Underused Housing Tax (federal)
The federal Underused Housing Tax has been eliminated from the 2025 calendar year onward. It still applies to 2022, 2023 and 2024 — use this to work out what an affected owner owes for those years.
Your scenario
Result
Taxable value is generally the greater of the assessed value and the most recent sale price, unless the owner elected fair market value. Penalties and interest for 2022–2024 still apply.
Rules checked: September 2026. Sources: CRA: UHT eliminated from 2025 · Bill C-15 (Royal Assent)
The UHT no longer applies from 2025
Budget 2025 proposed ending the Underused Housing Tax, and the measure became law when the Budget 2025 Implementation Act, No. 1 (Bill C-15) received Royal Assent on March 26, 2026 (Parliament of Canada). The CRA's position is plain: no UHT is payable, and no UHT return is required, for the 2025 calendar year or any later year (CRA).
If you own a vacant or underused home today, the federal tax is gone — but the provincial and municipal vacancy taxes are not. BC's Speculation and Vacancy Tax actually rose for 2026, and Toronto, Ottawa and Vancouver still tax empty homes.
What still applies: 2022, 2023 and 2024
The elimination is not retroactive. The filing and payment obligations for the 2022, 2023 and 2024 calendar years remain, along with the related penalties and interest. An owner who was required to file for one of those years and has not done so is still exposed.
- Rate: 1% a year of the property's taxable value
- Taxable value: generally the greater of the assessed value and the most recent sale price, or the fair market value if the owner elected it
- Who owed it: mainly non-resident, non-Canadian owners of vacant or underused residential property. From the 2023 year, amendments that received Royal Assent in June 2024 removed the filing requirement for most Canadian owners (CRA)
Worked example for a past year
A non-resident owner of a Vancouver condo with a taxable value of $900,000 that sat empty through 2024, with no exemption: 1% × $900,000 = $9,000 for 2024. The same condo owes nothing for 2025 or 2026 under the federal tax — though it would still face BC's Speculation and Vacancy Tax and Vancouver's Empty Homes Tax.
Exemptions that applied in 2022–2024
The main ones were a property that was the primary place of residence of the owner, their spouse or common-law partner, or their child studying away; a property occupied under a qualifying lease for enough of the year; and a set of situations such as new construction, uninhabitable periods and the death of an owner. The CRA's UHT notices set out the precise conditions for each year — check them against the year you are resolving rather than relying on a general list.
Where to go from here
If you are dealing with a 2022–2024 return, speak to a Canadian accountant familiar with the UHT. If you are planning around vacancy today, the taxes that matter are the BC Speculation and Vacancy Tax and the municipal vacant home taxes.
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