BC Newly Built Home Transfer Tax Exemption: What a Presale Buyer Saves (2026)

If you will live in your new BC presale, you can pay $0 in property transfer tax on a home up to $1.1 million, and a reduced amount up to $1.15 million. If you are buying it as an investment, you pay the full tax, which is $13,000 on a $750,000 unit. The exemption is one of the biggest closing-cost savings in BC, and it only works if you meet the occupancy rules. Most buyers hear about the first-time buyer transfer tax exemption and stop there. But the newly built home exemption is larger, has no first-time-buyer requirement, and applies to the exact product we specialize in: brand-new condos and townhomes. Here is how it works in 2026, using current Province of BC rules. The 2026 numbers: new-build exemption vs first-time buyer exemption Exemption Full exemption up to Partial exemption up to First-time buyer only? Newly Built Home $1,100,000 $1,150,000 No First-Time Home Buyers $500,000 $835,000 Yes The Province raised the new-build thresholds on April 1, 2024, from $750,000 and $800,000. Since 80-90% of presale buyers in the Fraser Valley are shopping between $500,000 and $1,000,000, most of them land fully inside the exemption. Worked example: what the exemption is worth BC's property transfer tax is 1% on the first $200,000, 2% from $200,000 to $2 million, and 3% above that plus an extra 2% on the portion of residential value over $3 million . Here is the tax on three presale prices, with and without the exemption. Purchase price Tax if you are an investor Tax if you live in it You keep $750,000 $13,000 $0 $13,000 $1,125,000 $20,500 $10,250 $10,250 $1,200,000 $22,000 $22,000 $0 The math on the middle row: full tax at $1,125,000 is $2,000 plus 2% of $925,000, which is $20,500. The partial exemption phases out in a straight line across the $50,000 band, so at the halfway point you pay half. The $1,200,000 buyer is past the cliff and pays everything. The cliff matters. A unit at $1,099,000 pays $0. A unit at $1,151,000 pays $21,000-plus. Because the tax is calculated on fair market value, confirm with your lawyer exactly which figure is used for your unit, and whether extras or parking packages change it, before you sign for anything near the threshold. Who actually…

This article is part of the PresaleProperties.com BC real estate guide library. It is intended for buyers comparing presale condos, townhomes, assignments, deposits, completion timelines, neighbourhoods and developer incentives across Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley.

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