As real estate values continue to rise across the province, the B.C. government is raising the threshold for the homeowner grant to $1.65 million for 2018.
The basic homeowner grant is $570 and will be automatically calculated based on property tax notices. The amount rises to $770 if the home is in a northern or rural area; up to $845 for seniors and people with disabilities; and up to $1,045 for people who meet a combination of those criteria. Only homes used as an owner's primary residence are eligible for the grant. As Spring Break approaches, a lot of families are planning to travel out of the country with their child/children. If your travel plans do not include the other parent, a travel consent form signed by the other parent and notarized or a court order signed is advised.
The Canadian Government recommends that you have the following documents when travelling with a minor:
Although a consent letter and copy of the non-accompanying parents’ passport is not a legal requirement, it can still be requested by border security or an airline agent when leaving the country or re-entering. It is recommended to air on the side of caution and have all the paperwork on hand to prevent delays or even a refusal to allow you to enter or exit a country. In terms of homes in B.C, Budget 2018 primarily focuses on increasing house supply and improving security for renters in B.C. This year they have introduced a housing plan to increase the overall quality of life in B.C.
One of the plans for Budget 2018 is to ease housing affordability challenges by implementing the tax changes property-transfer-tax-for-homes-in-bc-2018.html. This tax change will target foreign and domestic speculators who don’t pay taxes in B.C. By increasing and expanding the foreign buyers tax, it will:
Budget 2018 also includes a plan for building homes people need and to improve security for the renters. They plan to:
Effective February 21, 2018, there has been a slight change made to the Property Transfer Tax for homes in B.C. Previously, the property transfer tax was calculated as:
As of February 21, 2018, the property transfer tax is calculated as:
In addition to this, changes have been made to the property transfer tax for foreign entities & taxable trustee:
2) If the property transfer is subject to: a court order, Order Nisi of Foreclosure, separation agreement dated on or before February 21, 2018. 3) If the property transfer is: from the representative of an estate to the beneficiary, or to a surviving joint tenant, when the death of the deceased occurred on or before February 20, 2018 In these 3 cases, the additional property transfer tax won’t be applied. However, these exceptions don't apply to the Greater Vancouver region |
welcomeA bit about myself. I am a member of the British Columbia Notaries Public Society. I want to answer some of the most common questions that my clients have through my blog. Hope you find it useful. Archives
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