BC's 20% Foreign Buyer Tax and New Homes: Why We Think the Province Should Waive It for Families

Budget 2026 proposes to let foreign buyers purchase new homes again. In Burnaby and Abbotsford, that change does little on its own, because BC charges its own 20% tax on foreign buyers and the federal budget leaves it in place. Our view is that the province should waive the 20% on a brand new home that a family buys to live in, from the day Ottawa's exemption becomes law.

This is an opinion piece. The rules below are the published rules as of November 9, 2026. Our earlier post on Budget 2026 and new homes in Burnaby covers what the budget proposes in full. Tax and immigration rules depend on your own facts, so confirm your case with your lawyer, notary or accountant.

What BC's 20% tax is

The tax is called the additional property transfer tax. The Province of BC charges a foreign national, foreign company or taxable trustee 20% of the fair market value of their share of a home. It applies in five regional districts. Burnaby is in Metro Vancouver and Abbotsford is in the Fraser Valley, and both are on the list, along with the Capital Regional District, Central Okanagan and Nanaimo. It is paid on top of the regular property transfer tax that every buyer pays.

The tax follows the share on title. The province's own example is a buyer who registers a 70% interest and pays the tax on 70% of the home's fair market value. In practice that means:

• A foreign national who holds the whole home pays 20% of its value.
• A parent abroad who holds half pays 20% of that half, which works out to a tenth of the whole home's value.
• A parent who stays off title and helps with a gift toward the down payment pays no 20% tax.

Faced with those choices, we expect most families to keep the parent off title, or not to buy.

What Ottawa proposed, and what it left to BC

A federal law has stopped most people who are not Canadian citizens or permanent residents from buying a home since it came into force on January 1, 2023. Budget 2026 proposes to keep that ban on existing homes for two more years, to January 1, 2029, and to exempt new homes from it. Parliament still has to pass a bill.

Page 203 of the Budget 2026 document gives the reason for the exemption: it would help by "unlocking additional investment in new housing supply." The same page says Ottawa will keep supporting measures "levied by other levels of government" that deal with speculation. We read that as Ottawa leaving BC's 20% tax alone. If the tax is going to change for new homes, the province has to decide it.

How few buyers this touches

The province publishes how many home sales have a foreign buyer. In the Metro Vancouver Regional District, its 2025 and 2026 tables show the share is small. The latest table has the current count.

In the Fraser Valley Regional District, which includes Abbotsford, the province often holds the foreign buyer count back, as it does when a small number could point to a single buyer. The province also holds back how much 20% tax it collected in most months, so we cannot put a cost on a waiver. We expect the amount from new homes alone to be small.

Why we think the province should waive it on new homes

Ottawa's stated reason for the exemption is new supply. A family that buys a new home and moves in is the buyer that reason describes, and a 20% tax on that family works against it.

The case we think about most is a parent abroad helping a son or daughter buy or build a new home here. Today the 20% pushes that family to keep the parent off title. The parent puts money in and holds no legal share of the home. If the family's plans change later, the parent has no say in a home they helped pay for.

BC's own rules already treat a buyer who lives in the home differently. A confirmed BC Provincial Nominee who buys a home as their principal residence pays no 20% tax, if they claim the exemption. A foreign national who becomes a permanent resident or citizen within one year of the transfer can apply for a refund, if they moved in within 92 days and lived there as their principal residence for a full year. We are asking the province to use the same idea for new homes.

What we are asking the province to do

1. Waive the 20% on a brand new home that nobody has lived in, when it is bought as a principal residence, from the day Ottawa's new-home exemption takes effect.
2. At the least, waive it for families: a parent or grandparent who buys together with a child or grandchild who is a citizen or permanent resident and lives in the home.

We would keep the tax on resale homes and on homes bought to sit empty.

What to do while the rules stay the same

Nothing has changed yet. The federal exemption has no definition of a new home and no start date, and BC's 20% applies in full in Burnaby and Abbotsford.

If you are building a multiplex to sell some of the homes, plan your sales on buyers who are citizens or permanent residents. If you are buying or building with family abroad, talk to a real estate lawyer before anyone signs. Under today's rules, a gift toward the down payment, with the family member off title, avoids the 20%, and your lender will ask for a gift letter and papers that show where the money came from.

If you agree with us, write to your MLA and to BC's Minister of Finance. Name the home your family wants to buy or build, and who would live in it.

Sources

• Province of BC, Additional property transfer tax for foreign entities and taxable trustees (last updated June 20, 2025)
• Province of BC, Refunds for the additional property transfer tax (last updated March 28, 2024)
• Province of BC, Property Transfer Tax Data 2025, regional district monthly table
• Province of BC, Property Transfer Tax Data 2026, regional district monthly table (updated November 3, 2026)
• Department of Finance Canada, Budget 2026, Chapter 3, page 203 (November 5, 2026)
• Justice Laws Website, Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Act

All sources read on November 9, 2026. The new-home exemption is a federal proposal until Parliament passes it.

Frequently asked questions

Does BC's 20% foreign buyer tax apply in Burnaby and Abbotsford?

Yes. Burnaby is in the Metro Vancouver Regional District and Abbotsford is in the Fraser Valley Regional District. Both are among the five regions where BC charges a foreign national 20% of the fair market value of their share of a home, on top of the regular property transfer tax.

Does Budget 2026 remove BC's 20% tax?

No. Budget 2026 proposes to let foreign buyers purchase new homes under the federal ban. BC's 20% tax is a separate provincial law, and only the Government of British Columbia can waive or change it.

How is the tax worked out when a parent abroad buys with their child?

BC charges the 20% only on the share registered to the foreign national. If a parent abroad holds half the home, the tax is 20% of that half, which is a tenth of the whole home's value. The child's share is not charged if the child is a citizen or permanent resident.

Can a foreign buyer get the 20% tax refunded?

Yes, if they become a permanent resident or citizen within one year of the transfer, moved in within 92 days, lived there as their principal residence for a full year, and apply before 18 months from the transfer.