Taxes on a BC Presale: GST, the Rebate and Property Transfer Tax

Taxes are where presale budgets break. The purchase price is not the cost, the taxes are not payable when you sign, and two of the biggest exemptions are tested at completion rather than at signing, years after you committed. Here is the whole picture.

The two taxes that matter

• GST: 5% on new construction, payable at completion, not at signing.
• Property Transfer Tax (PTT): a provincial tax on the transfer of title, also payable at completion.

Both are in addition to the purchase price. Neither is included in the number on the price list, and neither is due when you hand over your first deposit.

GST on a presale

New homes attract 5% GST. Resale homes generally do not: which is one of the real cost differences between presale and resale.

On an $800,000 presale that is $40,000, due at completion, on top of your deposits and your mortgage.

The first-time buyer GST rebate

The federal first-time home buyer rebate covers new homes under $1 million in full, then phases out up to $1.5 million. Above $1.5M there is no rebate. Because GST is 5%, the maximum the rebate can be worth is $50,000.

To qualify you must be at least 18 and a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, and neither you nor your spouse or common-law partner can have lived in a home either of you owned as a primary residence at any time in the current calendar year or the previous four calendar years. Neither of you can have claimed this rebate before, and you must be the first person to occupy the home.

The date window is the trap for presale buyers. Your contract of purchase and sale with the builder must have been entered into on or after 20 March 2025 and before 2031, construction must begin before 2031, and the home must be substantially complete before 2036. A presale signed in 2023 or 2024, much of the cohort now completing across Metro Vancouver, does not qualify, however well the buyer meets every other test.

Three things buyers get wrong about it:

• It is tested at completion. You must qualify then, not when you signed. Marriage, a co-purchaser who already owns, or a change in residency can all move you out of eligibility during a four-year build.
• The phase-out is a slope, not a cliff edge, but the top is. Crossing $1.5M removes the rebate entirely. If your purchase price plus upgrades lands near that line, model it before you add the upgrades.
• The developer does not warrant your eligibility. Your contract almost certainly makes it your responsibility. If you assumed a rebate you do not get, that shortfall is yours to fund at completion.

There is also a separate, older GST New Housing Rebate aimed at much lower price points. In Metro Vancouver it is rarely relevant.

Property Transfer Tax

PTT is charged on the fair market value of the property at the time title transfers, on a tiered basis:

• 1% on the first $200,000
• 2% on the portion between $200,000 and $2,000,000
• 3% on the portion between $2,000,000 and $3,000,000
• a further 2% on the residential portion above $3,000,000

On an $800,000 home that is $14,000. On a $2.5M home it is roughly $53,000. The tiers are marginal, so only the portion in each band is taxed at that band’s rate.

The presale-specific trap

PTT is assessed on fair market value at registration, not on the price you agreed years earlier. For an ordinary arm’s-length presale that completes normally, the contract price is generally accepted as fair market value.

Where this changes is assignments. If you bought an assignment, the value assessed may reflect what you actually paid including the assignment premium, not the original contract price. Buyers of assignments are sometimes surprised by a PTT bill calculated on a higher number than they expected. Confirm the treatment with your lawyer before you commit.

The two PTT exemptions

• First Time Home Buyers’ Programme: for qualifying first-time buyers, a full exemption where fair market value is $835,000 or less, with the tax removed on the first $500,000 of the price, phasing out to nothing at $860,000. You must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, meet a BC residency or tax-filing test, never have owned a principal residence anywhere in the world, and never have claimed this exemption before.
• Newly Built Home Exemption: a full exemption on new construction with a fair market value up to $1,100,000, phasing out to nothing at $1,150,000, available whether or not you are a first-time buyer. It must be your principal residence, and you must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident. For most Metro Vancouver presale buyers this is the one that applies.

You generally claim one, not both. Both sets of figures took effect 1 April 2024 and were still current when this page was last checked. The thresholds are adjusted by the province from time to time and have moved more than once in recent years, so do not rely on a figure you read anywhere, including here, without confirming what applies on your completion date. Run your numbers through the BC presale tax calculator and confirm with your lawyer.

Like the GST rebate, these are tested at completion.

Additional taxes that may apply

• Additional Property Transfer Tax: an extra 20% on residential purchases by foreign nationals in specified regions including Metro Vancouver. Separate from, and in addition to, the federal ban on purchases by non-Canadians, which runs through January 1, 2027.
• GST on assignment fees: assignment profits generally attract GST on the assignment amount, and the profit itself is taxable income.
• BC home flipping tax: since 1 January 2025, a provincial tax on income from property, including a presale contract, disposed of within two years of acquisition. The rate is 20% inside 365 days, then tapers to zero at 730 days. It is separate from federal income tax and from the federal anti-flipping rule, and it is the tax most likely to surprise a buyer who assigns early. See the assignment guide before you sell.

Speculation, vacancy and empty-homes taxes

No — you cannot owe a vacancy tax on a home you do not yet own. Until completion you hold a contract, not title, and both the provincial speculation and vacancy tax and the City of Vancouver empty homes tax apply to registered owners. Your obligation starts with the year you take title, and in that first year it is usually a declaration rather than a bill.

Do I pay speculation tax on a presale before it completes?

