Property Ownership on PEI

kelvin.macinnis@century21.ca — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Owning Property on PEI

Property owners who are non-residents of Prince Edward Island can save some money on their tax bill if they take some time to review how the taxes are billed. Non-resident taxes are often referred to as “double taxes”. This was true in the beginning, but no longer holds true. The actual fact is, non-residents pay an additional 50% more, on only, the provincial portion of the tax bill. Non-residents are charged at the rate of $1.50, per hundred dollars of assessed value, for the provincial portion of their tax bill. Additionally, there may be a municipal portion, depending on where the property is located. Properties located in a city, town or incorporated area will incur this charge. The amount of the municipal tax can vary from about 5 cents to almost $1.00 per hundred dollars of valuation.

Fire dues is another charge on your tax bill. Fire dues are determined by the fire district and this fee can vary from approximately $30.00 to $100.00, per year, or possibly more. The final item in your tax bill is a fee for waste watch, which is for trash pickup. This fee is $195 for year round service, the fee for cottages it is $85 for June 1 to October 2 and extended service is available from May 11 to October 30 for an additional fee of $25.

A savings can be realized by changing your service, to reflect the actual time, the service is required. Additionally, if the property is not being used, for a substantial period of time, it is possible to have the service suspended and no fee will be charged.

Another consideration in a PEI property purchase is the Real Property Transfer Tax. This tax will come into play at the time of purchase, and is based on the purchase price or the assessed value, (whichever is greater). The Act, states that anyone who registers a deed in Prince Edward Island must pay, before the deed is registered, a tax computed at the rate of 1%.

If you feel your assessment is too high, there is an appeal process. There is a time limit, after the assessment notice goes out for an appeal to be made.

This is a concise version of property taxes on PEI. For detailed information go to www.gov.pe.ca/pt/taxandland/index.php3?number=52839&lang=E

Please contact me if you have any questions and I will do my best to answer them, or direct you where you will get them answered.

PEI Property Purchase by a Non-resident

kelvin.macinnis@century21.ca — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 00:00:00 GMT

PEI Property Purchase by a Non-resident

There are some things you should know in preparing to purchase a property on Prince Edward Island. Some definitions are a good place to start.

Non-resident – An individual who resides on PEI for less than 181 days out of the calendar year, and does not declare PEI, as their place of residence, for income tax purposes.

IRAC (Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission – The Commission is responsible for the general administration of the PEI Lands Protection Act. This is the government body which oversees and regulates the purchase and ownership of PEI property by non-residents and corporations.

I will give a snapshot of the regulations below. This is by no means a comprehensive overview of the rules, as they apply to non-residents. Contact me for more definitive information.

Any non-resident can purchase, up to five acres of property (with a limit of 165’ of shore frontage) with no restriction, providing they do not own any other property on PEI. If there are to be two individuals on the deed, the allowances can be combined. So a husband and wife can purchase up to 10 acres and up to 330’ of shore frontage. Every person added to the deed increases these limits. Each person on the deed has to be at least 18 years of age.

In the event a property exceeds the above limitations, it is still possible to make the purchase. The necessary steps are, to make application to IRAC, requesting permission to exceed the limits.

There is a fee of $500, or 1% of the purchase price (whichever is greater) and there is GST tax of 5% on this fee. In most cases this permission is granted, but usually with some restrictions. A common restriction, which is important, is a “non-development clause”. A “non-development clause”, means the property cannot be subdivided, for a period of 10 years, from the point in time a request is made, for the restriction to be removed. There can be other restrictions, depending on the property location, or the current use and potential uses of the property. This is an area, where a good Realtor is most important. Advice at this point can be very beneficial, to ensure your future goals can be attained.

Please contact me, so I can help you, in the purchase, your PEI property.

Kelvin MacInnis

Century 21 Colonial Realty

Montague, PE

C0A 1R0

Work 902-838-2221

Fax 902-838-2441

Cell 902-969-3001

Email: kelvin@pei.sympatico.ca

Web: www.century21.ca/kelvin.macinnis

Web: www.easternpei.com

Kelvin MacInnis - Blog

Property Ownership on PEI

PEI Property Purchase by a Non-resident