The Underused Housing Tax (UHT) has been a significant source of frustration, confusion, and excessive paperwork for Canadian property owners—particularly those involving trusts, partnerships, and private corporations. We are pleased to report the repeal of the UHT for the 2025 tax year onwards.
This change removes a major compliance burden that disproportionately affected Canadians with complex ownership structures, rather than the foreign speculators the tax was originally intended to target.
What You Need to Know
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Federal Relief: You likely do not need to file the UHT-2900 return this April. This applies to most Canadian partnerships, trusts, and Canadian-controlled private corporations (CCPCs) that hold residential property.
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Retrospective Application: It is important to note that if you have unfiled returns for the 2022, 2023, or 2024 tax years, the rules for those years still apply. The repeal is effective for the 2025 tax year (filed in 2026).
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Watch Out for Provincial Taxes: While the federal UHT is gone, provincial vacancy taxes are separate and still active.
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BC & Ontario: Both have vacancy taxes in certain regions. If you own property in these provinces, you must still check their specific filing requirements.
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Alberta Advantage: Currently, Alberta does not have a provincial vacancy tax, making this full federal repeal even more beneficial for local owners.
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The Bottom Line
Less paperwork is always a win for taxpayers. The elimination of the UHT filing requirement allows property owners to focus on their investments rather than proving to the CRA that their property is not "underused."
This blog was written using the assistance of AI.
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