Someone buys a presale, values rise, and before completion they sell the contract rather than the home. That is an assignment. It looks like one transaction and it is treated as four.
GST applies to it. Property transfer tax picks up the premium when the eventual buyer registers. The BC home flipping tax can take a fifth of the gain. And the whole thing gets reported into a provincial register that is shared with the tax authorities. Each of those is a different rule with a different payer, and none of them is optional.
This page sets out all four, and the one sentence in an assignment agreement that moves the GST by thousands of dollars.
A worked deal, so the numbers are concrete
Throughout this page, the same deal:
presale bought from the developer $700,000
deposit paid to the developer $70,000
assigned before completion for a
premium of $100,000
so the assignment consideration is $170,000
and the eventual buyer's total is $800,000One. GST on the assignment
Since 7 May 2022, assignment sales of new or substantially renovated residential housing are taxable for GST purposes. That change made all such assignment sales taxable regardless of what the original purchaser intended when they signed, which removed the argument that an assignment by someone who meant to live there was not a commercial transaction.
The consideration subject to tax is the total consideration minus the part attributable to reimbursing the deposit, and that subtraction is only available where the agreement indicates in writing that part of the consideration is attributable to the reimbursement of a deposit.
That sentence is worth real money. On the deal above:
| GST at 5 percent | |
|---|---|
| Agreement documents the $70,000 deposit reimbursement in writing | $5,000 |
| It does not | $8,500 |
A $3,500 difference, decided by whether one allocation is written down.
A caution on this one, because it is the only place in this series where two official sources do not agree. The Canada Revenue Agency's older guide on assigning a purchase and sale agreement predates the 2022 amendment and still shows tax applying to the full amount including the deposit, with a worked example to that effect. The amendment is the later rule. Do not settle a real deal on this page or on that guide. Settle it with your accountant, and make sure the written attribution is in the agreement either way, because it costs nothing to include and it is the thing the carve out depends on.
The assignor is generally the one responsible for collecting and remitting the GST. Where the assignor is a non resident, the assignee self assesses instead.
One more piece that is easy to miss: an assignee who is an individual may be eligible for the GST new housing rebate. Only one rebate application per house is permitted, so the mechanics of claiming it matter and are worth raising with your accountant before closing rather than after.
Two. Property transfer tax on the full consideration
The person who pays property transfer tax is the first person to register the transfer at the land title office after the developer has deposited the strata plan. That is the eventual buyer, not the person who assigned.
Where the right to purchase was assigned before the strata plan was deposited, the tax is calculated on the total consideration paid by the person who registers, and total consideration includes any additional amounts paid to obtain the right to purchase that unit from another person.
In plain terms, the premium is taxed. On the deal above:
| Registered on | Property transfer tax |
|---|---|
| $700,000, the original contract price | $12,000 |
| $800,000, including the $100,000 premium | $14,000 |
So the premium carries $2,000 of property transfer tax, and it is the buyer at the end of the chain who pays it. Anyone pricing an assignment as though the eventual buyer is indifferent to the premium is ignoring that.
Three. The BC home flipping tax
This is the one that catches people who have not looked at it since it was announced. It took effect on 1 January 2025.
The rate is 20 percent of net taxable income on a taxable property disposed of within 365 days, and it decreases gradually over the next 365 days. Past 729 days it does not apply at all.
It applies to presale contracts directly. You are taxed if you dispose of a presale contract that is taxable property in BC and the disposition happened less than 730 days after you entered into the contract.
The dates that matter are not the ones people assume:
you buy a presale from a developer the day you acquire it is generally the
date you pay the contract deposit
a contract is assigned to you your holding period starts on the
assignment date
you assign it on generally the date you receive money
from the assignee for the rightTaxable income on a presale disposition is the proceeds minus the cost to acquire, and there is no deduction for the cost to improve the property. There would not normally be improvements on an unbuilt unit, but the rule is explicit about it.
On the deal above, an assignor who entered the presale less than 365 days before assigning is looking at 20 percent of the $100,000 gain, so $20,000, before anything else.
A return is due within 90 days of the sale. There is also a primary residence deduction of up to $20,000 for a property owned 365 or more consecutive days where the owner lived in it, and other exemptions exist, some of which still require a return to be filed in order to claim them.
