Toronto extends vacant home tax deadline, over 10% of property owners non-compliant

Torontosun.com
Feb. 10, 2023
Antonella Artuso

Over 94,000 Toronto owners have yet to declare their residential properties are occupied to avoid paying thousands of dollars in the new Vacant Home Tax.

The City of Toronto announced this week it will extend the deadline for the VHT declaration to Feb. 28 from Feb. 2, but a property could be deemed vacant if no reply is received by the end of this month.

Casey Brendon, Toronto’s director of revenue services, said in a statement Thursday that notices had been mailed to 818,907 residential property owners with 724,741 replies, representing 88.5% of owners.

“We are now in the process of mailing final notices to homeowners who have yet to submit a declaration of their property’s occupancy status, reminding them of their obligation to make a declaration,” Brendon said. “Declarations will be accepted until the Feb. 28 extended due date.”

All Toronto residential property owners are required to file an online declaration that their home is occupied -- by an owner, renter or other permitted person -- or pay an annual tax equivalent to 1% of the property’s current value assessment, which could easily be in the thousands of dollars.

“The goal of this tax is to add units to our housing supply to help address the current housing crisis,” Toronto Mayor John Tory said in a statement.

The city also announced this week it will no longer demand the owners of vacant properties pay the new tax in one lump sum on May 1.

Owners will be able to submit the tax owed in three installments dated May 1, June 1 and July 1 “to moderate the financial impact on property owners who must pay this tax,” a statement from the city says.

Residential property owners can submit their VHT declaration online at https://www.toronto.ca/services-payments/property-taxes-utilities/vacant-home-tax.

Owners without access to a computer can authorize another person to make the declaration.

“If residents own their own home, if they live in their home but go to a vacation home during parts of the year or work abroad, or even if residents rent out their property, the tax will not apply in their situation,” the city statement says. “While the Vacant Home Tax will not apply to the vast majority of Toronto residents, all homeowners must submit a declaration.”