File photo by Liam Verster / Vernon Matters

By Liam Verster

Spec Tax Report

Predator Ridge to be exempt from speculation and vacancy tax

Jan 12, 2026 | 11:08 AM

Properties in Predator Ridge are no longer subject of the provincial speculation and vacancy tax.

The province said in a report to the City of Vernon that the local resort is being excluded from the specified areas for the tax, effective retroactively to January of 2024.

The change to the tax area was shared as Vernon was asked to participate in the seventh annual consultation on the speculation and vacancy tax (SVT).

Other changes to the SVT that will come into place in 2026 are increasing rates for Canadian citizens and permanent residents from 0.5 to one per cent; increasing rates from two to three per cent for foreign owners and untaxes worldwide earners; increasing the SVT credit for B.C. residents from $2,000 to $4,000; and amending the SVT Act to allow for the submission of opinions and documents completed by nurse practitioners for health-related exemptions, effective retroactively to January of 2019.

The report went on to provide data on how much was collected through the SVT in 2024, the most recent year the province had data.

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The tax brought in a total of $79,564,720 from across the province. Included in that was $2,434,000 from within Vernon, which was part of the $3,125,350 SVT tax collected from the entire North Okanagan.

Of that total revenue, $23,583,005 came through untaxed worldwide owners, $16,197,072 was from foreign owners, and $12,722,980 came from other Canadians. B.C. residents did pay a total of $15,271,975 in speculation and vacancy taxes in 2024, while another $6 million came through “undetermined” sources, or people who paid the SVT without declaring, and nearly $5.8 million came from “others,” such as corporations, trusts, and other partnerships.

The SVT applies to 59 municipalities across B.C., including Vernon, Coldstream, Lake Country, and Kelowna. The province noted that approximately 99.7 per cent of British Columbians were exempt from the tax.

Vernon City Council voted unanimously in favour of participating in the consultation process at the regular meeting Monday, January 11.