To file Form UHT-2900, submit the return electronically through CRA My Account, My Business Account, or Represent a Client, or mail a paper copy to the Winnipeg or Sudbury tax centre by April 30 of the year following the calendar year you are reporting.1Canada.ca. File the Return – Underused Housing Tax (UHT) One thing to settle first: Bill C-15 (the Budget 2025 Implementation Act) received Royal Assent and eliminated both the Underused Housing Tax and the filing requirement for the 2025 calendar year onward.2Parliament of Canada. Bill C-15 Royal Assent – Budget 2025 Implementation Act, No. 1 Returns for 2022, 2023, and 2024 remain fully enforceable, and the CRA continues to assess late-filing penalties and interest on missed deadlines.3Canada.ca. What Has Changed – Underused Housing Tax (UHT) If you still owe a return for one of those years, everything below applies to you.
Confirm You Actually Need to File
The Underused Housing Tax Act divides owners into two groups. Excluded owners have no filing obligation. Affected owners must file a separate return for each residential property they held on December 31 of the calendar year, whether or not any tax is owed.4Canada.ca. Who Must File a Return and Pay the Tax – Underused Housing Tax
You are an excluded owner if, on December 31, you held the property in your own name (not through a trust or partnership) and you are a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, a publicly traded Canadian corporation, a registered charity, or a cooperative housing corporation or Indigenous governing body (along with certain other entity types prescribed by regulation).5Department of Justice Canada. Underused Housing Tax Act
Everyone else is an affected owner. The category that catches people off guard is private Canadian corporations. Even if every shareholder is a Canadian citizen, a private corporation is an affected owner and must file Form UHT-2900 for each residential property it holds. Partnerships and trusts are pulled in on the same basis.4Canada.ca. Who Must File a Return and Pay the Tax – Underused Housing Tax
If several affected owners share a single property, each one files a separate return. There is no joint return option. Holding property in more than one capacity, such as personally and as a trustee, can make you an affected owner in one capacity even if you are excluded in the other, and each capacity that qualifies as affected needs its own return.
Exemption Doesn’t Mean Skip the Return
Affected owners can qualify for exemptions that wipe out the one-percent tax while leaving the filing requirement in place. You still file. Claiming an exemption without filing does not work; the CRA treats it as a missed filing and assesses penalties. Common exemptions include the specified Canadian corporation, partnership, and trust rules for entities with limited non-resident ownership,6Canada Revenue Agency. Exemptions for Specified Canadian Partnerships, Trusts, and Corporations primary residence use, qualifying occupancy of at least 180 days at fair rent under a written agreement,7Canadian Tax Foundation. Can Foreign Individuals Skirt the Underused Housing Tax? and uninhabitability due to disaster (at least 60 consecutive days) or renovation (at least 120 consecutive days).
Gather Your Information
Tax Identification Numbers
Individuals filing personally use their Social Insurance Number, or an Individual Tax Number for non-residents without a SIN. Corporations need a Business Number with an RU program account suffix registered specifically for the Underused Housing Tax. If your corporation does not already have an RU account, register one before filing.8Canada Revenue Agency. Program Accounts You May Need
Property Details
The return asks for the property’s municipal address, parcel identification number, and property type (detached house, condo unit, semi-detached, rowhouse, or other). Most of this is on the deed or your most recent property tax assessment notice. If multiple people are on title, you also need your ownership interest as a percentage.
Taxable Value
The default taxable value is the greater of the assessed value from the local property tax authority or the most recent sale price on or before December 31 of the calendar year.9Canada Revenue Agency. Calculating the Underused Housing Tax Payable You can elect on the return to use fair market value instead, but this requires a written appraisal from an accredited, arm’s-length appraiser holding a designation from the Appraisal Institute of Canada, the Canadian National Association of Real Estate Appraisers, or the Ordre des évaluateurs agréés du Québec.10Canada.ca. How to Complete the Return and Calculate the Tax Both the election and the appraisal must be in place by the April 30 deadline, and once elected for a calendar year the choice generally cannot be revoked.
