OWNING IN BC

The BC home owner grant threshold, and what changes in 2027

For 2026, the BC home owner grant threshold is $2,075,000 of assessed value. Below it, a Kelowna homeowner gets the full grant, which is $770 this year. Above it, the grant shrinks by $5 for every $1,000 of value and it’s gone at $2,229,000. From January 1, 2027, the extra $200 that Kelowna owners get today is eliminated.

It’s not a big number next to a property tax bill, but it’s one people ask me about every year, usually right after the assessment lands. Here’s how it actually works, as of September 2026.

What the grant is

The home owner grant reduces the property tax you pay on the home you live in. To qualify you have to be the registered owner, a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, live in BC, and occupy the home as your principal residence. You can only have one principal residence for the grant.

Two things catch people. You have to apply every year, and only one grant can be claimed on a property each year. And you still have to pay at least $350 in property tax after the grant, so the grant is adjusted down if it would take you below that.

Seniors, veterans and people with a disability can qualify for a larger amount called the additional grant, with a lower minimum tax of $100. The threshold rules below work the same way for it, with a higher cut-off.

Why Kelowna gets $770, for now

The province pays a higher grant in what it calls the northern and rural area. The Home Owner Grant Act defines that as everywhere outside the Metro Vancouver, Capital and Fraser Valley regional districts. Kelowna, West Kelowna, Lake Country and Peachland are all in the Regional District of Central Okanagan, so every one of them counts.

In 2026, that means the regular grant here is $770: the $570 paid everywhere in BC plus $200 for the northern and rural area. It’s also why the grant runs out later here. It reaches zero at $2,229,000 of assessed value in Kelowna, against $2,189,000 in Metro Vancouver, the Fraser Valley and the Capital Regional District.

That changes on January 1, 2027. From then on the regular grant is $570 everywhere in BC, northern and rural areas included, and the additional $200 is eliminated. A Kelowna owner who is well under the threshold loses $200 a year without anything else changing.

How the phase-out works

Above $2,075,000, the grant drops by $5 for every $1,000 of assessed value. For a Kelowna home on the regular grant in 2026:

  • Assessed at $2,000,000: under the threshold, full grant of $770
  • Assessed at $2,100,000: $25,000 over, so $125 less, a grant of $645
  • Assessed at $2,150,000: $75,000 over, so $375 less, a grant of $395
  • Assessed at $2,229,000 or more: no grant

It’s a gentle slope, not a cliff. Crossing the threshold by a little costs you a little.

It runs on your assessment, not your price

The threshold is measured against your property’s assessed value, the number on your BC Assessment notice, not what you paid or what you could sell for. Those can be a long way apart, and I’ve written about what the assessment does and doesn’t measure.

For perspective, the median detached sale price in the City of Kelowna is $975,000 for 2026 so far, across 815 sales from January to August, according to the Interior REALTORS® Matrix system. Most homes here are nowhere near the threshold. It’s a question for homes assessed around $2 million and up, which is exactly where people tend to assume it doesn’t matter.

A laneway home can bring the grant back

This is the part most owners at the top of the market don’t know. If your property has your home plus at least one other separate residence on it, you can apply to have the assessed value partitioned, which divides it by the number of residences.

A laneway home counts, and so do duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes. Each residence has to have its own cooking, sleeping, bathroom and living room facilities. A suite inside your own house does not count.

So a property assessed at $2,400,000 with a laneway home has a partitioned value of $1,200,000, well under the threshold. There’s a separate application for it, the Home Owner Grant Partitioning application, and it’s worth knowing about before you assume you’re over.

Buying a home this year

If you buy during the year, you can still claim the grant on your new home if three things are true: the previous owner didn’t claim it that year, you didn’t already get the grant on another property that year, and you’re living in the home as your principal residence when you apply.

In practice the grant is a small line in a purchase. At $2 million the property transfer tax on the way in is $38,000. But it comes back every year, and knowing whether you’ll get it is part of knowing the real cost of owning.

What I’d do

If you’re buying anywhere near $2 million, look up the assessed value, not just the price, and work out the grant from that. If you already own a property with a laneway home or a second dwelling and you’ve been getting a reduced grant or none at all, look at partitioning. And if you’re under the threshold in Kelowna, plan for the grant to be $200 smaller from 2027.

General information about the BC home owner grant, current as of September 2026 for the 2026 tax year, and not tax advice. Grant amounts and thresholds are set by the province each year; confirm your own eligibility with the province. Braden Koop Personal Real Estate Corporation operates under RE/MAX Kelowna. Each RE/MAX office is independently owned and operated.

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