How to Appeal Your Property Tax Assessment: The Canadian Homeowner’s Guide
How to Appeal Your Property Tax Assessment in Canada
Your municipal property tax bill is based on your home’s assessed value, and that assessment is often wrong. Challenging that value is a right for every Canadian homeowner and can lead to significant savings. We’ll walk you through the property tax appeal process, from reviewing your notice to arguing your case.
Phase 1: Reviewing Your Municipal Tax Assessment
Check the Deadlines and Facts
Timing is Crucial: Deadlines for appeals are often very strict (sometimes just 60 days after the notice date). This is the most critical fact you need to check first.
The Error Check: Before anything else, check the factual data: Is the square footage correct? The number of bathrooms? The year built? Simple errors are the easiest way to win your appeal.
Phase 2: Gathering Your Evidence
The Art of Comparable Properties The assessor’s job is often done remotely. Your job is to prove what the home wasn’t worth.
The 3 D’s: You need comparable sales (comps) that are: Dated (as close to the assessment date as possible), Distant (nearby, but not too close), and Dissimilar (sold for less).
Finding the Flaws: Document every flaw the assessor didn’t see: noisy location, outdated furnace, water damage, or poor layout. Take photos.
Phase 3: Submitting Your Appeal
The Official Property Tax Appeal Process
Contact First: Often, a simple phone call to the assessor’s office can resolve factual errors without a formal appeal.
Formal Submission: If you proceed, you will need to fill out the specific form required by your local Assessment Review Board (or provincial equivalent).
The Hearing: If you reach the hearing, focus on the facts. Present your comps and flaws clearly. Remain polite and objective; argue the data, not the emotions.
Lowering your property taxes is a smart financial move. If your assessment is incorrect, fighting it is the clearest way to lower property taxes and protect your bottom line. Need help pulling comps to support your appeal? Contact us—we’re experts in valuation.
Property Tax Appeals FAQs
Planning to sell your well-maintained home? Contact us here.
Is it worth the cost to appeal my property tax?
If you believe your home is over-assessed by more than $10,000, and you can find strong evidence of comparable sales, the potential long-term savings usually outweigh the small administrative fee to file the appeal.
What is the strongest evidence to use in an appeal?
Recently sold comparable properties (comps) with lower sale prices than your assessed value are the strongest evidence. Evidence of structural flaws, like a leaky basement, also works well.
Does appealing my tax assessment raise my neighbour’s taxes?
You should only turn the water back on after all risk of freezing temperatures has passed. If you turn the interior valve on too early and water freezes in the outdoor tap, the line could burst.
