Buying a new-home? New-vacation or recreational property?

February 17, 2012 the BC government released information regarding the HST to PST transition measures for the purchases of new-homes.

Effective April 1, 2013 the government will return to the 7 per cent provincial sales tax on new-home purchases.

In the meantime, between April 1, 2012 and March 31, 2013:

• the BC HST rebate threshold will be raised to $850,000 from $525,000 for new-homes.  This means purchasers of new-homes will be eligible for a rebate of up to $42,500 from $26,250.  An identical threshold will apply tor purchasers of new-secondary vacation or recreational homes located outside the Greater Vancouver and Captial regional districts, which were previously not eligible for a rebate.

For new-home purchases closing on April 1, 2013 or later if construction began BEFORE April 1, 2013, the purchasers will not pay the 7 per cent  provincial portion of the HST but instead will pay a transtional provincial tax of 2 per cent on the full purchase price (effective for closings up to March 31, 2015).

For full details of the tax transitional measures the BC government press release can be found here and Federal government transitional rules here.

In addition, here are a couple of great infographics to help understand and simplify the new tax measures: Transition Rules for Newly Built Homes and PST Transition Timeline.

Source of graph: Return to PST

If you've been sitting on your wallet and now want to find a new-home or new-vacation/recreational residence in the Kelowna area......