Do you own a property in the City of Toronto? Do you have friends or family living outside Toronto that own a property in the city? Then this is important information for you!
Did you know about Toronto Vacant Home Tax? Be careful - if you don't submit your declaration by the deadline of February 2 you may be subject to a fine!
If you own a property in Toronto you now must fill out a declaration with the details of who is living there. If you own more than one property, you have to fill out a declaration for each property.
What you need to fill out your declaration:
To fill out the declaration, you'll need your Assessment Roll Number (ARN) and Customer Number from your tax form, and the occupants names' and phone number for each property. This is for homes or condos within the City of Toronto only.
Link to on-line declaration
Exemptions:
There are some exemptions (like if someone has passed away during the year) - they can be found here towards the bottom of the page: Exemptions to Vacant Home Tax
Why has the city done this?
This new tax is an initiative to help release properties sitting vacant into either the rental pool, or to be sold. Are vacant homes a big problem in Toronto? I don't think there has been a way to monitor or track these properties, but the feeling is there aren't many of them.
However, there are quite a few investors holding properties in Canada that live elsewhere - so if you have a friend or family in this situation, please make sure you forward this information to them. They may not have received the notification!
What if you can't find your Assessment Roll Number?
If you're having trouble finding your ARN, let me know and I can look it up for you!
Can you fill out the declaration any other way?
Yes, you can print out and mail in a declaration by February 2 as well, details and forms are at the link above.
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