No. This is the most common misunderstanding about presale carrying costs. The speculation and vacancy tax applies to owners of residential property in a designated taxable area, assessed on ownership as of 31 December each year, and since January 2024 it also captures leaseholders whose lease is registered on title. A presale purchase agreement is neither. You hold a contractual right to buy; the developer stays the registered owner until your completion date.

The same logic runs through the City of Vancouver’s empty homes tax. While the building is under construction, and while finished units sit unsold, that exposure belongs to the developer, which has its own exemption for unsold new inventory. None of it reaches you.

Speculation and Vacancy Tax vs. the Empty Homes Tax — you may owe both

They are two separate taxes levied by two different governments. A vacant condo inside the City of Vancouver is exposed to both at once. They are not alternatives, and one does not credit against the other.

The provincial rate went up for the 2026 tax year and goes up again for foreign owners in 2027. Most of what you will read online still quotes the old 0.5% and 2% figures — check the rate for the year you are actually declaring.

Your first declaration after completion

In the year you complete, both taxes have an exemption tied to the property transfer tax. Provincially, a newly bought property is exempt in the year of purchase where the owner paid property transfer tax or was exempt from paying it, and that exemption covers that year only. In Vancouver, a property whose legal ownership transferred during the year is not subject to the empty homes tax, again tied to proof of property transfer tax payment.

Here is the part that costs people money: exempt does not mean there is nothing to do. The province requires a declaration every year from owners who receive a declaration letter, even when an exemption applies. Vancouver requires the current registered owner to file a property status declaration even where the transfer exemption applies. Miss the Vancouver declaration and the property is deemed empty — 3% of its assessed taxable value, plus a by-law fine.

From your first full calendar year of ownership the purchase exemption is gone. You then need a live exemption, normally principal residence or a qualifying tenancy, or you pay.

What this looks like in practice

On an $800,000 Metro Vancouver presale completing for a first-time buyer who qualifies for the GST rebate and a PTT exemption, the tax bill at completion can be close to nil. For the same home bought by someone who qualifies for neither, it is around $54,000.

That is the same property, the same price, and a $54,000 difference decided entirely by circumstances tested at completion. It is why the tax question belongs in your decision at signing rather than in a conversation with your lawyer three weeks before you close.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I pay GST on a presale in BC?

Yes. New construction attracts 5% GST, payable at completion rather than at signing. Resale homes generally do not attract GST.

When are presale taxes actually due?

At completion, alongside the balance of the purchase price. Your deposits do not attract GST or PTT as they are paid.

Can I include GST in my mortgage?

Often yes, since it forms part of the total cost at completion, but that depends on your lender and your qualifying position. Confirm with a mortgage broker early rather than assuming.

Do I qualify for the first-time buyer GST rebate?

The full federal rebate applies to new homes under $1M and phases out to $1.5M, and eligibility is assessed at completion. Because a presale completes years after signing, your circumstances at that future date are what count.

Is PTT calculated on my contract price or the value at completion?

On fair market value at the time title transfers. For a normal arm’s-length presale the contract price is usually accepted. For assignments the assessed value may be higher, so get advice.

Are the PTT exemption thresholds fixed?

No. They currently sit at $835,000 (phasing out at $860,000) for the first-time buyers’ programme and $1,100,000 (phasing out at $1,150,000) for the newly built home exemption, both effective since 1 April 2024. The province adjusts them periodically, so confirm the figures that apply on your completion date rather than relying on any published earlier.

Do I have to declare if my condo was not finished this year?

No. Declarations go to registered owners of residential property, and before completion you are not one. Your first declaration covers the year you take title.

I completed in November. Am I taxed for the whole year?

Almost certainly not taxed, but you must still declare. Both taxes exempt a property in the year it changes hands where property transfer tax was paid or exempted. The risk in a late-year completion is the missed declaration, not the completion date itself.

Does renting it out on completion exempt me?

It can. Both taxes have tenancy-based exemptions, but the minimum occupancy periods and the evidence each government accepts are not the same, and short-term rentals do not necessarily qualify. Check the rules for the specific year before you rely on it.

Where to go next

• BC Presale Tax Calculator: model GST, PTT and rebates against your price point.
• Presale Deposits in BC: what you pay and when.
• Presale Assignments, and the tax consequences of selling early.
• The Complete Guide to Buying a Presale in BC, or browse by city: Vancouver, Burnaby, Surrey, Langley. Looking at ground-oriented homes instead? See Vancouver presale townhomes.

GST figures verified 25 August 2026 against the Canada Revenue Agency’s first-time home buyers’ GST/HST rebate guidance. The rebate was enacted by Bill C-4, which received royal assent on 12 March 2026 and applies retroactively to agreements entered into on or after 20 March 2025, earlier than the 27 May 2025 date originally announced. Property transfer tax thresholds and the BC home flipping tax verified 25 August 2026 against the Province of British Columbia. Speculation and vacancy tax rates, taxable-area count and declaration dates verified 2 September 2026 against the Province of British Columbia; empty homes tax rate and deadlines verified the same day against the City of Vancouver. The provincial rate increased for the 2026 tax year and increases again for foreign owners in 2027.

This guide provides general information about taxes on presale property in British Columbia, not tax or legal advice. Rates, thresholds and exemptions change, and eligibility is assessed at completion, confirm your position with a licensed lawyer and an accountant before you rely on any figure here.