Some Canadian individuals and corporations, as well as non-residents of Canada, will be required to file a new annual tax return by April 30 and either claim an exemption or pay a tax of 1% on the value of “underused housing” in Canada which they own.
This new federal tax legislation applies in addition to other vacancy and speculation taxes introduced recently at the provincial and municipal levels.
Critical Information:
Affected owners of residential property in Canada only have a short time to meet this onerous new tax return filing requirement.
The tax return has six pages of information to be disclosed, and was only released to the public in early February of 2023. The April 30, 2023 filing deadline for the 2022 tax year means that we have very little time before the due date to gather all the information and prepare the return.
This means that owners subject to the filing requirement need to determine the eligibility for a filing exemption and a tax exemption in respect of each residential property, and file a tax return in respect of each affected property where a tax return filing exemption does not apply.
It is critically important that affected owners start gathering required details immediately to complete the new UHT return.
If you own multiple residential properties, you must ensure to file a separate UHT return for each property, as required, or you can be assessed substantial penalties.
