RESOURCES

The “2024 Ontario Budget: Building a Better Ontario” announced changes to the Non-Resident Speculation Tax (NRST), which are effective March 27, 2024. As a refresher, NRST is a tax in addition to the general Land Transfer Tax (LTT) on the purchase or acquisition of an interest in designated land by individuals who are not citizens or permanent residents of Canada or by foreign corporations (foreign entities) and taxable trustees. Designated land is defined as land that contains at least one and not more than six single family residences. 

NRST is 25% of the value of the consideration, subject to the following transitional provisions: 

• The rate is 20% for conveyances based on an agreement of purchase and sale entered in after March 29, 2022, but on or before October 24, 2022. 
• The rate is 15% for conveyances of designated land situated in the Greater Golden Horseshoe Region based on an agreement of purchase and sale entered into on or before March 29, 2022, and on or after April 21, 2017. 

 The Changes Introduced 

The following changes apply to conveyances registered on and after March 27, 2024:

1. Standalone purchase of parking or locker unit now subject to NRST:

Previously, when buying just a parking or a locker unit in a condominium, not in conjunction with a dwelling unit, the Buyer was not supposed to pay the NRST because standalone parking or locker unit was considered outside the definition of a “designated land”. 

Effective March 27, 2024, the definition of “designated land” is expanded to include a unit or proposed unit under the Condominium Act, 1998 that is intended for use by a resident of the condominium complex for parking or storage purposes. 

The expanded definition does not apply to land that is conveyed pursuant to an agreement of purchase and sale or any assignment of an agreement of purchase and sale that was entered into before March 27, 2024. 

2. Amended occupancy requirement timeline to claim an exemption from NRST:

Before March 27th, the Buyers claiming exemption from NRST under any of the three exemptions available, namely: Nominee Exemption, Protected Person (Refugee) Exemption, and Spousal Exemption – only had to certify that each Buyer will be occupying the subject property as their principal residence (for more information about available exemptions from NRST, please visit the following link by clicking here. 

Under the new rules, the Buyers claiming the said exemptions will be required to certify that each Buyer will occupy the property as their principal residence within 60 days after the date of registration. Prior to this, there was no clear timeline within which the Buyer was supposed to occupy the property as their principal residence. 

3. Extending the rebate application deadline under the Permanent Resident rebate:

The Buyers who pay NRST while purchasing a property might become eligible for a rebate for the tax paid by becoming a Permanent Resident of Canada, and meeting certain conditions (for more information about available NRST rebates, please visit the following link by clicking here. 

Previously, the Buyers applying for such a rebate were supposed to apply within 90 days of becoming a Permanent Resident. The new rules replace the timeline from 90 days to 180 days. 

4. Other clarifications:

Apart from the key changes discussed above, the new rules introduce some clarifications for definitions, issues, etc. that were a source of confusion or ambiguity under the previous provisions. 

Laws and regulations like NRST can be perplexing, especially with such continuing changes. We are here to assist you with any questions that you may have regarding what we discussed in this blog, or any other matter where we can be of assistance. Please feel free to reach out to our office at (905) 270-6660 or by email at info@kormans.ca.

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Yashkaran Singh is an Associate Lawyer at Kormans LLP. You can reach Yashkaran here: ysingh@kormans.ca.

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