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Home Owner Grant for People with Disabilities
6-12-2018
The home owner grant reduces the amount of property taxes you pay each year on your principal residence.
If you’re a person with a disability, or you live with a relative who has a disability, and you meet certain requirements, you may be eligible for the additional grant of $275 on top of the regular or basic grant of $570. The total grant amount for people with disabilities is $845 in the Capital Regional District, Greater Vancouver Regional District and the Fraser Valley. For all other areas of the province, the total grant amount for people with disabilities is $1,045.
You must pay at least $100 in property taxes before claiming the home owner grant to help fund services such as road maintenance and police protection.
Do I Qualify?
To qualify for the grant:
You must meet one of the following two requirements:
1. You receive provincial disability assistance, hardship assistance or a supplement under the Employment and Assistance for Persons with Disabilities Act.
Or
2. You’re disabled or have a disabled spouse or relative living with you in your principal residence and you:
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Pay at least $150 per month during the calendar year to help the person with disabilities with daily living activities in your principal residence, or
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Have spent at least $2,000 for a qualifying modification to your principal residence, or
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Purchased your principal residence with a qualifying modification completed by a previous owner and the modification cost at least $2,000.
The assessed or partitioned value of your property must not exceed the grant threshold
Ensure you meet additional requirements if you are buying or selling your property
Note: Qualifying for other assistance programs, like the Canadian Pension Plan (CPP) disability benefit, doesn't automatically qualify you for the home owner grant for people with disabilities.
Your Principal Residence
For the purpose of claiming the home owner grant, you can have only one principal residence.
If you own more than one home, you can't designate which one is your principal residence.
Your principal residence is the usual place that you make your home. It’s where you live and conduct your daily affairs, like paying bills and receiving mail, and it’s generally the residence used in your government records for things like your income tax, medical services plan, driver's licence and vehicle registration.
To qualify for the home owner grant, your principal residence must be taxed as an improvement.
You must occupy your principal residence when you apply for the home owner grant. However, if you meet certain requirements you may still be able to apply for the grant if you:
Grant Threshold
The grant threshold is the maximum value of an assessed or partitioned property where home owners are eligible to claim the home owner grant. The threshold amount is reviewed every year to ensure that the value of at least 91% of homes in B.C. are eligible for the grant.
The grant threshold is $1,650,000. You may be able to claim the full grant amount if your property has an assessed or partitioned value of $1,650,000 or less.
If you meet all requirements but your property’s assessed or partitioned value is over $1,650,000, you may qualify for the grant at a reduced amount.
The grant is reduced by $5 for each $1,000 of assessed value over $1,650,000. This means the grant isn’t available for properties assessed over $1,819,000 ($1,859,000 in a northern and rural area).
If you own a property with an assessed value of more than $1,650,000 and have an adjusted net income of $32,000 or less, you may qualify for a low income grant supplement for people with disabilities.
You must apply for the home owner grant and the low income grant supplement separately.
If your property has an assessed value of more than $1,819,000 ($1,859,000 in a northern and rural area), then you aren’t eligible for a home owner grant. You may still qualify for a low income grant supplement, even though you aren’t receiving the home owner grant, and can apply for the supplement on its own.
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