Older adults looking to defer their property taxes to trim their budgets will be able to apply online for instead of going to city hall or mailing in their paperwork.
Starting May 2020, eligible British Columbians can apply online for the loan program that allows them to defer their property taxes at a low interest rate with the requirement they pay the deferred taxes and interest when they sell or transfer ownership of their home.
The eligibility requirements for property tax deferment remain the same: you may qualify for the regular program if you’re 55 or older during the current year, a surviving spouse of any age or person with disabilities
The taxes can be deferred for any year the homeowner lives in the home as long as they meet the criteria.
Those who want to remain in their homes but are faced with rising costs while their incomes are fixed tend to be among those participating in the tax deferral program, according to BC Seniors Advocate Isobel Mackenzie who reviewed the program last year.
"The value of houses has increased significantly," she said at the time. "When you look at deferring your taxes, it now seems like a pretty small debt compared to the value of your house."
Seniors on a fixed income may be looking at different ways of reducing budget pressures, Mackenzie said. She noted that property taxes and utilities have been rising at a faster clip than most people's retirement incomes, which typically follows the rate of inflation.
"This is one of the ways of addressing those costs," she said. "So people may be educating themselves."
There were close to 14,000 new users of the property tax deferment program in B.C. in 2018, a jump of 27% over the previous year and a 155% rise since 2014.
In Coquitlam last year, more than $7.3 million in taxes were deferred by 1,824 property owners, a rise of 133% over the last five years. In Port Coquitlam, 528 people took advantage of the program in 2018, a jump of 187% since 2014, totalling close to $1.6 million, while Port Moody's numbers during the same time period jumped 160% to 655 for a total of $2.6 million in deferred taxes.
The online application process is designed to lead to quicker application reviews and, for the first time, allow for automatic renewals, according to the B.C. Ministry of Finance.
Prior to the launch of the new system, application reviews could take up to five months, leading to potential late penalties and fees.
With online applications available, B.C. municipalities will no longer be responsible for accepting deferment applications, although they will continue to handle homeowner grants and utility payments.
