For most buyers in British Columbia, the largest closing cost is the property transfer tax, charged on the home’s fair market value when the title is registered, and two exemptions decide whether a buyer pays all of it: one for first-time buyers and one for newly built homes. A strata (condo) purchase adds forms that only the strata corporation can issue. To estimate your own total, use the closing cost calculator and choose British Columbia; the closing costs hub has a guide to each cost and each province.
Property transfer tax and its exemptions
The tax is 1% on the first $200,000 of fair market value and 2% on the part up to $2,000,000, with higher rates above that; the full schedule and the conditions for each exemption are on BC property transfer tax. A qualifying first-time buyer pays no tax on the first $500,000 of a home worth up to $835,000, and a qualifying newly built home can be exempt whether or not the buyer has owned before.
Strata purchases
Before a strata lot is bought, the strata corporation issues an information certificate (Form B) on the unit and the strata’s finances, and at closing a certificate of payment (Form F) confirms the seller owes the strata nothing. Reading those, the bylaws and the depreciation report is part of what a real estate lawyer or notary does on a BC purchase.
Foreign buyers and new homes
Foreign nationals buying in the Capital, Fraser Valley, Metro Vancouver, Central Okanagan and Nanaimo regional districts pay an additional property transfer tax of 20% of fair market value, covered with the other provinces’ rules on non-resident property taxes in Canada. A newly built home is subject to GST, and the GST/HST new housing rebate can return part of it, with a larger federal rebate for qualifying first-time buyers of new homes.
Example: a resale condo in Victoria
A buyer who has owned a home before pays $700,000 for a resale strata condo in Victoria with 20% down, so no default insurance is needed. The fees for the notary or lawyer, the title insurance and the inspection are illustrative, not quotes.
| Cost paid at closing | Amount |
|---|---|
| Property transfer tax | $12,000 |
| Legal or notary fees and disbursements (assumed) | $1,800 |
| Title insurance (assumed) | $300 |
| Home inspection (assumed) | $500 |
| Total | $14,600 |
A buyer who qualified for the first-time buyer exemption at this price would pay $8,000 less tax. The total leaves out the down payment, moving, and the property tax and strata fee adjustments on the statement of adjustments.
What title insurance covers is explained on its own page. Next door, closing costs in Alberta involve registration fees rather than a transfer tax, and closing costs in Ontario combine a provincial land transfer tax with Toronto’s municipal one. BC’s own help for first-time buyers is in the BC first-time home buyer guide.
Sources
The figures and rules on this page come from these sources, last checked against them between September 24, 2026 and September 25, 2026. How we check facts.
- Government of British Columbia: Property transfer tax
- Government of British Columbia: Additional property transfer tax for foreign entities and taxable trustees