The legislation for the Underused Housing Tax (UHT) was enacted by the Federal Government on June 9, 2022, effective on January 1, 2022. The UHT is a 1% tax on the ownership of vacant or underused housing located in Canada.
Affected owners must now file a new Underused Housing Tax Return and Election Form – UHT-2900 (“Form UHT-2900”) by April 30, 2023 (extended to May 1, 2023).
An affected owner is an owner of a residential property that is:
- An individual who is not a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada and owns residential property in Canada in any capacity.
- Individuals who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada who own residential property as a trustee of a trust or as a partner of a partnership.
- Corporations that own residential property in Canada but are not incorporated in Canada.
- Corporations that are incorporated in Canada or a province that own residential property in any capacity.
- Corporations that are incorporated in Canada or a province without share capital that are owners of residential property in any capacity.
There are significant penalties if you fail to file Form UHT-2900 by the required Filing date.
Affected owners who are individuals are subject to a minimum penalty of $5,000 per return. Affected owners that are corporations are subject to a minimum penalty of $10,000 per return.
For more information and to determine if you are an affected owner, please see the information on the Canada Revenue Agency’s website at:
https://www.canada.ca/en/services/taxes/excise-taxes-duties-and-levies/underused-housing-tax.html
In addition, the newly released Form UHT-2900 can be found here:
https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/forms-publications/forms/uht-2900.html
Please contact us if you have any questions about the UHT. We can prepare the filing(s) on your behalf.