Your property tax is your assessed value times your municipality’s tax rate. The assessment does not set the tax by itself: if every assessment in your city rises by the same share, the rate usually falls and your tax barely moves. What matters is whether your value is fair compared with similar homes.
Ontario: MPAC
The Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) assesses property in Ontario. If you disagree with your assessment, start with a Request for Reconsideration to MPAC; the deadline is printed on your notice. MPAC generally answers within 180 days. For a residential property, you then have 90 days after MPAC’s decision to appeal to the Assessment Review Board. Source: MPAC.
British Columbia: BC Assessment
Assessment notices arrive early in the year. Call BC Assessment first: many values are corrected by agreement without a hearing. If you still disagree, file a complaint with the Property Assessment Review Panel by January 31 (the next business day when it falls on a weekend). Panels hear complaints from February to March 15. If the panel’s decision does not settle it, you can appeal to the Property Assessment Appeal Board by April 30. Source: BC Assessment.
Building your case
- Check the facts on file: lot size, floor area, bedrooms, bathrooms, finished basement, garage.
- Compare with recent sales of similar homes near you, around the valuation date on your notice.
- Note anything that lowers value and may not be on file, such as major repairs needed.
Budget for property tax
Lenders count property tax in your debt service ratios. Include it in the affordability calculator and the GDS and TDS calculator.
Try the affordability calculator →
Official source
MPAC · Request for Reconsideration and appeals
This guide explains general rules. Confirm your figures with your lender, lawyer, or the official source before you act.