You can defer taxes on the home where you live and conduct your daily activities. For most applicants, this will be the same property on which they claim the Home Owner Grant.

To qualify for the Regular Program, you must have a minimum equity in your home of 25 per cent of the assessed value, as determined by the British Columbia Assessment Authority. This means your mortgage and any other charges registered against your property can be up to 75 per cent of the assessed value. If your home is a manufactured home, it must be covered by a current fire insurance policy.

Second residences such as summer cottages or property you have rented out do not qualify for tax deferment benefits.

After deducting the Home Owner Grant that you receive on your property, you can defer all or part of the unpaid balance of your home’s property taxes for the current year.

Before applying for tax deferment, you must pay all property taxes, penalties and interest from previous years. User fees and utility charges on your property tax notice cannot be deferred.

Statement of Account

We will issue an annual Statement of Account by early May each year. The statement is for your information only. It’s not an invoice for payment.

The Statement of Account includes the following account information:

• Your account balance
• Total amount deferred
• Total payments applied
• Total interest accrued
• Total fees accrued
• Interest rates applied

Your Statement of Account doesn’t include current year property taxes or any payments you may have made after March 31.

If you need to know the current outstanding balance on your loan, log in to your eTaxBC account or contact our office. 

The city is notified by the province that a taxpayer has applied for tax deferment. The city will then notify the province of the amount that is to be deferred for the property.

You can defer your taxes as long as you own and live in your home.
The deferred taxes must be fully repaid, with interest:

• before your home can be legally transferred to a new owner, other than your surviving spouse; or
• upon the death of the agreement holder(s). Repayment is made through the estate.

You may choose to repay all or any part of the deferred taxes and interest at any time without penalty.

• A one-time administration fee of $60 is added to new agreements. Do not remit this amount.
• A $10 annual renewal fee is added to accounts with approved renewal applications. Do not remit this amount.
• A statement of account is mailed out in April. Renewal applications are available online.

Simple interest is charged on your deferment account at a rate not greater than two per cent below the prime rate at which the province borrows money. The Minister of Finance sets the interest rate every six months.

You will be charged interest from the date you apply to defer your taxes, or from the date your property tax is due, whichever is later.

A late payment penalty will be charged if:

• the property owner is ineligible for the deferment program
• the deferment application is cancelled or withdrawn before approval
• if the application for deferment is made after the due date

Applications are submitted online through eTaxBC.

If there is more than one registered owner of the property, only one owner needs to complete the full application. However, each registered owner or authorized representative must provide authorization after the application is submitted.

Learn more about applying online.

To apply, you’ll need:

• Your annual property tax notice
• Your social insurance number (SIN)
• Your date of birth
• Digital copies of supporting documentation, if necessary

The Province of BC will verify your identity with your SIN and date of birth. Your personal information is encrypted at the time of entry to ensure your information is kept secure.

The application also has a built-in equity calculator to confirm your eligibility. Having the following documents available may help you answer these equity questions:

• Current assessment notice from BC Assessment (issued in January)
• Current mortgage statement
• Line of credit statement indicating the credit limit
• Home insurance documents

Your deferred taxes and interest will be secured by a lien registered against your property in the Land Title Office or the Personal Property Registry. The lien will remain until the administration fee, deferred taxes and interest are fully repaid.

If, for any reason, your deferment application is withdrawn, cancelled or denied after the tax due date, or before this office pays the taxes on your behalf, your property taxes are overdue and late payment penalties will apply.

You must apply to defer property taxes before December 31 of the year the taxes are first billed.

When you apply online, you can choose to set up automatic renewal. If you don’t set up automatic renewal, you’ll need to re-apply each year.

Learn more about annual statements and the renewal process.

There are a couple of options for assisting applicants:

• You can encourage the applicants to ask a family member or friend for assistance.
• Applicants can call the Tax Deferment Office at 1.888.355.2700 to ask for a paper form. 
• If applicants have an email address, the Tax Deferment Office can send a form via email, especially if the request is close to tax due date.

After you apply, you can check your application status online through eTaxBC using your:

• Confirmation number, or
• Roll number and last name

If your application is submitted before the property tax due date but is approved after the due date, you won’t be charged a late payment penalty. However, if we find that you aren’t eligible for deferment and it’s past the property tax due date, your property tax office may charge you a late payment penalty on the unpaid taxes.