Does the Speculation and Vacancy Tax Apply to Inherited or Vacant Estate Property in British Columbia?

This answer covers the law of British Columbia.

Often not right away, because the speculation and vacancy tax has exemptions for an owner's death, but they are time-limited. When an owner dies, all owners of the property at the time of death are exempt in the year of death and the immediately following calendar year, and the person managing the estate is also exempt even if not on title at death.

An heir is exempt for the year they legally inherited the property, meaning the calendar year of acquisition through the distribution of an estate. The trustee of a trust created by a will for a minor beneficiary is exempt as long as the child is a minor, through the year the child turns 19. After these exemptions end, a vacant inherited home may owe the tax unless another exemption applies, so it is worth checking before the period runs out.

Where the deceased was the sole owner, the person legally managing the estate declares until the estate is concluded. For tenants in common, the estate manager declares for the deceased until probate concludes, while surviving owners declare for themselves. A power of attorney ends at death. If no representative has been appointed, the declaration is needed once the court appoints one.