Supporting Records
Keep lease agreements, utility bills, contractor invoices, and permits that document how the property was used and, where relevant, why an exemption applies. You do not submit these with the return, but the CRA can request them on review.
File Electronically
Electronic filing is faster and produces an immediate confirmation number. The path depends on your account type:1Canada.ca. File the Return – Underused Housing Tax (UHT)
- Individuals in CRA My Account: select “Tax returns” from the left menu, scroll to “Underused housing tax” on the right, then click “File a UHT return.”
- Corporations in My Business Account: select “Underused housing tax” from the left menu, choose your RU number from the dropdown, scroll to the Returns section, and click “File a return.”
- Authorized representatives in Represent a Client: follow the individual or corporate steps above depending on who you are representing.
File on Paper
If you prefer mail, send the completed return to one of two CRA tax centres:1Canada.ca. File the Return – Underused Housing Tax (UHT)
- Winnipeg Tax Centre, Post Office Box 14001, Station Main, Winnipeg MB R3C 3M3, Canada. Fax: 204-984-5164.
- Sudbury Tax Centre, 1050 Notre Dame Avenue, Sudbury ON P3A 5C2, Canada. Fax: 705-671-3994 or 1-855-276-1529.
Deadline and the December 31 Cliff
The return and any tax owing are due by April 30 of the year following the calendar year in question.11Canada.ca. When to File the Return and Pay the Tax – Underused Housing Tax For 2024, the last year the UHT applies, that was April 30, 2025. If you missed it, file as soon as possible to stop penalties from growing.
There is a second, harder cutoff. If you do not file by December 31 of the year following the calendar year in question, the CRA may adjust the penalty calculation upward, which can push penalties above the flat minimums.11Canada.ca. When to File the Return and Pay the Tax – Underused Housing Tax For the 2024 tax year, that date is December 31, 2025.
Pay Any Tax Owed
If tax is owed after exemptions and ownership share are applied, the CRA accepts several payment methods. Canadian bank account holders can pay through online banking by adding the CRA as a payee and selecting the Underused Housing Tax payment type. The CRA’s “My Payment” portal accepts debit cards (not credit cards) and processes same-day payments submitted before 10:00 p.m. local time.12Canada Revenue Agency. Make a Payment – Payments to the CRA
Paying From Outside Canada
Non-residents without a Canadian bank account can wire funds in Canadian dollars to the Bank of Nova Scotia using SWIFT code NOSCCATT, transit number 47696, and beneficiary account number 476962363410. The beneficiary is “Receiver General for Canada.” Include your CRA account number in the description field along with authorization number 12226367.13Canada Revenue Agency. Pay at a Bank or Credit Union Through Wire Transfer Check that your bank does not deduct its wire fee from the payment; any shortfall counts as an underpayment. After sending the wire, fax the payment confirmation to the CRA’s Revenue Processing Section at 204-983-0924.
Penalties and Interest on Late Returns
The penalty structure is unusually harsh because it was designed to enforce disclosure, not just collect revenue. The minimum late-filing penalty is $5,000 per property for individuals and $10,000 per property for corporations, and it applies even when no tax is owed because an exemption fully covers the property.11Canada.ca. When to File the Return and Pay the Tax – Underused Housing Tax A private corporation with three properties that missed one year faces a $30,000 minimum, on a tax it may not owe.
Interest accrues on unpaid tax from the original due date. For the first two quarters of 2026, the CRA’s prescribed interest rate on overdue amounts is seven percent, adjusted quarterly.14Canada.ca. Interest Rates for the First Calendar Quarter15Canada.ca. Interest Rates for the Second Calendar Quarter Filing sooner reduces both the interest running on any balance and the risk of hitting the December 31 cliff that pushes penalties above the minimums.