How to appeal a BC property transfer tax assessment

1. The deadline is 90 days

Under s.19(1) of the Property Transfer Tax Act, you may appeal an assessment by giving a notice of appeal to the Minister of Finance within 90 days after the date shown on the notice of assessment. The clock runs from the date on the notice, not from the day you opened the envelope or first read it, so check that date first and count forward.

The minister may extend the deadline if an application to extend is made before the deadline expires (s.19(6)). There is no general right to file late, so treat the 90 days as firm. Our free deadline calculator can help you work out the date from your notice.

2. File with form FIN 298, or a letter

According to the government’s Appeal to the Minister of Finance page, you can file an appeal by completing the Appeal to Minister form (FIN 298) or by writing a letter. There is no charge to file an appeal. The appeal must be received by the minister within the 90 days — mailing it on the last day is not enough if it arrives late.

Keep a copy of everything you send, and keep proof of when and how you sent it. The date your appeal counts as given is tied to when the minister receives it, subject to the deemed-given rules for locations and methods the minister specifies.

3. What your appeal must contain

Section 19(3) sets the content requirements. Your notice of appeal must:

• set out the reasons for the appeal; and
• state all the relevant facts.

If you consider an estimate of the property’s fair market value to be relevant to your appeal, include your estimate — s.19(3) calls for it in that case. It is not a requirement in every appeal. Where value is genuinely the issue, support your estimate with records, such as comparable sales or an appraisal, rather than a bare figure.

Organise the appeal around the ministry’s own decision: what was assessed, which fact or rule you say is wrong, and which record supports your position. Vague disagreement is harder for a reviewer to act on than a short list of specific issues, each tied to a document.

4. What the minister can do

After considering the appeal, the minister must affirm, amend or change the assessment, or direct the administrator to reconsider it (s.19(4)). If the minister directs a reconsideration, the resulting notice of reconsideration can itself be appealed within 90 days (s.19(5.2)).

If the minister’s decision affirms or changes the assessment and you still disagree, the next step is a petition to the Supreme Court of British Columbia, filed within 90 days after the date on the minister’s notice (PTTA s.21). That is a court proceeding with its own rules and costs risk — read our Supreme Court guide and plan to involve a lawyer at that stage.