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Frequently Asked Questions - Buying, Selling and Moving
Questions:
Answers:
I just bought a new home. How do I claim the Home Owner Grant? |
If the current year's property taxes have not already been paid by the previous owner, you can complete and sign a Home Owner Grant application (FIN 78) and submit it with proof of ownership, such as a Certificate of Title. In the case of a manufactured home (i.e. mobile home), we require the Bill of Sale.
I moved during the year and had already claimed the grant on my former residence. I am now living in my new home. May I cancel my application and claim the grant on my new home instead? |
Eligibility is determined at the time tax notices are issued. When a house is sold, the payment of taxes and claiming of the grant are usually arranged between the vendor and purchaser by their legal representatives at the time of conveyance. If you claimed the grant on your former residence because you were the owner and lived there, the grant was correctly claimed and cannot be cancelled. The exception to this would be if the grant was not correctly claimed.
I recently bought a house on which the taxes have been paid in full. Can I claim a refund of the grant amount? |
No. The grant is given to reduce the amount of taxes owed. Taxes paid by one person cannot be refunded to a different person.
If I move into my home in June, am I eligible to claim the grant? |
Yes, providing you are the registered owner at the time of application and the grant hasn't already been claimed. You must not have claimed the grant on another property for the current tax year.
When a house is being sold, who should claim the grant? |
It must be decided at the time of conveyance whether the seller or buyer of the home is eligible to claim the grant. If the buyer has already claimed the grant on another property, he/she won't be able to claim it on the new one. The seller must claim the grant while still the registered owner and living on the property.
I am a lawyer representing a client who is selling a house. The client couldn't claim the grant as he was not living on the property. He pre-paid all but $65.00 of the property tax bill. Can the person buying the house claim the Home Owner Grant? |
A Home Owner Grant is applied against outstanding property taxes. If $65.00 is left outstanding, this is the maximum the purchaser could claim if he/she is otherwise eligible for the grant.
I recently bought a new house which is my principal residence. However, I also am the joint owner of another property. Can I claim the grant on my new house and the co-owner claim it on the joint property? |
Yes, as long as the co-owner is not your spouse, you have not previously claimed the grant on another property, and the grant has not already been claimed on the new property. If the co-owner is your spouse, you must have a legal separation agreement. "Spouse" includes a common-law or same-sex partner if you lived together continuously for at least two years.
I just put my house up for sale, and I am now renting an apartment. Can I claim half the grant for the six months I lived in the house? |
No. The property must be your principal residence at the time you apply for the grant. If you are now living in an apartment, you do not qualify even though
you are still the registered owner of the house. Also, the grant is not given on
a pro-rated basis.
If I am not yet the registered owner, but I have an "Agreement for Sale" on my home, can I claim the grant? |
Yes, if the "Agreement for Sale " is registered at the Land Title and Survey Authority of British Columbia and you occupy the property as your principal residence.
I am buying a house, but it will not be registered in my name until after the property taxes are due. Am I eligible to claim the grant? |
If the taxes were paid in full at the time the previous owner was still on title, you will not be eligible to claim the grant.
In order for you to claim the grant, the grant amount must be left outstanding on the tax bill at the time you become the registered owner and move on to the property. However, a penalty will apply to the amount left outstanding after the tax due date.
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