Buying your first home can feel overwhelming, especially with rising real estate prices in BC. The First Home Savings Account (FHSA) is a new tool designed to help first-time homebuyers save more efficiently while enjoying tax benefits.

What is the FHSA?
The FHSA is a registered account that combines the benefits of an RRSP and a TFSA. Canadians can contribute up to $8,000 per year (with a lifetime limit of $40,000) toward their first home. Contributions are tax-deductible, and withdrawals for a qualifying home purchase are tax-free.

Who Can Open an FHSA?

• Must be a Canadian resident
• 18 years or older
• First-time homebuyer, meaning you haven’t owned a home in the past four years

Qualifying Withdrawals
To use your FHSA funds tax-free, withdrawals must meet certain criteria:

1. First home purchase: The money must be used to buy or build your first home.
2. Written agreement to buy or build: You must have a purchase or construction agreement.
3. Timing: Funds must be withdrawn in the same calendar year as the home purchase or within a short period around the purchase date.
4. Lifetime limit: You cannot withdraw more than your available FHSA balance.

Non-qualifying withdrawals are taxable, so it’s important to plan carefully.

Why the FHSA is Useful

• Tax Savings: Contributions reduce your taxable income, and qualifying withdrawals are tax-free.
• Flexibility: Unused contribution room carries forward, and FHSA funds can even be transferred to an RRSP or RRIF if unused.
• Combine with Other Programs: Can be used alongside the Home Buyers’ Plan (HBP) for additional savings strategies.

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Check out the official link from the Government of Canada or speak to your bank for more details.

It’s official! The GST Rebate for First-Time Home Buyers has received Royal Assent, and the CRA is now processing claims that could save you up to $50,000! Canada’s new government has eliminated the GST on new homes up to $1 million and reduced it for homes up to $1.5 million for agreements signed between March 20, 2025, and 2031. To get your rebate as fast as possible, simply log into your MyCRA account to apply online; while we are happy to assist with the paperwork, please note that manual applications will take slightly longer to process. 

Check out our link here and the official site from Government of Canada for more information about this program, including how to apply for the rebate.

While a drop in BC Assessment values might seem like an automatic tax relief for homeowners, the reality is more nuanced. For the 2026 property tax year, many homes in the Lower Mainland saw assessed values decline by up to 10% due to a softening real estate market.

However, municipal governments still set property tax rates based on the total revenue needed to fund local services. This often results in a “revenue-neutral” adjustment, meaning your taxes may not decrease proportionally with your assessment.

Why Your Property Taxes Might Still Rise

It’s important to understand that an increase or decrease in your property’s assessed value does not automatically determine your tax bill. Taxes are calculated relative to the average change in property values across your municipality.

For example:  If your home’s value fell by only 2%, but your neighbors’ properties fell by an average of 8%, your share of the municipal tax pool has effectively increased.  In this scenario, even with a lower assessment, you could see a higher property tax bill because your property now represents a larger relative portion of the community’s total taxable value.

Home Owner Grant Threshold Adjustments

The provincial government has adjusted the Home Owner Grant (HOG) eligibility to reflect these market changes. For 2026, the maximum property value for the full HOG was lowered from $2.175 million to $2.075 million.  This $100,000 reduction ensures the grant continues to target the same proportion of homeowners as in previous years. However, homeowners whose properties declined less than the provincial average may see a partial or full loss of the grant.

The adjustment highlights the importance of checking your eligibility early to avoid surprises on your property tax bill. Click here for more details.

British Columbia’s Property Tax Deferment Program allows eligible homeowners—such as seniors, persons with disabilities, and some families with children—to postpone paying their annual property taxes. Instead, the provincial government pays the taxes on the homeowner’s behalf and registers the amount as a loan against the property, which is typically repaid when the home is sold or transferred. Interest is charged on the deferred amount starting from the tax due date (or the application date, whichever is later), along with certain administrative fees. Historically, interest has been calculated using simple interest (not compounded) at a rate up to 2% below the bank’s prime rate, making the program a relatively inexpensive financing option.

What Is Changing in 2026?

Beginning with 2026 property taxes, the province will change how interest is calculated on newly deferred taxes:

• Deferred taxes will accrue compound interest at Prime + 2%
• Existing balances from 2025 and earlier will not be affected
• The new rate will apply only to taxes deferred in 2026 or later

This change means the program will no longer offer the same below-prime borrowing cost that homeowners previously enjoyed.
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Refer to the official Government of British Columbia page:  Property Tax Deferment Interest and Fees.

One of the most common questions I've been asked most about Power of Attorney (POA) is, what if I don't have a POA and I become incapable of making decisions for myself?  My answer is - you're going to create a lot of trouble for your family or whoever needs to help you to manage your affairs.

When an adult needs help managing their affairs because of mental incapability due to an illness, accident, disability or diseases associated with aging, their judgment may be impaired in some way. They may forget to pay bills or put money away and forget where it is. The adult may also be confused about banking, investments, property, and personal belongings. However, they may have planned ahead and authorized someone else to make decisions and managing their financial and legal affairs through an enduring power of attorney.

But what if the adult does not have a POA? 

British Columbia has been able to develop one of the best land survey and title registration systems in the world.  

