On Tuesday, BC Assessment sent out property assessments to homeowners across British Columbia, which play a role in determining how much property tax homeowners have to pay.
Also on Tuesday, the Province sent out an official information bulletin reminding British Columbians of the Home Owner Grant -- which subsidizes a portion of property taxes homeowners have to pay.
Some 92% of residential properties in BC are eligible for the Home Owner Grant, which is available to any homeowner who pays property taxes to a municipality (or the Province, for those who live in a rural area) for their principal residence.
For properties located in the Metro Vancouver, Fraser Valley, and Capital regional districts, homeowners are eligible for grant amounts up to $570, with the exact amount determined by how close the assessed value of a property (according to BC Assessment) is to the yearly threshold.
Last year, the threshold was set at $1,975,000. The threshold for 2023 has been set at $2,125,000. Homeowners have to apply for the grant each year.
Homeowners whose properties are valued at below the threshold are eligible for the full $570, while those whose properties are valued above the threshold will see the grant amount they are eligible for reduced by $5 for each $1,000 of assessed value over $2,125,000. That means that homeowners whose properties are valued at $2,239,000 or over (and $2,279,000 for rural areas) are not eligible for the grant.
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For BC homeowners who qualify as a senior, veteran, person with a disability, residing with a spouse/relative with a disability, or are themselves a spouse/relative of a deceased owner, a grant of up to $845 is available for those in the aforementioned three regions and $1,045 for those in rural regions. For those seeking the higher grant, the property value cut-off is $2,294,000 (and $2,334,000 for rural regions).
Homeowners can apply for the grant at any point in the tax year, but the application may remain pending until an official tax notice is mailed. The Province says the best time of year to apply is in May, after a notice has been received. Additionally, the Home Owner Grant can be claimed retroactively, with some limitations, while applications for the Property Tax Deferment program also begin in May.
Grant amounts will also be adjusted so that homeowners pay a minimum of $350 in property taxes, in order to help fund provincial services. The $350 amount is reduced for those who meet the criteria for the additional grant.
The Province says that in 2022, over a million applications were approved, including additional relief to almost 13,000 people with a disability and half a million seniors.
