The B.C. government has set a lower threshold for homeowners to qualify for a grant to help offset property taxes in the province.
The province said Friday a decline in housing prices is behind the decision, which sets a lower property value limit for the B.C. Home Owner Grant.
That threshold will now sit at $1.525 million for 2020, down from $1.65 million in 2019 — a nearly eight-per cent decrease.
The Ministry of Finance says 92 per cent of homeowners will be eligible for the full $570 grant in 2020, which was the same percentage given last year.
The new threshold was announced a day after BC Assessment announced B.C.’s total property assessment values have gone down for the first time in 20 years.
Vancouver and other parts of the Lower Mainland saw an 11 per cent annual decline in the typical value of single-family homes, with the average assessment standing at $1.57 million as of July 1, 2019.
West Vancouver saw a 16-per cent decline to an average of $2.35 million, the sharpest decline in the Lower Mainland.
Residents whose homes are over the $1.525 million threshold are still able to claim some of the grant, which is reduced by $5 for every $1,000 of assessed value above the threshold.
Those 65 and older who are living in their homes in northern and rural areas can claim as much as $1,045 off their annual tax bill under the grant program.
Homeowners may also be eligible for property tax deferment if they are 55 years or older or are financially supporting a dependent child.
The Home Owner Grant was introduced in the 1950s by the then-Social Credit government in an effort to encourage residents to buy and build homes.
The province has said no other jurisdiction in Canada offers the same type of assistance as its homeowner grant, but Ontario, Nova Scotia, Manitoba and New Brunswick offer income-tested tax credits.
The NDP promised in its 2018 budget to review the grant to see if it could be expanded to include renters.
— With files from the Canadian Press
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