Assessments

Property Assessments

Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) is responsible for assessing and classifying all properties in Ontario. Every 4 years, MPAC conducts a province-wide Assessment Update, and a Property Assessment Notice is issued to every property owner.

To establish your property's assessed value, MPAC analyzes property sales in your community to determine the Current Value Assessment (CVA). For residential properties, they consider all of the key features which affect market value.

Five of the major factors that usually account for 85% of the value are:

Location
Lot dimensions
Living area
Age of the structure(s), adjusted for any major renovations or additions
Quality of construction

MPAC is also responsible for the classification and assessment of Farm, Commercial, Industrial, Multi-Residential, Pipe line and Managed Forest property types.

For more information regarding your property, MPAC has developed a site to access more details online at About My Property. Look for your Roll Number and Access Key on your Property Assessment Notice to register.

2020 assessment update

The Ontario government has announced that the 2020 Assessment Update has been postponed. They have indicated that property assessments for the 2021 property tax year will continue to be based on the fully phased-in January 1, 2016 current values. This means your property assessment for the 2021 property tax year will be the same as the 2020 tax year unless there have been changes to your property.

In 2016, MPAC mailed a Property Assessment Notice to every property owner in the province – assessing more than five million properties in Ontario. Your 2016 Notice reflects the assessed value and classification of your property as of January 1, 2016 and this will be used as the basis for calculating your 2021 property taxes.

Why did I received a 2020 property assessment notice from MPAC?

MPAC is continuously reviewing properties. You may have received a Notice for one of the following reasons:

change to property ownership, legal description, or school support;
change to the property's value resulting from a Request for Reconsideration, an Assessment Review Board decision, or ongoing property reviews;
property value increase/decrease reflecting a change to the property; for example, a new structure, addition, or removal of an old structure; or

change in the classification or tax liability of the property.

Your 2020 Property Assessment Notice shows the assessed value of your property based on a January 1, 2016 valuation date and will be the basis for your property taxes for the 2021 property tax year.

The valuation date, established by the Ontario government, is a fixed day to which all properties are valued. In simple terms, the value is the price your property might reasonably have sold for in its current state and condition on January 1, 2016.

What do I do with my Property Assessment Notice?

Your Property Assessment Notice has important information for you as a property owner. Please review it and file it away for your records. No action is required unless you have questions about your assessment.

If you did not receive your Property Assessment Notice, please call 1-866-296-6722 to request a copy or log into the About My Property portal.

Questions about your assessment?

You can visit About My Property to learn more about how your property was assessed, see the information they have on file, and compare it to others in your neighbourhood. Look for your Roll Number and Access Key on your Property Assessment Notice to register.

How do I appeal my assessment?

If you disagree with MPAC's assessment or classification of your property, you can submit a Request for Reconsideration (RFR) with MPAC. They will review your assessment, free of charge.

The deadline to file an RFR with MPAC is printed on your Property Assessment Notice. If you do not have your Property Assessment Notice, please call 1-866-296-6722 to request a copy or log into the About My Property portal.

Tax adjustments

If the status of your property changes due to fire, demolition, or removal of buildings, please inform us in writing by completing a Form 357/358, so the necessary adjustments to the assessed value and/or tax class can be processed.

Appeals must be filed by the last day of February following the taxation year. (For example, February 28, 2018 for 2017 taxes.)

Farm Assessment

It is the responsibility of any ratepayer who owns farmland to ensure that these lands are coded so as to be taxed at the reduced rate. Unless your property is coded correctly, you will be charged 100% of the residential tax rate on farmland and outbuildings, as opposed to the 25% tax rate under the "FT" code.

Visit the Agricorp website or call them directly toll-free at 1-519-826-4118 for further information or to request a change.

Supplementary Tax Bills

The Township issues supplementary tax bills when MPAC has reassessed a property because of additions or improvements to the property that increase its market value or when MPAC has fully assessed a new building.

In the case of a newly constructed home, there can be a considerable delay between the occupancy dates and when the Township receives the assessment information from MPAC. Until the Township receives this information, the Township cannot issue a full tax bill. Once the assessment information becomes available, the Township sends a supplementary tax bill, dating back to when the new ownerstook possession of the property. Billings received prior to the supplementary billing are usually smaller and represent land only.

You receive a supplementary tax bill for one of the following reasons:

Building assessment

You completed renovations or improvements to your property that have increased its current value
You have constructed a new building on the property

Reclassification

There has been a change in the use of your property resulting in a change in the tax class of your property assessment.

Supplementary bills can be pro-rated for the part-year that the building was in existence for. Taxes on a supplementary bill are calculated by multiplied the tax rate by the supplementary assessment and then pro-rating the taxes owing for the number of days the supplementary assessment applies for. If the supplementary assessment applies to the full year, no pro-rating of the taxes is necessary.