What This Tax Is and Who Administers It
The Underused Housing Tax (UHT) is an annual federal tax in Canada, set at 1%, on the ownership of vacant or underused housing in Canada. It took effect on January 1, 2022. The UHT generally applies to foreign national owners of housing in Canada.
According to the official page, a foreign national is an individual who is not a Canadian citizen or permanent resident.
The tax is administered by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).
Who May Be an Affected Owner
The official page states that the UHT generally applies to foreign national owners of housing in Canada.
However, in some situations, the UHT also applies to some Canadian owners. The examples given on the official page include certain partners, trustees, and corporations.
The official page does not list every exemption or every affected situation in its main text. Instead, it presents determining whether you are an affected owner as a separate step, which readers need to work through using the official guidance.
Do Not Confuse It With Provincial and Municipal Vacancy Taxes
The official page specifically notes that you may have heard about a new vacancy tax in certain provinces and municipalities in Canada. These vacancy taxes have been implemented by provincial and municipal governments and are different from the federal Underused Housing Tax.
The official page states that you must determine if you are affected by each of these taxes separately.
The official page also states that if you are exempt from one tax, you may still be required to file a return and pay the other tax.
Regarding taxes implemented by provincial and municipal governments, the official page states that the CRA is not able to answer questions about them.
How to Determine Whether You Need to File
The official page lists determining whether you are an affected owner for the Underused Housing Tax as a separate step and provides related resources.
The resources listed on the official page include a multimedia toolkit with factsheets and promotional material, and technical information.
The official page does not provide specific filing deadlines, penalty amounts, form numbers, or payment methods in its main text. These details need to be confirmed on the official determination tool and filing pages.
0 found this useful
Send this page