scilly

You mean Vancouver is actually better at something to do with housing?????

The regular homeowner grant is $570, but have to be living in the property. It does not apply to an owner of rental property.

A senior over 65 living in a property assessed at $1,625,00 or less and meeting some other requirements is eligible for an additional grant of $275 .............. ie, a total of $845. The grant is then reduced in steps as the value of the property increase until it reaches 0.

The Property Tax bill for July will say how much of a grant is being applied to your property.

The Regular Tax Deferment Programme begins at age 55, but was extended to younger home owners for the 2020 Property Taxes.

As I posted earlier, I'm expecting my total Property Tax bill for 2021 to be between $5,000-6,000, and that is after receiving the $845 deduction, or part thereof.


We also have to sign and submit an Empty Homes Tax Declaration by February 4, stating that we have lived in this house for at least 6 months of the year. This has to be filled out every year. My form told me that the Empty Homes Tax for me this year would be $16,000.

Then there is the Province's Speculation and Vacancy Tax, which is separate from Vancouver's, and which we presumably will be asked to declare again some time this year.

Siouxie

I have been in receipt of the Trillium Benefit before, wasn't aware of the other one(s) that Bristol linked to

bats

ooo thanks

BristolUK

Canada (generally speaking) is not good at advertising these things.
I remember a brief debate about it before - joined up thinking I called it, I think, in another thread.

Some provinces even make an award to people on OAS. New Brunswick does but they insist on separate applications for it as well as seniors drug program, heating allowance and property tax reductions. It could easily be combined into one as they get proof of income fromm Canada Revenue.

I believe Scilly said they have their act together in BC and make the awards without multiple applications.

scilly

We have our act together really only in applying for the Homeowner or Seniors Grant ..................

We just fill out a declaration on the same form as the Property Tax ............. one of Option A , B or C is filled out on the back of the form if paying at the bank or by mail. Option A is for the Home Owner who is not living in the property, B is for the Homeowner Grant living in the property, and C for the Seniors Grant (over 65). Even easier by internet ...... it takes less than a minute to choose the option, fill in details (most of which appear automatically), and tick that you are telling the truth. I'm not kidding .............. when I enter my account details and account number, it appears and I really only have to tick yes or no

It took me less than 5 minutes a couple of weeks ago to fill in the Property Tax, enter my credit card details, AND fill in the Empty Houses form.

The authorities can double check and ask for further information to verify the information you have given.

Application for Senior's Prescription Help is done once ........... they send a form for you to fill in when the pension is about to arrive, you fill out the details of your income, and they decide how much of a deduction before you can get help. We get no help from the province as OH has a private pension and Extended Health through his previous employer.

You can reapply later for a reassessment if there are changes in income.

We do not have Provincial Heating Allowance, even though over 90% of the province is just as cold as elsewhere, but you can apply to the providers (mainly Fortis for gas and BC Hydro for electricity, although there are some smaller ones) for reduction/ rebates.

karabegic

Many thanks everyone for very helpful comments. Most parts of Vancouver area seem to be fairly reasonably taxed - compared to over 2% homeowners in Winnipeg appear to be paying - though still quite a bit higher than what you pay in the UK. We pay around £2,000 for our terrace in London, though as someone pointed out, you get more bang for your money in Canada. All in all, not a reason not to move to Canada.

Cheers

christmasoompa

The only thing out of that lot that is different is the water bill in England (I believe it includes it in Scotland), but the rest comes under Council Tax too, as well as things like rubbish collection, libraries, leisure centres, etc.

It’s certainly a lot higher in a lot of Canada, but could be worse. We’ve been looking at moving to Boston (Massachusetts, not Lincolnshire ) and the property taxes there made my eyes water.