Four. It is reported, and the register is shared
The Condo and Strata Assignment Integrity Register is a database of assignments of purchase agreements for residential condos and other strata lots in BC. Developers have had to collect and report assignment information for assignments entered into on or after 1 January 2019.
It captures personal information on both the assignor and the assignee, and the data is used for property transfer tax compliance and shared with bodies including BCFSA and the Canada Revenue Agency.
Since 30 September 2025 there are correction duties on developers too. A missing filing has to be filed within 15 days of discovery, and an error corrected within 30 days of discovery.
The practical point is simple. An assignment is not a private arrangement between two parties and the developer. It is a reported transaction, and the reporting is designed to feed exactly the tax checks described above.
What this means before you sign anything
If you are assigning, the gain is not the premium. It is the premium less the GST you have to collect and remit, less the flipping tax if you are inside 730 days, less your legal and accounting costs, less whatever the developer charges for consenting to the assignment. Work that out before you agree a price, not after.
If you are taking an assignment, your property transfer tax is calculated on what you actually paid in total, including the premium, and the rebate mechanics on GST are worth settling before completion rather than discovering at the lawyer's office.
If you are a seller considering whether to allow one, read your contract. Developers set their own consent terms and fees, and consent is not automatic.
And if the deal only works because one of these four was not accounted for, it does not work.
FAQ
Is GST payable on a presale assignment in BC?
Yes. Since 7 May 2022, assignment sales of new or substantially renovated residential housing are taxable for GST purposes, regardless of what the original purchaser intended when they signed. The assignor is generally responsible for collecting and remitting it, unless the assignor is a non resident, in which case the assignee self assesses.
Does GST apply to the deposit I am being reimbursed?
The legislation excludes the part of the consideration attributable to reimbursing the deposit, but only where the agreement says in writing that part of the consideration is attributable to that reimbursement. On a $170,000 assignment that includes a $70,000 deposit, the written attribution is the difference between GST on $100,000 and GST on $170,000. The Canada Revenue Agency's older assignment guide predates this amendment and shows tax on the full amount, so confirm the treatment with your accountant and make sure the written attribution is in the agreement.
Who pays property transfer tax on an assigned presale?
The first person to register the transfer at the land title office after the developer has deposited the strata plan, which is the eventual buyer. The tax is calculated on the total consideration they paid, and that includes any additional amount paid to obtain the right to purchase from another person. The premium is taxed.
Does the BC home flipping tax apply to assignments?
Yes. It applies where you dispose of a presale contract that is taxable property in BC less than 730 days after entering into it. The rate is 20 percent of net taxable income within 365 days, decreasing over the following 365 days, and it does not apply past 729 days. A return is due within 90 days of the sale.
When does my holding period start if a contract was assigned to me?
On the assignment date. If you bought the presale from the developer instead, the acquisition date is generally the date you paid the contract deposit.
Is my assignment reported to anyone?
Yes. Developers must collect and report assignment information for residential condo and strata lot purchase agreements assigned on or after 1 January 2019, into the Condo and Strata Assignment Integrity Register. It includes personal information about both parties, is used for property transfer tax compliance, and is shared with bodies including BCFSA and the Canada Revenue Agency.
Sources
- Proposed GST/HST treatment of assignment sales, Canada Revenue Agency Notice 323:
- Assignment of a purchase and sale agreement for a new house or condominium unit, Canada Revenue Agency GI-120:
- Property transfer tax on presold strata units, Bulletin PTT 024:
- BC home flipping tax:
- BC home flipping tax and presale contracts:
- Condo and Strata Assignment Integrity Register:
- Information collection under the Condo and Strata Assignment Integrity Register:
Rules, rates and dates verified against the above on 2 October 2026. The GST treatment of the deposit portion is the one point where two official sources differ, because the older guide predates the 2022 amendment, and it is flagged in the text above. This page is general information, not tax, legal or accounting advice. An assignment touches four separate regimes at once, which is exactly the situation where a lawyer and an accountant earn their fee.
Before you buy the presale, know what the site supports
Assignment economics depend on a building getting built and on what the site was entitled to in the first place. The development potential assessment reads the zoning, the Bill 44 tier and the transit oriented area rules for any Greater Victoria address.
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