Glossary · Buying and financing
First-Time Home Buyers' exemption
BC's First-Time Home Buyers' Program exempts up to $8,000 of property transfer tax on a home with a fair market value of $835,000 or less, phasing out to zero at $860,000.
You must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, must never have owned an interest in a principal residence anywhere in the world, and the home must become your principal residence. There are further residency and occupancy conditions, and the exemption is claimed on the tax return your notary or lawyer files at completion.
The $8,000 cap equals the tax on the first $500,000, so a first-time buyer of an $800,000 condo still pays the tax on the remaining $300,000.
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General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm the current figures with the province or your notary or lawyer before relying on them.
