Vacant Home Tax Calculator (Toronto, Vancouver, Ottawa) Canada
This vacant home tax calculator estimates the yearly charge on a Canadian property at Toronto, Vancouver or Ottawa rates, with exemptions and a projection.
What it does
This calculator estimates the annual municipal vacant home tax on a Canadian residential property, applying Toronto's Vacant Home Tax rate, Vancouver's Empty Homes Tax rate, Ottawa's Vacant Unit Tax rate or a rate you enter for another municipality to your share of the assessed value, and returning zero when the home was occupied for long enough or an exemption applies.
Data sources & parameters
The figures below drive this calculator. We keep them aligned with the latest official guidance, and each result recalculates automatically whenever a value changes.
| Parameter | Value | Source | Last updated |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual vacant-home tax rate on assessed value: Toronto 3% and Vancouver Empty Homes 3%, both flat however long the home stays empty. Ottawa is graduated: 1% in the first vacant year, rising one point for each consecutive vacant year to a 5% ceiling. | Rate schedule | toronto.ca, vancouver.ca, documents.ottawa.ca | Effective 2026-01-01Toronto 3% and Vancouver 3% verified at each city. Ottawa 1% was only the first-year rate: Council made the Vacant Unit Tax graduated from the 2024 vacancy year, rising a point a year to 5%, so the step and ceiling are now held and modelled. |
We always strive to use the latest data for every variable so our results and reports are as accurate as possible. Even so, errors are possible — you should not rely on this tool or its report alone, and we accept no liability for any decision made based on it.
The formula
taxable value = assessed value × ownership share when occupied months are below the bylaw threshold and no exemption applies, otherwise 0; tax payable = taxable value × the city rate; cost per empty month = tax payable ÷ months the home stood empty
How it works
It compares the months the home was occupied against the months the bylaw requires. If the home falls short and no exemption is claimed, your ownership share of the assessed value becomes the taxable value, the city's rate is applied to it, and the same taxable value is also run through the other two cities' rates so the charge can be compared. A multi-year projection repeats the charge for as many years as you expect the home to stay empty, growing the assessment as you specify.
Where it is used
- Estimating the annual holding cost of a second home or an unsold property in Toronto, Vancouver or Ottawa
- Working out how many more months of occupancy would clear the bylaw
- Comparing what the same empty property would cost in each of the three cities
- Weighing the tax against the rent a long-term tenancy would bring in
- Projecting the cost of leaving a home empty through a multi-year renovation or probate
Worked example
A Toronto condo assessed at CA$1,100,000.00 that was lived in for only two months of the year stood empty for … months, which is … months short of the occupancy the bylaw asks for. The whole assessment becomes taxable value of …, and at a rate of … the vacant home tax is … for the year — … a month spread over the year, or … for every month the unit actually sat empty. Left vacant for three years at a flat assessment, the running total reaches …. The same property would cost … under Vancouver's Empty Homes Tax and … under Ottawa's Vacant Unit Tax, which is the clearest measure of how much dearer the Toronto and Vancouver rates are than Ottawa's. Two months of extra occupancy, or a tenancy long enough to qualify, removes the charge entirely.
What the vacant home tax calculator does
The calculator estimates a municipal vacancy charge for a year a home stood empty, at the Toronto, Vancouver or Ottawa rate or a rate you enter for another municipality. Enter the assessed value, the months the home was actually occupied and your share of the title, and it returns the annual bill, the cost of each empty month, the same property’s charge in the other two cities, and a running total if the home stays empty for several years.
Vancouver introduced its Empty Homes Tax first, Toronto followed with its Vacant Home Tax, and Ottawa added a Vacant Unit Tax. All three require an annual occupancy declaration from every residential owner, charge a percentage of assessed value where a home fails the occupancy test, and treat a missing declaration as vacant.
A worked example
A Toronto home assessed at $1,100,000 was occupied for two months last year, four short of the six required. At 3% the charge is $33,000, about $3,300 for each of the ten empty months. The same home would owe $33,000 in Vancouver and $11,000 in Ottawa, and three more years of vacancy at the same assessment would cost $99,000.
How the charge is worked out
There is no graduated scale and no allowance: the whole assessed value is multiplied by one rate, 3% in Toronto and Vancouver and 1% in Ottawa. The three rates are maintained parameters. Other municipalities set their own rates by bylaw, so choosing another municipality asks you to enter the rate.
The tax is charged on your interest in the property, so for a jointly held home, entering your ownership share reduces the taxable value.
The occupancy test
A home is caught because it was not occupied long enough, not because it is a second property. In all three cities the threshold is six months in the previous calendar year, and a tenant’s occupancy counts the same as the owner’s. Meet it and the charge disappears; fall one month short and the full amount is due. The calculator shows how many more months of occupancy would have cleared the bylaw. A few months of tenancy against a five-figure charge is a very high-return decision, and the cost per empty month puts a price on each month the home sits empty. The threshold is an input because new bylaws may use different tests.
Reading the three-city comparison
The same taxable value is run through all three rates, showing the gap between the two 3% cities and Ottawa’s 1%, useful for an owner deciding where to hold a second property. Assessed value, not price, drives the result: two homes with similar market value in Toronto and Vancouver can carry different charges because their assessment systems differ and update on different cycles.
Projecting a multi-year vacancy
A gut renovation, contested estate or property awaiting a planning decision can stay empty for three or four years, and the charge applies each year. Set a horizon and an assessment growth rate, your own assumption rather than a published forecast, to see the cumulative cost.
Who actually gets caught
The owners who pay are often not speculators: an estate stuck in probate, a renovation whose permits ran late, an owner who moved into care, a city apartment used a few weeks a year, a unit bought before construction and never occupied. Most have an exemption available, and most disputes are about a declaration filed late or not at all. Check the numbers before the declaration window opens rather than appealing after the bill arrives.
What is not included
Ordinary property tax is separate and continues regardless of occupancy. British Columbia’s provincial speculation and vacancy tax can apply in designated regions on top of the city charge, and federal underused housing rules for certain non-resident owners have their own filing obligations. Penalties and interest for a false or late declaration, substantial in all three cities, are not modelled.
The result is an estimate from your inputs and the current published rates, not tax advice. Check your declaration and any exemption with the municipality before relying on it.
About This Tool: Vacant Home Tax
Vacant home tax: use this tool to get an instant, accurate estimate. The figures follow official guidance and every rate and threshold is kept up to date for 2026. Adjust the inputs above to match your situation, or browse all our calculators to plan your next step.
Tax year 2026
Frequently asked questions
When is a home treated as vacant?
Which assessed value is the tax charged on?
What happens if I never file the declaration?
Do the exemptions cancel the tax completely?
Does renting the home out avoid the tax?
Can more than one vacancy tax hit the same property?
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