Property Assessments

An assessment is the value assigned to all property, including land and buildings by MPAC. The assessed value of a property, multiplied by the tax rate(s), determines the taxes each property owner pays. Commercial, industrial and multi-residential properties may have phase-ins, called capping and claw backs mandated under the Municipal Act. These affect the total taxes payable.

The tax rate includes the taxes levied by school board(s), Halton Region and the City. The assessment information is also used to determine school support. Learn more about understanding your assessment.

Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) is responsible for assessing all properties in the Province of Ontario. Ontario is divided into 28 assessment regions. Each region is responsible for its own assessments. Assessors deal directly with taxpayers, municipalities and school boards. MPAC's responsibilities include:

• Determining the assessed value of every Ontario property
• Sending out Notices of Property Assessment
• Answering inquiries from the public
• Defending assessments before tribunals and courts
• Conducting an enumeration every four years to support municipal and school board elections

Learn more about understanding your assessment.

MPAC is responsible for assessing and classifying all properties in Ontario. For residential properties, MPAC uses sales to compare your property to similar properties that have sold in your area. This approach is called the Sales Comparison Approach, which is used to establish the Current Value Assessment (CVA) of your property.

While there are many factors that are considered when assessing a property, these five factors generally account for 85 per cent of your home's value:

• Age of the property adjusted for any renovations or additions
• Living area
• Location
• Lot dimensions
• Quality of construction

If you wish to direct your school taxes to a different school board, please review the information provided by the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) as well as an online tool to change your school support. After you have made the change, their records will be updated for the following taxation year.

• School Support Designation

The Ontario Fair Assessment System established seven property classes and gave municipalities the flexibility to vary the tax rates for each class, subject to ranges of fairness. These tax ranges ensure a fair level of taxation for each property class. The seven standard property classes are:

• Residential
• Multi-residential
• Commercial
• Industrial
• Pipeline
• Farmlands
• Managed forests

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the reassessment originally scheduled to be completed for the 2021 to 2024 taxation years has been postponed. Property assessments for the 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025 property tax year will continue to be based on the fully phased-in January 1, 2016 current values. Learn about MPAC's four-year assessment cycle, including the postponement.

The provincial government has announced that value increases will be phased in gradually as part of the reassessment. Decreases in value will not be phased in gradually and are effective in the first year. For example, for a property value increase from $500,000 to $600,000, the property value would be:

• $525,000 in year one of the reassessment cycle
• $550,000 in year two of the reassessment cycle
• $575,000 in year three of the reassessment cycle
• $600,000 in year four of the reassessment cycle

As a general rule:

• If your percentage increase year over year is larger than the average municipal change, you may experience an increase due to the reassessment.
• If your percentage change is relatively close to the average, you may not experience an assessment-related tax increase or decrease.
• If your percentage change is less than the average, you may experience an assessment-related tax decrease. This will apply to all for years of the phase-in.

Besides the valuation changes from the reassessment program, changes in municipal budget requirements also affect tax rates. When a reassessment is completed, MPAC will mail a Notice of Property Assessment to every property owner.

Under the Assessment Act and Municipal Act, the City must issue supplementary/omit tax bills when MPAC has revalued a property because of new construction or improvements which lead to an increased assessed value for the property.

The legislation allows MPAC to assess new construction or improvements for the current year and two prior years if applicable. Supplementary/omit tax bills are generated when we receive the updated assessment values from MPAC. We mail supplementary/omit tax bills for all years together with tax installments due in two consecutive months. We encourage homeowners to factor in these tax bills and set aside funds immediately following any major renovations to your property or the purchase of a newly built home. MPAC will send you a supplementary or omitted assessment notice indicating the new assessed value before the City issues supplementary/omit tax bills.

In cases where you built or purchased a brand new home or condominium, any tax bills received prior to the supplementary/omit tax billing are usually smaller and represent land only. If you receive a supplementary/omit tax bill and you did not own the home during all or a portion of the time indicated on the bill, forward the bill to your lawyer to arrange for payment.

If you disagree with MPAC's new assessed value, you can contact MPAC and ask them to reconsider the value through the assessment appeal process. MPAC includes a deadline date for filing this request on your supplementary or omitted assessment notice.