If we kept the house, moved abroad, and left it sitting empty, the city adds a yearly penalty on top of normal property tax. It climbs every year until it caps. Here is how far it goes.
Ottawa charges a Vacant Unit Tax on homes nobody lives in. A home counts as vacant when it is unoccupied for more than 184 days in a year, so more than half the year.
Every owner files a short declaration each year, even for a home they live in. Miss the declaration and the city treats the home as vacant on its own and bills you. The tax is a percentage of the home's assessed value, charged on top of regular property tax.
The first empty year costs 1% of assessed value. Each year the home stays empty, the rate climbs another point. It stops at 5% and stays there. One full year of someone living in the home resets it back to 1%.
The tax runs on the assessed value, the MPAC figure the city taxes, not the $1.31M market price. Our assessed value is about $725,000, and regular property tax already runs near $7,948 a year. Stack the Vacant Unit Tax on top:
The tax uses the assessed value (about $725,000), not the $1.31M the house could sell for. That keeps the bill lower than a 5%-of-market guess. Even so, 5% of $725,000 is $36,250 every year, paid on a house standing empty while the mortgage keeps running. Check the exact assessed value on the property tax bill or at mpac.ca, then adjust these figures.
Moving abroad and leaving the house empty fits none of the exemptions. Only these turn the tax off:
The home is a principal residence for the owner or a close family member for at least 184 days.
A tenant occupies it. That brings income but also a landlord's duties from another country.
No house, no vacant tax, no mortgage, no carrying cost. This is the path the rest of the plan recommends.