credit, you may be able to apply for an income-based tax credit to reduce the amount you owe.

You may apply for an income-based tax credit by logging on to eTaxBC.