B.C. government reviews homeowner grants amid rising property assessments

VICTORIA – With some British Columbia homeowners facing big increases in their property-value assessments the provincial government is looking at whether it needs to help ease the resulting tax burden.

The Ministry of Finance says it's reviewing who qualifies for a homeowner grant program, which helps reduce property taxes.

To qualify for the grant the assessed value of a homeowner's property must be less than $1.2 million and the ministry says it is looking at whether to raise the threshold.

Provincial property assessments from 2016 were posted online today by the B.C. assessment authority.

The assessments are based on the estimate of a property's market value as of July 1 and its physical condition as of Oct. 31.

A $570 grant is given to those who live in their home with a value under the threshold, which the ministry says covers 91 per cent of homes in B.C.

The provincial government increased the threshold by $100,000 to $1.2 million last year because of soaring real estate prices.