British Columbia, including the colonies before the province came into existence, has always maintained a system for recording ownership and interests in private land.   For a short while, the colonies maintained Deeds Registries.  However, a Deeds Registry results in a complicated, unreliable system for recording interests in land.   In order to gain an opinion on ownership of interests in land, an unbroken chain of documentary evidence over long periods of time or possibly from the original granting of the land from the Crown is required.   If any one of those documents was not properly executed, or if all documents in the chain cannot be obtained, then a shadow of doubt is cast upon the claim of ownership.

In many instances, banks and financial institutions require the borrowers to obtain a title insurance.  However, this policy only protects the bank’s interest and insures against financial loss in the event of a defects in title to the property.

In British Columbia, title defects rarely happen.  When a land title is transferred, the new owner can be assured that his/her title is “indefeasible” (meaning the title transfer cannot be defeated, revoked, or made void) under the Torrens system, as long as the owner acquires the interest in good faith and for value consideration.

When a non-resident Seller disposes a real property in Canada, the profit from the sale of the property is, in most circumstances, subject to capital gain.  If the Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA) cannot collect its fair share of tax that is supposedly remitted by the Seller, then the Buyer is on the hook and becomes liable for any tax owed by the non-resident Seller.

In order to avoid such situation in a purchase and sale transaction, the Seller’s legal representative must holdback 25% of the sale price for personal use property, or 25% of the land value and 50% of improvement value, prorated from current assessed values to actual price, for income generating property, until a clearance certificate is issued by the CRA.  In order to obtain the clearance certificate, the non-resident will need to retain the service of an accountant to apply such certificate.  The accountant will work closely with the Seller’s legal representative to ensure that the tax resulted in the disposition of the property is paid to the CRA from the holdback amount.  This process can take up to 4-6 months.
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Complication can arise if there is a mortgage on title.  Since the holdback amount is quite significant, there is a chance that the sale proceeds after the holdback is not enough to pay off the mortgage.  In such cases, the non-resident Seller will need to come up with extra funds from other sources to pay off the mortgage.  To minimize the chance of this happening, the Seller can apply for the Clearance Certificate prior to the completion date, however, this can only be done if there is a subject free contract of purchase and sale.  Since the process of obtaining the certificate can take up to 4-6 months, so in an ideal situation there would be a 4-6 months lead time between subject removal and the completion date.   In most cases that we see nowadays, subject removal and completion is only a few weeks apart, sometimes days.  Therefore, if you foresee such issue happening, please discuss with your lawyer or notary, and your accountant about your situation to ensure you have sufficient funds to pay off your mortgage on completion.

Joint Tenancy vs. Tenants in Common
Property owned by more than one person must be owned in one of two ways: Joint Tenancy or Tenancy in common.  When a property is owned in a joint tenancy arrangement, the interest of a deceased owner automatically gets transferred to the remaining surviving owner(s), meaning the surviving owner(s) has the right of survivourship.  On the other hand, if the property is in tenants in common, the interest in the property becomes owned by the estate of the deceased and is transferred to beneficiaries by the estate.

Joint Tenancy:

• On the death of one joint tenant, their interest in the land passes to the other joint tenants by the right of survivorship and the process continues until there is but one survivor, who then holds the property as sole.
• Each tenant holds common (or undivided) interest. If one owner dies, the remaining joint tenant(s) automatically inherits the property in equal proportions. This does not form part of the estate on one’s death.
• All joint tenants always own an identical and equal portion – for two tenants, 50% each and for four tenants, 25% each.
• Joint tenancy can avoid probate fees and delays. Shares are automatically passed on without probate court interference which can be a major advantage to Joint Tenancy.  
• All names of the group who are joint tenants will show up on the title of the property evenly.
• It is the most common way for a couple to own real property.
• The mortgage of a joint tenancy property requires the unanimous agreement of all joint tenants.
• A joint tenant in certain cases and geographical areas, can apply to the courts to have the land severed and provide each owner with a separate and distinct piece.
• For joint tenancy, approval for co-owner is not needed to break up a joint tenancy.
• All tenants can occupy and manage the property:
  • Can be problematic if one joint tenant refuses to pay their share of the property expenses.
  • If one pays ALL the expenses, they can ask for reimbursement for necessary costs e.g. Property Tax

Tenants in Common:

• Each tenant holds a percentage of interest in the property. If one of the owners dies, their interest in the property passes to their estate to be passed on according to their will.
• Tenants in common is usually used when tenants own the property in unequal shares, i.e. in different percentages.
• “Agreement between Tenants in Common” may be entered into which could override the rights which tenants would normally have under law.
• The tenants can hold equal or unequal shares: Every tenant owns an undivided share in the property therefore is free to possession of the whole property.
• Holder of tenancy in common desires, either to sell of mortgage their interest in the property, that can be done by them without the consent of other tenants
• Does not carry a right of survivourship: if one tenant dies, their interest does not go to the other tenants, but goes to the estate of the deceased. If there is a will, it’s distributed accordingly. However, if there is no will, there are provincial legislations and the person’s assets (including tenant’s interest of property) would be distributed to relatives according to that legislation.
• If an individual is purchasing properties for investment purposes with people that are not relatives, tenants in common would be appropriate as then their shares will not automatically go to the remaining tenants.

 
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