Worked example · Verified 2026-09-12

What property transfer tax costs on a $1.8 million B.C. house

One-point-eight million in Metro Vancouver is a subsequent-purchase band where Property Transfer Tax is a serious closing cheque and the additional-property question is asked even when the answer is no. Burnaby townhouses, Richmond detached, Tsawwassen, Steveston, Metrotown, Brentwood, Queensborough, and some New Westminster holdings sit here. First-time exemption is almost always gone. Speculation-and-vacancy tax and empty-homes rules are neighbouring city levies, not this engine. Agricultural Land Reserve adjacency and a dike or floodplain conversation show up on Richmond files. This page owns the standard PTT number at this price.

This Metro Vancouver-band example uses the Property Transfer Tax schedule last verified 2026-09-12. Live mortgage quotes do not rewrite it. Live rates hub.

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Computed result

Purchase price$1,800,000
JurisdictionBritish Columbia
Provincial tax$34,000
Municipal tax$0
Tax before rebates$34,000
First-time buyer rebate$0
Land transfer tax payable$34,000
First-time buyerNo

Upper-slice British Columbia property transfer tax

One-point-eight million is a coastal subsequent-purchase band. The additional-property overlay is still off, but more of the price sits in upper slices of the standard schedule. First-time exemption ceilings sit far below this price, so treating this as a rebate file would be a fiction.

  1. 01 · Provincial brackets

    $0 - $200,000 at 1% → $2,000.00; $200,000 - $2,000,000 at 2% → $32,000.00. Provincial subtotal $34,000.

  2. 02 · Municipal layer

    No municipal land transfer tax applies on this example (outside Toronto).

  3. 03 · First-time buyer relief

    This example is not claiming first-time buyer relief, so the bracket tax is payable in full.

  4. 04 · Cash at closing

    Total land transfer tax payable $34,000. This is cash; it is not added to the mortgage principal.

What this band means

At $1,800,000 in British Columbia, provincial tax $34,000, municipal $0, rebate $0, payable $34,000. The conveyancer remits PTT with the Land Title Office filing. It is not added to the mortgage. If the buyer is a foreign national or this is an additional home, the additional-property overlay this page left off becomes the live return and $34,000 is the wrong number. Ask that question before you trust this table. Fund PTT outside the down-payment box or the affordability cap moves. Port Moody and Coquitlam listings in this band still file through New Westminster.

This is a Burnaby townhouse or a Richmond detached scraping toward two million — coastal, not an orchard-town file. The Land Title Office in New Westminster sees a heavy additional-property mix. Foreign-buyer and additional-home debates show up in this price band even when this page leaves that overlay off; the conveyancer still has to ask the question. Assessment authority values, speculation-and-vacancy tax, and empty-homes rules are neighbouring conversations that do not belong in this table but do belong in the Metro Vancouver due-diligence list. Agricultural Land Reserve adjacency in Richmond is a land-use issue, not a PTT bracket.

Sensitivity

A higher price in this band is a large-dollar walk through upper slices. First-time relief at this price is usually ineligible; the row exists as a warning, not a plan. Foreign-buyer tax is the overlay that actually belongs in Metro Vancouver due diligence even though this example leaves it off. The due-diligence mix is the second axis. Empty-homes and speculation-and-vacancy levies stay beside this table, not inside it.

ChangeResultVersus this page
Price $2,250,000$45,500+$11,500 tax
With first-time buyer rebate$34,000+$0 tax
If foreign-buyer tax applied$394,000+$360,000 tax

Questions that only this band answers

Why are there two British Columbia examples instead of one at $1.8 million?▾
This coastal subsequent-purchase page is not a doorway copy of the other British Columbia example on this hub. The brackets are the same schedule; the cash ($34,000 here), the related closing mix, and the due-diligence questions are not.
Does $1.8 million in B.C. automatically trigger additional property tax?▾
No. Additional-property tax is about the buyer and the property type, not only the price. This example leaves that overlay off, so payable is $34,000. A foreign buyer or an additional-home purchase at this price needs a different return.
Can I compare this $1.8 million B.C. tax with the Toronto $1.1 million example?▾
You can compare cash due, but the legal schedules are different provinces. Toronto stacks municipal tax on Ontario provincial tax. This page is BC property transfer tax only ($34,000). The comparison is illustrative, not a substitute for either closing lawyer.

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Last verified: 2026-09-12