The Squamish speculation tax, month by month.
Squamish is inside BC's speculation and vacancy tax area and the rate doubled for 2026. Renting your property to a tenant for six months of the year is the usual way out. This guide covers the rates, how the six months are counted, the seasonal lease pattern that misses it, and the records that back up your declaration.
Squamish
Taxable areaThe District of Squamish is on the Province's list of taxable areas. Every owner on title of a residential property declares every year.
Whistler
Not listedThe Resort Municipality of Whistler is not a taxable area. Whistler owners don't receive a declaration letter for a Whistler property.
Pemberton
Not listedThe Village of Pemberton is not on the list either. Check the Province's location map if your property sits near a boundary.
What an empty Squamish home costs now.
The tax is charged on the property's assessed value, by calendar year, on each owner's share. The 2026 rates apply to how the property was used during 2026 and are declared in early 2027.
| Tax year | Canadian citizens and permanent residents | Foreign owners and untaxed worldwide earners |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 to 2025 | 0.5% | 2% |
| 2026 | 1% | 3% |
| 2027 | 1% | 4% |
Source: Province of BC, tax rates for the speculation and vacancy tax, page updated July 3, 2026. Corporations, trustees and partners pay the highest rate that would apply to any of their interest holders.
What would 2026 cost you?
At 1% of assessed value, with no tenancy exemption and no other exemption claimed.
Assumes one owner with 100% of title and no other exemption. Principal residence, new owner and several other exemptions exist and can change the answer. This is an illustration, not an assessment.
Everyone on title, every year
If you own residential property in the District of Squamish, the Province mails a declaration letter to the address BC Assessment has on file for you. The letter carries a Letter ID and a Declaration Code, and you declare online or by phone using them.
Each person on title declares separately, including spouses and family members on the same property. Declaring is required even when you're fully exempt. An owner who rents the place out year round still has to tell the Province so.
If you're declaring for someone else, such as a parent, you need the legal authority to act for them. The Province's special circumstances page covers how that works.
The letter goes to the mailing address on your assessment, so if that address is old, the first notice can go missing. Update it with BC Assessment before January.
How six months of tenants exempts the property
The Province's tenancy exemption requires tenants to occupy the property for at least six months of the year, rented in at least one month increments. Months can be combined across more than one tenancy, but each tenancy has to meet the requirements on its own.
For an arm's length tenant, meaning someone with no personal or family relationship to an owner:
- A written tenancy agreement under the Residential Tenancy Act is in place
- The tenant makes the property their home
A non-arm's length tenant, such as a family member, can also count for Canadian owners. A written agreement and rent aren't required, but the tenant needs your permission to live there and has to live there most of the time in each month you count.
Foreign owners have an extra test. At least one tenant in the property must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident who is a BC tax resident, with BC income of at least three times the annual fair market rent for the whole property. Tenants can't combine incomes to meet it. That rules out a lot of otherwise good tenants, so it shapes who you can rent to.
A seasonal worker on a written fixed-term agreement who lives in the property for the season is a tenant making it their home. The months still have to land in the right calendar year.
Six months of rent doesn't always make six months.
The tax is assessed by calendar year, January to December. A lease that straddles New Year splits its months between two tax years. Four patterns, with the months each one puts in each year:
A six-month winter lease
November 1, 2026 to April 30, 2027Short
Short
Six months of rent and no tenancy exemption in either year from this lease. 2026 gets two months and 2027 gets four. Each year needs other qualifying months to reach six.
The same winter lease, plus a summer tenancy
Winter lease above, then June 1 to August 31, 2027Meets six
Seven months land in 2027, so 2027 clears the test. Combining a winter and a summer tenancy is the usual way a seasonal property reaches six months.
A twelve-month lease starting in September
September 1, 2026 to August 31, 2027Short
Meets six
The first calendar year only gets four months. A twelve-month lease that starts on or before July 1 puts at least six months in the starting year.
A six-month fixed term inside one year
January 1 to June 30, 2027Meets six
Exactly six months in 2027. It works, with no margin: a single empty month between tenants and the year falls short.
Months that won't help your declaration
- Nightly and vacation stays. The exemption needs a written Residential Tenancy Act agreement and one month increments. Holiday accommodation generally sits outside the Act, and Squamish restricts short-term rental anyway.
- Empty weeks between tenants. A month without a tenant in occupation is a month you can't count. Turnover gaps add up fast on a six-month target.
