Selling a home in BC: the rules
503 Metcalfe Avenue, sold by the Hall Cassie Marshall Group, full caption
503 Metcalfe Avenue, Kelowna. Sold by the Hall Cassie Marshall Group, Sotheby's International Realty Canada.
What you keep from a sale in BC depends on more than the price: what you disclose, the buyer's right to rescind, the costs that come off the top and how the sale is reported for tax. These rules apply whoever you sell with. The regulator's and the governments' answers are below, each with its source, and I can take you through them for your home.
In short
- A buyer can rescind most BC home sales within three business days of acceptance, paying you 0.25 percent of the price.
- The buyer, not the seller, pays the property transfer tax when the transfer is registered.
- BC's home flipping tax applies to the profit on a home sold less than 730 days after it was bought, at 20 percent within 365 days.
- You report the sale on Schedule 3 of your tax return, and the principal residence exemption applies only when the sale is reported.
- BC has no prescribed disclosure form, and the Property Disclosure Statement is a voluntary one.
Sources read . Source links accompany the answers below.
Do I have to fill out a Property Disclosure Statement?
No. BC has no prescribed form, and the Property Disclosure Statement is a voluntary form in which the seller describes the home's condition.
You can sign a no-disclosure statement instead, but BCFSA warns that may expose you to a lawsuit if a latent defect you knew about is found later.1
What defects must I disclose to a buyer?
Material latent defects: problems a reasonable inspection would not find that make the home dangerous or unfit for a purpose the buyer told you about. BCFSA's examples include a basement that leaks in rain, an underground storage tank, drinking water problems, and electrical or gas work done without permits.
If you do not disclose one, your licensee must, and if you tell them not to, they must stop acting for you.1
Can a buyer back out after I accept their offer?
For most home sales, yes: within three business days of acceptance, by written notice, paying you 0.25 percent of the price. Neither side can waive it.
If the brokerage holds the deposit, your fee comes out of it and the rest goes back to the buyer. It does not apply to homes on leased land, sales at auction or sales under a court order.2
What costs does a seller pay?
The commission you agreed with your brokerage, legal or notary fees for the transfer and the mortgage discharge, and GST on the commission and the legal fees.
You may also owe your lender a prepayment penalty, and your share of the year's property tax if it is unpaid. The sale proceeds calculator on this site adds them up.3
Does the seller pay property transfer tax?
No. The buyer, or the buyer's lawyer or notary, files the property transfer tax return and pays the tax when the transfer is registered.4
16236 Carrs Landing Road, sold by the Hall Cassie Marshall Group, full caption
16236 Carrs Landing Road, Lake Country. Sold by the Hall Cassie Marshall Group, Sotheby's International Realty Canada.
Does the BC home flipping tax apply to my sale?
Since 1 January 2025, BC taxes the profit on a home sold less than 730 days after it was bought: 20 percent within 365 days, falling to nothing at 730.
A home you lived in for at least 365 days in a row can deduct up to $20,000 of that profit. Life events such as a death, divorce, serious illness, job loss or a work move can exempt the sale, but a return is still due within 90 days.5
Do I report the sale of my home to CRA?
Yes. You report the sale and designate the home as your principal residence on Schedule 3 of your tax return.
If it was your principal residence for every year you owned it, the gain is not taxed, but the exemption applies only when the sale is reported.6
What if I do not live in Canada?
A non-resident seller must notify CRA before the sale or within 10 days after it, and CRA issues a certificate of compliance once the tax is paid or secured.
Without the certificate the buyer can hold back 25 percent of the price, and late notice costs $25 a day, from $100 to $2,500.7
What do I need to sell a strata home?
A Form B Information Certificate from the strata corporation, which must provide it within 7 days of a request for at most $35 plus 25 cents a page for copies. What the Form B says binds the strata corporation.8
What happens on completion and possession day?
On the completion date the buyer pays and ownership passes; possession, when the buyer moves in, can be a different day.
Your lawyer or notary prepares the transfer, sees your mortgage discharged and sends you the proceeds once the buyer is registered at the Land Title and Survey Authority.9
Sources
- BCFSA, Material Latent Defects.
- BCFSA, Home Buyer Rescission Period; Offers from Buyers.
- BCFSA, What Costs Come with Selling a Home.
- Province of BC, Property transfer tax.
- Province of BC, BC home flipping tax.
- Canada Revenue Agency, Principal residence and other real estate.
- Canada Revenue Agency, Disposing of or acquiring certain Canadian property.
- Province of BC, Form B: Information Certificate.
- BCFSA, Completing Your Sale.
- Canada Revenue Agency, GST/HST in special cases.
The BC Financial Services Authority, the Province of BC and the Canada Revenue Agency, read 27 September 2026.
If your question is not answered here, ask me.
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