If you're a non-resident who owns Canadian residential property, you can stop worrying about one federal filing: the Underused Housing Tax (UHT) is gone. On March 26, 2026, Bill C-15—the Budget 2025 Implementation Act, No. 1—received Royal Assent, and it eliminates the UHT for the 2025 calendar year and every year after. No return, no 1% tax, no annual April 30 filing headache.
That's the good news. The less-good news: this change is not retroactive, it doesn't touch your NR6 or Section 216 obligations at all, and if you skipped filing in earlier years, CRA can still come after you for it. Here's exactly what changed and what you still need to do.
This article is general information, not tax or legal advice. Non-resident property tax situations vary widely—consult a cross-border tax professional before relying on any of this for your own filing.
What the Underused Housing Tax Was
The UHT took effect January 1, 2022, as an annual federal 1% tax on the value of vacant or underused residential property owned by non-resident, non-Canadian owners. It was aimed at foreign owners sitting on empty Canadian housing while the country faced a supply crunch.
The catch that tripped up a lot of landlords: filing was required even if you owed nothing. If you rented your property out and qualified for an exemption, you still had to file a UHT return by April 30 each year to claim it. Missing that filing—even with zero tax owing—triggered a minimum penalty of $1,000 for individuals ($2,000 for anyone other than an individual, such as a corporation).
A lot of NR6 filers got this wrong because the UHT return is completely separate from your NR6 and Section 216 paperwork, filed with a different form (UHT-2900) on a different deadline.
What Changed: Bill C-15
Bill C-15 received Royal Assent on March 26, 2026. It amends the Underused Housing Tax Act so that:
- No UHT is payable for the 2025 calendar year and all future years.
- No UHT return needs to be filed for 2025 onward, even if you'd otherwise be an "affected owner."
- If you already filed a 2025 UHT return before this change took effect, CRA will contact you directly about cancelling it—you don't need to do anything.
The short version: if your only UHT-relevant year is 2025 or later, this obligation simply disappears. You can cross it off your annual compliance checklist.
Technically, the UHT Act itself isn't repealed outright until January 1, 2035—it's left dormant on the books in the meantime—but for practical purposes, non-resident owners have no UHT filing or payment obligation starting with 2025.
What Didn't Change: 2022, 2023, and 2024 Are Still Live
This is the part worth reading twice. The elimination applies to 2025 and later only. Filing, payment, penalty, and interest obligations for the 2022, 2023, and 2024 calendar years remain fully in effect.
If you owned Canadian residential property as a non-resident during any of those years and never filed a UHT return—whether you owed tax or qualified for a full exemption—CRA can still assess the minimum $1,000 penalty per missed year, plus interest. The elimination of the tax going forward is not an amnesty for the past.
If that describes your situation, the fix is straightforward: file the outstanding UHT-2900 returns for those years now. Voluntary disclosure before CRA flags it is generally treated more favorably than waiting to be contacted.
Don't Confuse This With Your NR6 or Section 216 Obligations
This is the single biggest point of confusion we see, so it gets its own section: the UHT has nothing to do with your NR6 filing, your Canadian agent requirement, or your Section 216 return. They're separate obligations under separate parts of the tax system, and this change affects only one of them.
| Obligation | What It Covers | Status After Bill C-15 |
|---|---|---|
| Underused Housing Tax (UHT) | 1% annual tax on vacant/underused property owned by non-resident non-Canadians | Eliminated for 2025+. Still owed for 2022-2024 if unfiled. |
| NR6 Form | Reduces withholding from 25% of gross rent to 25% of net rent | Unchanged. Still required annually if you want net withholding. |
| Section 216 Return | Reconciles actual rental income/expenses against tax withheld during the year | Unchanged. Still due June 30 of the following year. |
| Non-resident withholding tax | 25% withheld monthly on rental payments by your agent or tenant | Unchanged. |
If you're renting out your property (as opposed to leaving it vacant), you were likely exempt from actually paying UHT in most years anyway—but you still had to file to claim that exemption. Going forward, that specific paperwork burden is gone. Your NR6 renewal, your Canadian agent requirement, and your annual Section 216 return are all still very much active. See our Section 216 guide and NR6 form guide if you need a refresher on those.
Provincial and Municipal Vacancy Taxes Are Unaffected
Bill C-15 only touches the federal UHT. It has zero impact on provincial or municipal vacancy and speculation taxes, which are separate legislation entirely. If your property is in an area with one of these, you still need to file and pay as before:
- BC Speculation and Vacancy Tax — provincial, applies to residential property in designated BC regions
- Vancouver Empty Homes Tax — municipal, on top of the provincial tax
- Toronto Vacant Home Tax — municipal
We'll cover the BC Speculation and Vacancy Tax in more depth in a future post, since it catches a lot of non-resident owners off guard the same way the UHT used to.
A Worked Example
Say you're a non-resident owner in Ontario who has rented out a Toronto condo continuously since 2022:
- 2022–2024: You were likely exempt from paying UHT because the property was your tenant's primary residence for at least 183 days each year. But if you never filed the UHT-2900 return to claim that exemption, CRA could still assess a $1,000 penalty for each of those three years—up to $3,000, plus interest, even though you owed $0 in actual tax.
- 2025 onward: No UHT return needed at all, regardless of occupancy status.
- Every year, unaffected by this change: Your NR6 renewal (due before January 1, ideally submitted by October 1), your agent's monthly 25% withholding remittance, and your Section 216 return (due June 30) all continue exactly as before.
The practical takeaway: check your UHT filing history for 2022-2024 now, before CRA reviews it, and otherwise remove UHT from your annual to-do list going forward. Our tax savings calculator, deadlines guide, and new Section 216 refund estimator can help you stay on top of what's still actually required.
What To Do Right Now
- Confirm you don't owe UHT filings for 2022, 2023, or 2024. If you're unsure whether you filed, check your CRA My Account or ask whoever prepared your Canadian tax filings.
- Stop budgeting time or money for UHT for 2025 and beyond. It's off your compliance list.
- Keep your NR6, agent, and Section 216 obligations on schedule—none of them changed. If your NR6 renewal is coming up, our NR6 filing service handles the form, the Canadian agent requirement, and renewal reminders for a flat $999 CAD.
- Check whether provincial or municipal vacancy taxes apply to your property—those are untouched by this federal change.
One compliance item off your plate is a genuine win. Just make sure it's not the only one you're tracking.
