The Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) assesses properties to determine property taxes. The basis for property assessments is the current worth of properties as of a legally mandated valuation date—currently, January 1, 2016.
Property tax is made up of two different components; the educational portion and the municipal portion.
The Minister of Finance sets the tax rates for the education portion, which supports Ontario’s elementary and secondary education system. The Education Act’s Ontario Regulation 400/98 establishes the rates for education taxes.
Each municipality sets its own rates for the local share of the tax. Within a two-tier municipality, upper—and lower-tier municipalities determine different portions of the rate.
- Read: Capital Gains Tax Changes and an Improved Market: What Cottage Buyers and Sellers Need to Know
How Is It Calculated?
The Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) determines a property’s current value assessment, which is multiplied by the combined municipal and education tax rates for the relevant property class to determine property taxes.
Following certain changes, such as new construction or a change in ownership, MPAC distributes an updated assessment notice to the property owner. Municipalities send tax bills to property owners yearly; an assessment notification is not the same as a tax bill.
What Is A Notice Of Assessment?
Every year following your tax return filing, the Canada Revenue Agency sends you a notice of assessment (NOA), which is an assessment of your tax return. The date that they completed your tax return and the amount that you might owe or receive in the form of a refund or credit are both included in your NOA. The NOA also provides the annual deduction cap for your Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP).
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