BC Speculation and Vacancy Tax: A Guide for Surrey, Langley and Fraser Valley Owners

Who has to pay the speculation and vacancy tax?

Owners of residential property in a taxable area pay if no exemption applies. In practice, that is homes nobody lives in most of the year, or owners who do not live in BC. Canadian citizens and permanent residents pay the lower rate. Foreign owners and untaxed worldwide earners, a group that includes satellite families, pay the higher one.

Ownership is judged on December 31, and co-owners each pay on their share. For 2024, 81% of the tax came from foreign owners, untaxed worldwide earners and owners living outside BC.

What is the speculation and vacancy tax rate?

The tax is the rate times your ownership share times the assessed value. Budget 2025 doubled the Canadian rate to 1% and raised the top rate to 3% for 2026, and Budget 2026 made the top rate 4% from 2027. The 2026 rates first show up on declarations due March 31, 2027.

Citizens and permanent residents who are BC residents, and not untaxed worldwide earners, get an automatic credit of up to $4,000 per owner per year from 2026, reduced by ownership share. At 1%, it cancels the tax on a home assessed at $400,000 or less. A Canadian living outside BC pays 1% without it, but can apply for a credit based on their BC income.

Does the speculation tax apply in Surrey and Langley?

Yes. Surrey and both Langleys are taxable as Metro Vancouver municipalities, and Abbotsford, Chilliwack and Mission are named in the Act. Every place below has been taxable since 2018, with no new areas for 2025 or 2026, so homes for sale in Surrey, homes for sale in Langley and homes for sale in Abbotsford all fall under the same rules.

Not on the list: Hope, Harrison Hot Springs, Kent (Agassiz), the Fraser Valley Regional District electoral areas, and reserve and treaty lands. Check a single address on the Province’s interactive map.

• City of Surrey
• City of Langley
• Township of Langley
• City of Abbotsford
• City of Chilliwack
• District of Mission
• City of White Rock
• City of Delta
• City of Maple Ridge
• City of Pitt Meadows

How much is the speculation tax on a Fraser Valley home?

The tax uses BC Assessment’s July 1 value for the tax year, which for 2026 is the value on the assessment notice for 2027. Below, October 2026 board benchmarks stand in for assessed values, for one owner with no exemption. For your own number, start with what your Langley home is worth or what your Surrey home is worth.

For a BC resident the doubled credit softens the doubled rate: an empty Langley townhouse costs $4,006 for 2026, against $2,003 for 2025.

Speculation and vacancy tax exemptions

The Province lists more than 20 exemptions, claimed by each owner for each calendar year. The main ones:

• Principal residence: where you live longest in the year, for a citizen or permanent resident who is a BC resident for income tax and not an untaxed worldwide earner. One home per person.
• Rented at least 6 months, in tenancies of a month or longer. Unrelated tenants need a written Residential Tenancy Act agreement; family need only your permission and must live there most of each month.
• Year of purchase, if you paid property transfer tax or used the first time buyer or newly built home exemption.
• Death or inheritance: the year of death, the year after, and the year an heir inherits.
• Construction or renovation keeping the home empty 90 days, with work moving ahead.
• Residential care or medical treatment, up to 2 years, and separation with 90 days in a row apart.
• A BC resident away from home or no longer living in it, once in any 10 years.

Do I have to declare if I live in my home?

Yes. Every owner on title declares every year by March 31, even if it is their principal residence and nothing changed. Each owner declares separately, including spouses and anyone on title for estate planning or mortgage reasons. In 2027 you declare for 2026.

Miss it and you get a tax notice at the maximum rate. Unpaid tax carries a 10% penalty plus interest, and the Province can place a lien on the property. Budget 2026 also announced a $250 late declaration penalty from January 1, 2027. The regulation was not published by November 2026, so the first year it applies is not yet clear.

1. 1

   Watch for the letter

   Letters go out late January through February to the mailing address BC Assessment has. In 2026, Surrey letters went out January 26 to 28 and Langley letters on February 4. You cannot declare without it.

2. 2

   Have 3 things ready

   The Letter ID and Declaration Code from the letter, your social insurance number and your date of birth.

3. 3

   Declare online or by phone

   Online through eTaxBC at gov.bc.ca/spectax, or by phone with translation.

4. 4

   Claim the right exemption

   Pick the one that matches how the home was used, and keep tenancy agreements and building records for an audit.

5. 5

   Pay by early July if tax is owed

   Any tax is due on the first business day of July.

6 common situations in Surrey and Langley

Each case assumes a Canadian citizen or permanent resident who lives in BC.

What buyers and sellers should do

Is this the same as the empty homes tax?

No. Vancouver’s Empty Homes Tax is a separate City of Vancouver tax, and it does not apply in Surrey, Langley or the Fraser Valley. The federal Underused Housing Tax ended for 2025 onward. So a home here deals with one vacancy tax, the SVT, alongside the regular property tax covered in our Surrey property tax guide.

Frequently asked questions