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If you’re the registered owner of a land co-operative or multi-dwelling leased parcel, you can work together with eligible occupants living in your building or on your property to apply for themultiple home owner grant. New for 2021 is that homeowner grant applications must go through the Province of B.C. Tax notices from City of Chilliwack have been arriving in mailboxes recently, making it the perfect time to review a big change to the homeowner grant application process. The province reduced the threshold in 2014 from a previous $1.295 million in order to skim $11 million from home owner grants to general revenue and it was kept frozen at $1.1 million last year.
If you have missed the deadline to apply for the Provincial Home Owner Grant for the previous year, you can still apply for the grant if you are the registered owner of the property at the time of application, and reside at the property on December 31. The partitioned value of a property is the property’s assessed value divided by the number of residences on that property. To qualify, each residence must have cooking, sleeping, bathroom and living room facilities. You may be able to claim the full regular grant amount if your property has an assessed or partitioned value of $1,975,000 or less.
Claim Your Home Owner Grant
The additional grant is elimiated on properties assessed at $2,144,000 or more. If you meet all requirements but your property’s assessed or partitioned value is over $1,975,000, you may qualify for a grant at a reduced amount. If your property is assessed below the threshold and you meet certain requirements, you will receive the full regular grant amount.
Seniors, veterans and the disabled also may qualify for an additional grant of up to $275. Government has raised the threshold to qualify for the full home owner grant to shield some owners from a higher property tax bill. Owners will also be notified of these program administration changes on the property tax notice, on the City of Chilliwack’s website and social media accounts. “The Province is taking over administration of the home owner grant program starting this year to make it faster and easier for homeowners to apply,” said Sonia Lowe, media spokesperson for Ministry of Finance. • Keep property tax notice on hand with info you’ll need to apply. Seniors whose property tax bills have skyrocketed over the years also have the option of deferring property taxes until the eventual sale of the home.
Multiple Home Owner Grant
Your grant amount may be adjusted to ensure the minimum amount of annual taxes are paid. “To avoid the second five per cent late payment penalty on the HOG portion of your taxes, you must submit your completed Grant application by August 3, 2021. Stories of Chilliwack homeowners waiting several hours to get through to provincial officials on the phone are being reported. The revised threshold is $1.2 million and homes above that lose $5 of the grant for every $1,000 in additional value. The regular grant is eliminated on properties assessed at $2,089,000 or more.
The City of Chilliwack no longer accepts the grant applications at our office. The home owner grant application process has changed, but program details and eiligibility requirements have not changed. Grant applications are audited for up to 7 years to make sure taxpayers are eligible for the grants they receive.
Mayor and Council
Infographic reminding homeowners that grant program now through provincial government, but taxes paid through City of Chilliwack. If you are a Veteran under 65 and live in a low income household you may also qualify for a supplement if you have an adjusted net income of $32,000 or less. The supplement is applied to the amount of property taxes over the minimum tax amount of $350.
The grant threshold is the maximum value of an assessed or partitioned property where home owners are eligible to claim the full home owner grant. Most eligible property owners qualify for the regular grant . In 2021, the home owner grant application process changed, but program details and eligibility requirements have not changed.
Homeowner grants now go through the provincial system
The grant amount is reduced by $5 for every $1,000 your property value is over the threshold. If you have received a Notice of Disentitlement that indicates you're not eligible for a home owner grant, find outhow to pay your outstanding balance. Laneway homes and multi-family dwellings like a duplex, triplex and fourplex qualify as separate residences. A suite in your principal residence doesn’t qualify as a separate residence. Roperties assessed higher than $2,144,000 ($2,184,000 in a northern and rural area), are not eligible for a home owner grant.
But most first-time home buyers aren’t purchasing seven-figure homes, he suggested. Homes that are valued below the new cut-off for the full grant is 91 per cent, down from 93 per cent last year and 95 per cent in 2012. Chilliwack city councillor Jason Lum said he was not surprised by this move.
For more information, review Home Owner Grant - Veteran's Supplement, to see if you qualify. If your grant amount was reduced because of the high assessed value of your principal residence and you have an adjusted net income of $32,000 or less you can apply to receive a Low-Income Supplement for all or part of the amount your grant was reduced. The supplement is available to seniors and persons with disabilities. Review the Supplement for Seniors or Supplement for Persons with Disabilitiesinformation to see if you qualify. The best time to apply is after you receive your property tax notice in the mail and before the property tax due date. In the past the grant applications were administered by city officials on behalf of the province, which could be applied for in person at city hall for those without internet connections, online or by phone.
For the purpose of claiming the home owner grant, you can have only one principal residence. The regular grant amount is $570 for properties located in the Capital Regional District, the Metro Vancouver Regional District and the Fraser Valley Regional District. “Many heritage buildings have character defining elements and often contain historic materials and unique architectural features that are difficult and expensive to replicate. The fee for City of Chilliwack is currently $320 to make an application, and the grant offers up to $500.
The change will prevent ineligible homeowners from being penalized for late payments by enabling them to confirm eligibility before taxes are due, according to the ministry. It will also prevent fraud by preventing multiple applications for grants by owners of multiple properties in different jurisdictions. The grant is available to homeowners who pay property taxes to a municipality, or to the province if they live in arural area. If you pay your property taxes to a First Nation, contact the First Nationdirectly.
