Property Assessment and Taxation Toolkit
To better help property owners understand the relationship between property assessment and taxes, as well as the key roles different levels of government play, MPAC has developed a toolkit for municipalities to use. These resources include information and tools designed to help you educate property owners and answer any questions they might have.
In this kit you will find:
- MPAC’s new video on How Property Taxes are calculated
- Information on MPAC’s Myth vs Fact education campaign and shareable content to post on your website, newsletters and social media channels
- Key Messages about the relationship between property assessment and property taxes
- About MPAC printable handouts
- Frequently Asked Questions to share with your customer service and frontline staff. This useful information is designed to support them in responding to inquiries they may receive from property owners.
Video: How Property Taxes are calculated
To help provide clarity for property owners on how property taxes are calculated, including the link between property assessment, municipal service costs and required tax dollars, watch MPAC’s helpful and informative new video.
Important Note: This video is an updated version of an existing MPAC video. If you have embedded or linked the original video on any of your materials, please be sure to update your content to reflect the most recent version. The previous video can be found here.
Separating Fact from Fiction
The most common misperception we hear is that if the value of a property increases, the owner’s municipal taxes will increase. As you know, there is no 1:1 relationship. There are a variety of factors at play when municipalities calculate their tax rates and the assessed value of someone’s home or business is only part of that equation.
To help residents better understand the relationship between MPAC and municipalities, and to help dispel common myths about property assessment and property taxes, see below for shareable social content that can be leveraged across your channels:
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Tax implications for individual property owners vary depending on how their property relates to others around them. When a province-wide assessment takes place and your property assessment increases, it does not automatically equate to an increase in your property taxes. |
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MPAC determines property assessments for all properties in Ontario. Municipalities determine revenue requirements, set municipal tax rates, and collect property taxes to pay for municipal services. |
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MPAC determines property assessments for all properties in Ontario. Municipalities determine revenue requirements, set municipal tax rates, and collect property taxes to pay for municipal services. The Government of Ontario establishes the province's assessment and taxation laws and determines education tax rates. |
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Municipalities decide what services they will provide in their communities and calculate how much they will cost each year. Municipalities collect property taxes to help pay for these services. MPAC's property assessments help governments calculate each property owner’s share of the overall cost. |
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MPAC’s property assessments are based on a single valuation date for the entire province -- where all properties are assigned a value as if they sold on the same date. The date, determined by the province of Ontario, ensures consistency for every community, so all municipalities start at the same point for budget decisions such as property tax rates. |
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Key messages/Concepts
- Property assessments based on current market values distribute property taxes, they do not determine property taxes. Decisions about how much tax to collect are made by local governments.
- Even though the assessed values of home may increase following an assessment update, the overall taxes collected within a municipality does not change. Municipalities are required by regulation to reset their tax rates to offset the average change in property values as a result of reassessment.
- A common misconception is that a significant change in a property’s assessed value will result in a proportionately significant change in the owner’s property taxes. The most important factor is not how much the assessed value has changed, but how much the assessed value has changed relative to the average change for the same property type in the municipality.
- If the property assessment has gone up more than average, the owner’s property tax bill will be proportionately larger. If the property assessment has gone up less than average, the owner’s property tax bill will be proportionately smaller.
Print: MPAC and the Municipal Relationship
To help those who are meeting directly with property owners, we have created an informative handout that helps clarify the MPAC and Municipal relationship.
This handout provides a brief outline of the following:
- Who is MPAC
- Our role with Municipalities
- Ontario's Property Tax System
- Assessment and Property Taxes
For Municipalities: Download a copy
For MPPs: Download a copy
Frequently Asked Questions
Share this helpful document with your staff to assist them with responding to commonly asked inquiries and questions regarding the property assessment and taxation process.
Looking for more information or have additional questions? Reach out to your local municipal and stakeholder relations representative.
