We wrote in our April 2023 issue (“Residential Property Warning — Huge Penalties!!”) about the dangers of the new Underused Housing Tax (UHT). We then wrote in June 2023 about the first filing deadline being extended.
If a home, condo or cottage is owned by a corporation, trust, partnership or non-resident, there may be filing obligations and a $5,000 or $10,000 penalty for not filing a UHT return. These filing obligations and penalties apply even if the home is rented out so that there is no tax to pay.
Legally, the first UHT returns were due April 30, 2023. However, the Canada Revenue Agency announced on March 27 (tinyurl.com/uht-extend) that no penalty or interest would be imposed as long as the first return was filed and any tax was paid by October 31, 2023.
Then, on that day — October 31 — the CRA announced a further extension. Owners that must file a return can file until April 30, 2024 without penalty, provided they pay any UHT owing. See tinyurl.com/extend-uht.
So there is one final extension. If you think you (or a family member or corporation or partnership or trust you are involved with) may have a UHT filing obligation, and haven’t yet filed, find out about it now and take action! The penalties for non-compliance are very serious, even if no tax is owing. Ignorance of the law is no excuse and will not protect you from penalties; and the CRA can quite easily find out who owns property from real estate registration records.
Note: This extended date is also likely to be the date for the 2023 UHT return. Therefore, there are two dates which must be considered – December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2023 − in terms of liability/obligation to file in relation to UHT. Also, therefore, if this deadline is missed, there may be double penalties.
For more on the UHT, see the CRA’s web page at canada.ca/cra-uht.
