What the tax was and who it reached
The UHT is an annual federal tax. The Underused Housing Tax Act received royal assent on June 9, 2022, and the tax took effect January 1, 2022. It applies generally to foreign national owners, meaning individuals who are not Canadian citizens or permanent residents, but it can also apply to some Canadian owners such as certain partners, trustees and corporations.
An affected owner is a person who owns a residential property in Canada on December 31 of a calendar year and is not an excluded owner of that property on that date. The vast majority of Canadian owners of residential property are excluded owners with no obligations. Affected owners had to file Form UHT-2900 for each qualifying property, and some had to file even when no tax was payable. The rules differed by year: for 2022, Canadian corporations that were specified Canadian corporations still had to file, while from 2023 many Canadian corporations became excluded owners and no longer did.
What changed for 2025 and later
The Budget 2025 Implementation Act, No. 1 received royal assent on March 26, 2026. Under the CRA’s current wording, affected owners do not need to file a return or pay the UHT for 2025 and later calendar years.
The change is not retroactive. Returns and payment still apply for the 2022, 2023 and 2024 calendar years, along with any penalties and interest for those years. The standard due date was April 30 of the following year, and for 2022 returns the Minister announced that owners had until April 30, 2024 to file without penalties or interest. A return for one of those years that was never filed may still need attention.
An illustrative example
This example is illustrative. Suppose a numbered Ontario company owned a condominium on December 31, 2022, and its owner believed the tax was only for non-residents, so no UHT-2900 was filed. For 2022 the CRA treated Canadian corporations of that kind as affected owners who had to file, so the company would be wise to check its position, because a missed return can carry a minimum late-filing penalty even when little or no tax is payable.
Whether a particular owner was affected depends on facts such as who held title, the type of owner and any exemption, so this is a question for a professional, not a rule of thumb.
What to discuss with your accountant
If you owned residential property through a company, partnership or trust between 2022 and 2024, ask whether returns were required and whether they were filed. Bring title documents, the dates of any purchase or sale, and records of who lived in or rented the property.
The federal tax is separate from provincial and municipal vacancy taxes, which the CRA cannot answer questions about. Check your local rules on those separately.
Sources & editorial notes
Sources checked October 24, 2026. The examples are illustrative and provide general information. Discuss how the guidance applies to your circumstances with your accountant.
- Introduction to the Underused Housing TaxCanada Revenue Agency
- Proposed Amendments to the Underused Housing TaxCanada Revenue Agency
Rules and guidance can change. Use the current official source and confirm the treatment for your facts. To flag an error, contact Sora.