What it actually costs to sell a house in BC
By Dan Jones ·
Bottom line: on the sale side expect commission plus GST, legal fees, any mortgage payout penalty, and adjustments for taxes and utilities. On the purchase side the largest single cost is property transfer tax, which on an $800,000 home is $14,000 payable in cash on completion and not financed into the mortgage. If the home was your principal residence throughout, the principal residence exemption generally means no capital gains. Two things changed recently that catch people here: the speculation and vacancy tax now applies in Penticton and Summerland, and its 2026 rate doubled. Get your mortgage payout penalty in writing from your lender before you list, because it occasionally changes the whole decision.
I am Dan Jones, a REALTOR with Royal LePage Locations West in Penticton, licence number 1118346, licensed since 2004. I am not an accountant or a lawyer, and the places below where you need one are marked.
Most of the cost questions I get are really one question wearing different clothes: what comes off the cheque, and what is left.
Here is what actually shows up, current as of September 2026. Two of these changed this year and a lot of what you will find online is either out of date or written for Ontario.
One thing before we start. I am a REALTOR®, not an accountant or a lawyer. I can tell you which costs appear and roughly how they work, because I see them on every deal. I cannot tell you how they apply to your situation, and anyone in my job who says otherwise is guessing with your money. The places where you need a professional are marked.
Selling: what comes off
Commission. Negotiated between you and the brokerage before the home is listed, and written into the listing agreement. There is no standard rate, and anybody who tells you there is one is wrong. Rates vary by brokerage, by property, and by what is included. GST applies on top. Ask what the number is and what it covers before you sign anything.
Legal or notary fees. A few hundred to around a thousand for a straightforward sale. Your conveyancer handles the payout, the title transfer and the adjustments.
Mortgage payout penalty. This is the one that surprises people. If you are breaking a fixed-rate mortgage partway through a term, the penalty can run into thousands. Call your lender and ask for the exact figure before you list, not after you accept an offer. It can change the maths on whether to sell at all.
Adjustments. Property taxes, utilities and strata fees get split at the completion date. If you have prepaid your year’s taxes, the buyer reimburses your share. If you have not, it comes off.
Capital gains
If the home was your principal residence for every year you owned it, the principal residence exemption generally means no capital gains tax. That covers most people selling the house they live in.
It stops being simple if you rented part of it, ran a business from it, owned a second property at the same time, or changed how the property was used. And since 2016 the sale has to be reported on your return even when the entire gain is exempt, which a lot of sellers do not know.
Full detail: capital gains when you sell your home in BC.
The home flipping tax
New as of January 1, 2025, provincial, and separate from federal capital gains. It applies to residential property sold within 730 days of buying it, at 20% of the net taxable income for a sale inside 365 days, reducing to zero over the second year. The return and payment are due within 90 days of the sale.
For someone selling a long-held family home it is irrelevant. For anyone who bought recently and is moving again, check it first.
Full detail, including the life circumstance exemptions and the $20,000 primary residence deduction: the BC home flipping tax.
Buying: what comes off
Property transfer tax. Paid by the buyer on nearly every purchase in BC: 1% on the first $200,000, 2% to $2 million, 3% to $3 million, and 5% above that. On an $800,000 home that is $14,000, due on completion in cash and not financed into the mortgage. It is the largest closing cost most buyers face.
First time buyers and buyers of newly built homes have exemptions with their own value limits. Full detail, including the worked example and both exemptions: property transfer tax in BC.
GST. Applies at 5% to newly built homes, not to resale. Since March 2026 there is a first-time home buyers’ GST rebate covering 100% of the GST on a qualifying new home up to $1 million, worth up to $50,000, reducing between $1 million and $1.5 million and gone above that. It is retroactive to March 20, 2025.
Legal fees, inspection, appraisal. Budget for all three. An inspection on an older South Okanagan home is money well spent, and I will say the same thing on a house I am listing.
The two that catch Penticton owners
Speculation and vacancy tax
Penticton and Summerland became taxable areas on January 1, 2025, and the rate doubled for 2026 to 1% for Canadian citizens and permanent residents. Every owner in a taxable area must file a declaration by March 31 each year, whether they owe anything or not, and the exemption most owner-occupiers rely on only applies if you declare it.
This one catches people who have owned here for years, so it has its own page: speculation and vacancy tax in Penticton.
Home owner grant
Reduces your property tax bill. For 2026 the threshold is $2,075,000 of assessed value for the full amount, reduced by $5 for every $1,000 above that.
Penticton sits outside the Capital, Fraser Valley and Metro Vancouver regional districts, so the regular grant here is up to $770 rather than $570. That extra $200 is the northern and rural supplement, and it is being eliminated for the 2027 tax year onward, so budget $570 from next year. Higher amounts apply for people 65 and over and some other categories; check the current rules for your situation.
It is not automatic. You apply each year.
So what do I actually walk away with?
Take the sale price. Subtract:
- the mortgage balance, including any payout penalty
- commission plus GST
- legal fees
- adjustments for taxes and utilities
What is left is your equity. Your conveyancer produces the exact number on the statement of adjustments before completion, and you will see it in advance.
If you are downsizing, run the same subtraction on the purchase side, property transfer tax, legal fees, moving costs, before you decide what you can spend on the next place. The gap between the two numbers is the actual result of the move, and it is usually smaller than people expect.
Where to get a real answer
- Capital gains, the flipping tax, anything about a second property. An accountant
- Your mortgage payout penalty. Your lender, in writing, before listing
- Speculation and vacancy tax declarations. The BC government portal, by March 31
- What is coming off a specific sale. Your conveyancer’s statement of adjustments
I can tell you what a property is likely to sell for, what it will cost to get it ready, and which of these will apply to you. The dollar figure on the tax side belongs to someone whose licence covers it.
Figures above are current as of September 2026 and come from the BC government and CRA. Rates change, usually in February with the provincial budget. If you are reading this a year from now, check before you rely on it.