Sivasambu Realty

Vacant Unit Tax(VUT)
Deadline is March 19th

A reminder to all residential homeowners in the City of Ottawa that the annual deadline to make your vacant unit tax (VUT) declaration is March 19th, 2026. A $250 late fee will be applied to declarations submitted after March 19th. Late declarations are accepted until April 30.

Every year, homeowners are required to make a declaration as to whether their property was vacant in the previous year. A property is considered vacant if it wasn’t occupied for more than 184 days during the previous year. If no declaration is made, the property will be deemed vacant and subject to the vacant property tax.

The vacant unit tax is calculated based on the property’s assessed value and is applied to the property’s final tax bill in June. The first year a property is vacant, the tax rate is 1% of the assessed value. For each additional consecutive year that the property remains vacant, the rate goes up 1% to a maximum of 5%. The rate resets to 1% after one year of occupancy.

Properties that were occupied by an Owner, a family member/permitted occupant or a tenant will not be subject to the vacant unit tax. There are a number of other exemptions, follow this link for a full list:
https://ottawa.ca/en/living-ottawa/taxes/property-taxes/vacant-unit-tax/understanding-vacant-unit-tax #

Alex Sivasambu
Realtor/Broker
Sivasamburealty

Background - Understanding the Vacant Unit Tax | City of Ottawa Skip to main content In this section Background How it works Exemptions Change of ownership Late declarations or late payment penalties Audits Report a vacant property FAQs Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act Contact us Background How it works Exemptions Change of ownershi...

Another interest rate cut by Bank of Canada 🇨🇦
From 2.5 to 2.25!

Interest rate cut by 25 base points to 2.5%
Bank of Canada

Bank of Canada announces the interest rate cut by 25 base pts. to 2.5% this morning!