Is there a vacant home or speculation tax I need to know about in Ontario?

Several Ontario municipalities have introduced vacant home tax programs, and the Province of Ontario applies a Speculation Tax on certain non-resident purchases. These are separate programs with different rules.

The City of Toronto's Vacant Home Tax requires residential property owners to declare annually whether their property is vacant. A property is considered vacant if it is not the principal residence of the owner or a permitted occupant for a defined number of months in the year, and if it is not subject to a qualifying exemption. Owners who fail to declare on time are assessed as vacant. Other municipalities in Ontario have announced or implemented similar programs — check with your municipality directly.

The provincial Non-Resident Speculation Tax (NRST) is a different measure targeting foreign buyers, not vacant properties generally. The two can overlap if a non-resident owns a vacant property in Toronto.

At the federal level, the Underused Housing Tax (UHT) is a federal annual tax on "underused" residential properties owned by certain non-Canadian owners. It was introduced in 2022 and has specific filing obligations even for Canadian owners of certain structures. Failure to file the UHT return can result in significant penalties, even if no tax is ultimately payable.