Changes to the BC Property Tax Deferment Program for 2026

The BC Property Tax Deferment program is a program that allows eligible BC homeowners to defer property taxes. When eligible homeowners are approved, the Ministry of Finance pays property taxes on your behalf and interest is charged on the deferred tax amount, with the balance becoming due when your home is sold (see our article here on What Happens to Deferred Property Taxes When a Home is Sold?)

In 2026, included in the BC Budget were changes to how interest is charged on newly deferred taxes. This means that these new rates are for taxes deferred starting in 2026, and balances deferred before 2026 are not affected and continue under the old rules.

For the regular program:

• Taxes deferred up to and including 2025 will continue at a rate of Prime minus 2%, using simple interest rate terms
• Taxes deferred for 2026 and following years will be at a rate of Prime plus 2%, using compounding interest rate terms

Check out the full details of the interest rate terms changes here. In a lot of cases, this could mean that deferring property taxes from 2026 onward may not be the best strategy, given the increased cost of the program. We have helped many of our clients determine the best path forward for property tax deferrals. Please contact us if you need guidance on what makes sense for your specific situation.