- A handshake arrangement with someone you don't know. An arm's length tenancy without a written RTA agreement doesn't meet the requirement.
- A tenant who fails the foreign-owner income test. If you're a foreign owner, the months only count while a qualifying tenant is in the property.
If your property has sat empty for most of 2026, there aren't enough months left this year to reach six. Check the Province's other exemptions for 2026, then plan 2027 so the tenancy months fall inside it.
Start tenancies on the first of a month and end them on the last day of one. It keeps the month count clean when you declare.
The 2026 declaration timeline
- December 31, 2026. The 2026 tax year closes.
- January 2027. Declaration letters are usually mailed from January.
- March 31, 2027. Declarations for 2026 are due.
- First business day of July 2027. Any tax owing for 2026 is due.
If no declaration arrives, the Province issues a Notice of Assessment. Late declarations and corrections can be submitted, generally within three years, but don't plan around that. Declare on time.
The Province routinely reviews declarations to confirm eligibility. If yours is selected for audit, you'll be asked for whatever information is needed to support the exemption you claimed, and the Province says to keep supporting documents for six years after you declare.
A buyer doesn't take on the seller's speculation tax debt. The Squamish investment property guide covers the tax alongside short-term rental rules and strata bylaws.
Records that show a real tenancy.
The Province doesn't publish a fixed document list for a tenancy exemption audit. These are the records that show a tenancy existed, who it was with, and which months it covered. Keep them for six years.
Written tenancy agreement
Signed, on the RTA form, with the start and end dates of the term.
Rent records
Receipts or bank deposits for every month you plan to count.
Inspection reports
Move-in and move-out condition reports, which date the occupancy.
Tenant details
Who lived there, and for foreign owners, the tenant's eligibility under the income test.
The tenancy behind the exemption
Finding and screening tenants, written RTA agreements with terms timed to the calendar year, move-in and move-out inspections, rent collection and owner statements, and a tenancy file you can hand to an auditor. That's part of full-service management and seasonal rentals.
Your declaration or tax advice
I'm a licensed rental property manager, not an accountant or a lawyer. I don't complete or submit speculation tax declarations, and I don't advise on which exemption applies to you or how your ownership is taxed. Your accountant does that, using the records the tenancy produces.
Squamish speculation tax, answered.
Does the speculation and vacancy tax apply in Squamish?
Yes. The District of Squamish is a designated taxable area for BC's speculation and vacancy tax. Whistler and Pemberton are not on the Province's list of taxable areas. Every owner on title of a residential property in Squamish must declare each year, even if they qualify for an exemption.
What is the speculation and vacancy tax rate in 2026?
For the 2026 tax year the rate is 1% of assessed value for Canadian citizens and permanent residents who are not untaxed worldwide earners, and 3% for foreign owners and untaxed worldwide earners. The Province has published a 4% rate for foreign owners and untaxed worldwide earners for 2027. Rates were 0.5% and 2% for 2019 to 2025.
How long do I have to rent my property to be exempt?
The Province's tenancy exemption requires tenants to occupy the property for at least six months of the year, rented in at least one month increments. For an arm's length tenant, a written tenancy agreement under the Residential Tenancy Act must be in place and the tenant must make the property their home. Months from more than one tenancy can be combined, but each tenancy must meet the requirements on its own.
Does a seasonal rental count toward the six months?
A seasonal tenancy can count if it is a genuine tenancy under a written Residential Tenancy Act agreement and the tenant lives there as their home. The tax is assessed by calendar year, so a lease that runs from November to April puts two months in one year and four in the next, and neither year reaches six on that lease alone.
Do nightly or vacation rentals count toward the exemption?
The tenancy exemption requires a written tenancy agreement under the Residential Tenancy Act, rented in at least one month increments. Nightly and vacation stays generally fall outside the Residential Tenancy Act, so they should not be relied on to reach the six months.
When is the declaration due?
Declarations are due by March 31 each year for the previous calendar year, so the 2026 declaration is due by March 31, 2027. Declaration letters are mailed to the address BC Assessment has on file, usually starting in January. Any tax owing is due on the first business day of July.
Plan 2027 so the months land in the right year.
Tell me about the property and how it's used now. I'll come back with what it should rent for, the lease terms that fit your own plans for the place, and how those months fall across the calendar year. Free, and within three business days.
- Phone 778-866-5355
- Email marc.duhalde@remax.net
- Prefer a full written assessment? Request one here