BC Mortgage Rates: Live Bank & Broker Rates for British Columbia
The closing levy here is named Property Transfer Tax, administered in Victoria, not a land-transfer statute copied from Ontario. Capital Regional District, Kelowna, Nanaimo and the Okanagan still produce an insured book; the 3% band and $3 million surtax are a high-value Lower Mainland problem. Designated-area vacancy filings (Speculation and Vacancy Tax) and the additional 20% levy on foreign purchasers are provincial overlays. First-time PTT relief dies at $860,000 after the 1 April 2024 revision — a Nanaimo condo can still qualify; a Shaughnessy lot will not.
Verified 2026-08-29
Live coupons available in British ColumbiaLast updated 2026-10-18
| Source | 5-Year Fixed | 3-Year Fixed | 5-Year Variable |
|---|---|---|---|
Lender 1 | 4.59% | 4.54% | 3.49% |
Bank 1 | 4.84% | 4.99% | 3.85% |
Bank 3 | 4.89% | — | 3.65% |
Bank 4 | 4.99% | 5.09% | 4.05% |
Bank 2 | 5.04% | 5.19% | 3.94% |
Bank 5 | 5.19% | 4.99% | 4.12% |
Victoria does not print a coupon. Designated-region vacancy filings, the additional foreign-purchaser levy, and PTT are the geographic stack. The table is the nationwide posted file with a sync stamp.
Provincial rate and closing FAQs
- Does LTSA or BCFSA set a British Columbia mortgage rate?
- No. LTSA registers the transfer and the mortgage; BCFSA licenses brokerages. Neither emits a 5-year column. The live coupons on this page are the nationwide posted file.
- Is the Empty Homes Tax the same as the Speculation and Vacancy Tax?
- No. Empty Homes Tax is a City of Vancouver municipal levy. Speculation and Vacancy Tax is a provincial designated-region filing (Metro, CRD, Kelowna, Nanaimo and others). Prince George and most Interior rural districts are outside the SVT map. PTT remains the closing-day provincial levy either way.
- Does British Columbia charge land transfer tax?
- It charges Property Transfer Tax — a provincial statute with 1% / 2% / 3% bands and a 2% residential surtax above $3 million. It is not named LTT. Contract rates on this page are still the national file.
- What are the current first-time PTT thresholds?
- April 1, 2024: full exemption ≤ $500,000; up to $8,000 rebate $500,000–$835,000; phase-out $835,000–$860,000; none above $860,000. Do not use the old $525,000 cutoff.
- Is the Speculation and Vacancy Tax a closing-day cost?
- No. It is an annual tax on assessed value in designated urban areas, with a filing to claim the principal-residence exemption. PTT is the closing-day provincial levy.
- Does a Victoria or Kelowna purchase use a different coupon than Metro Vancouver?
- No. Capital Regional District and Okanagan files fund off this same posted file. What changes is whether first-time PTT relief still fires (often yes under $860,000) and whether the parcel sits in a Speculation and Vacancy Tax designated region.
Island, Interior, and the Agricultural Land Commission
Capital Regional District (Victoria, Saanich, Langford) and the Okanagan (Kelowna, West Kelowna, Vernon) are the books this page is for. They still produce high-ratio files in the mid-to-high $600,000s. The Agricultural Land Commission, not Bond yields, is why lot supply at the urban edge stays tight in the Fraser Valley and the Island.
A Nanaimo or Kelowna first purchase can still sit inside the $835,000 relief band. That is the provincial story the city-of-Vancouver page cannot tell. BCFSA licenses mortgage brokerages; that is a conduct regime, not a second Prime.
BCFSA licenses brokerages on the Island and in the Interior the same way it does in Metro. That is a conduct file. The Agricultural Land Commission still decides whether a Langford or Kelowna-edge lot can be subdivided; it does not reprice the 5-year column. Island Health and Interior Health employment are the income stories underwriters read outside the Lower Mainland — different exhibits, same posted file.
The Land Title and Survey Authority (LTSA) is the registrar. The Property Transfer Tax return (FIN 530) is what the solicitor files with the transfer. A Property Assessment Appeal Board hearing is how owners fight BC Assessment — it is not a closing-day instrument and it is not a coupon. Kamloops, Prince George, Courtenay-Comox and Cranbrook still originate an insured book in the mid-$500,000s; that is the Interior/north story the west-side Vancouver page cannot tell.
Treaty settlement lands and Nisga’a lands are a different title system than a standard LTSA fee-simple parcel. Crown-grant and reserve-adjacent files need specialized counsel. They do not get a Victoria overnight rate of their own. Homeowner Protection Act warranty on new construction is a builder statute, parallel to — not a substitute for — PTT.
PTT bands, Newly Built exemption, designated vacancy regions
One percent to $200,000, two percent to $2 million, three percent above that, plus two more percent (five combined) on the residential slice above $3 million. The engine uses $920,000 — a blend of Island/Interior and Lower Mainland, not a Dunbar asking.
1 April 2024 first-time bands: full wipe at or under $500,000; up to $8,000 through $835,000; taper $835,000–$860,000; dead above $860,000. The retired $525,000 cutoff is not current. Newly Built Home Exemption: full at or under $1.1 million, taper to $1.15 million — the instrument that still fires on some Metro new inventory.
Speculation and Vacancy Tax is an annual assessed-value filing in a designated list (Metro, CRD, Kelowna, Nanaimo and others) at 0.5% for citizens and permanent residents and 2% for foreign owners and satellite families. Principal-residence relief is claimed. Many rural districts are simply out of the map.
The additional 20% levy on foreign purchasers in designated regions stacks with ordinary PTT. The federal non-resident purchase prohibition through 2027 is a third overlay. Assessed value (BC Assessment) is what vacancy taxes read; contract price is what PTT reads.
A blended $920,000 PTT worksheet
- Provincial / statutory levy (not first-time): $16,400
- First-time relief on this example: $0
- Net after first-time relief: $16,400
Totals from Ratellow’s land-transfer-tax engine. Live contract rates are a separate dataset.
At $920,000 the first-time exemption is already gone — the provincial average sits above $860,000. That is why this page is not a Kelowna first-time flyer. Run the actual consideration through the calculator.
Vacancy filings are not in the engine. They are an annual assessment-roll item after you own the parcel. Wire PTT as closing cash. Keep the SVT declaration on the same list as insurance renewal if the land is designated.
Where the $835k / $860k bands still fire
Island condos, some Kelowna attached, and Fraser Valley townhouses are the files that still collect first-time PTT relief. Do not copy a west-side detached assumption onto a Langford stacked unit.
Registered-plan room (FHSA, RRSP withdrawal under the Home Buyers’ Plan) funds equity. GST relief on eligible new construction is a builder cheque. The Newly Built Home Exemption is the PTT instrument under $1.1 million.
The federal shared-equity co-buy is closed. The longer insured amortization option is the payment lever on insurable Island and Interior attached stock.
BCFSA, designated maps, assessed vs contract
Confirm the parcel against the designated-region map, not the marketing neighbourhood name. CRD and Metro are in; many Interior rural districts are out.
Strata packages on the Island still need a Form B and a depreciation report. A special-levy vote is cash and sometimes loan-to-value. It is never a different overnight rate.
BC Assessment and the contract are two numbers. Mixing them is how vacancy tax and PTT get conflated on a worksheet.
A City of Vancouver Empty Homes Tax filing is a municipal instrument. It is not the Speculation and Vacancy Tax Act, and it does not apply in Kamloops or Prince George. Confirm which overlay the parcel actually sits in before you reserve cash that is not due.