BUYING IN BC

How much property transfer tax you’ll pay in BC

Property transfer tax in BC is 1% of a home’s value up to $200,000, 2% of the value from $200,000 to $2 million, and 3% above $2 million. Residential value over $3 million pays a further 2% on top. On a $1 million home in Kelowna, that’s $18,000.

It’s one of the biggest cheques in a purchase that isn’t the house itself, and it’s easy to leave out of a budget. Here’s how it works at the prices people actually pay here, as of September 2026.

The rates

As of September 2026, the province charges:

  • 1% on the first $200,000 of fair market value
  • 2% on the portion from $200,000 to $2,000,000
  • 3% on the portion above $2,000,000
  • A further 2% on residential value above $3,000,000

It’s paid by the buyer, the person registering the property, not the seller. The tax is worked out on fair market value on the day your purchase registers at the Land Title Office, and in an ordinary sale that’s the price you agreed to. It has to be paid on the day the transfer registers, and your lawyer or notary submits the return and the payment for you. You won’t be filling in a form, but you will be funding it.

What it costs at Kelowna prices

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. Here’s the tax at that price and at the prices above it:

  • $975,000, the 2026 median: $17,500
  • $1,000,000: $18,000
  • $1,500,000: $28,000
  • $2,000,000: $38,000
  • $2,500,000: $53,000
  • $3,000,000: $68,000
  • $3,500,000: $93,000

At $1 million you pay 1.8% of the price overall. At $3.5 million it’s about 2.7%. The rate on the whole price climbs because every dollar above $2 million is taxed harder than the dollars below it.

The two lines that matter: $2 million and $3 million

Every dollar of value between $200,000 and $2 million is taxed at 2%. Above $2 million, each dollar costs 3%. Above $3 million, residential value costs 5%, which is the 3% general rate plus the further 2%.

So the gap between two similar homes widens on either side of those lines. A $2.9 million home carries $65,000 in tax. A $3.1 million home carries $73,000. That’s $8,000 more on a $200,000 difference in price.

It’s worth knowing. It isn’t worth building a negotiation around. The tax follows fair market value, so a price that doesn’t reflect the home isn’t a way around it. What it does change is how much cash you need on completion day, and at these numbers that’s real money.

Exemptions, and who they miss in Kelowna

Two provincial exemptions can reduce the tax, and both have price caps that sit close to Kelowna’s prices.

First-time buyers. If you qualify, there’s no tax on the first $500,000 of the price, but only when the home’s fair market value is $835,000 or less. A partial exemption applies between $835,000 and $860,000. Above that, there’s nothing. With the city’s median detached price at $975,000, more than half of the detached homes selling here are above the cap. The qualifying rules and the math are in my first-time buyer’s guide.

Newly built homes. A new home that hasn’t been lived in since it was built can be fully exempt up to a fair market value of $1,100,000, with a partial exemption up to $1,150,000. It has to be your principal residence, the lot has to be half a hectare or smaller, and you have to be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident. Unlike the first-time buyer cap, that one sits above the city’s median detached price.

Buying from outside Canada

Foreign nationals, foreign corporations and taxable trustees pay an additional 20% on the residential value, on top of the general tax, when the property is in a specified area of BC. The Regional District of Central Okanagan is one of those areas, so it applies across Kelowna, West Kelowna, Lake Country and Peachland.

If that describes your purchase, talk to a lawyer before you write an offer, not after.

What I’d do

Build the tax into your numbers before you start looking, not after you’ve found the house. On a $1.5 million purchase it’s $28,000, and I tell buyers to plan for it as cash, sitting beside legal fees and the rest of the closing costs. If you’re shopping close to $2 million or $3 million, run the number on both sides of the line so the difference isn’t a surprise later.

If you want to walk through the full cost of a move, this included, that’s part of how I work with buyers, and if it’s your first purchase the first-time buyer’s guide lays out every cost in order.

General information about property transfer tax in British Columbia, current as of September 2026, and not tax or legal advice. Your lawyer or notary will confirm the exact amount for your purchase. Braden Koop Personal Real Estate Corporation operates under RE/MAX Kelowna. Each RE/MAX office is independently owned and operated.

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