Toronto Continues to Have the Lowest Property Tax Rates in Ontario

Property tax is an often overlooked expenditure in Ontario’s dramatic real estate markets.

Homebuyers typically focus on the heavy-hitting costs of homeownership: the down payment, monthly mortgage cost, closing costs, and land transfer costs. Fair enough.

But property taxes can add thousands of dollars per year to the cost of your home.

Toronto-based real estate brokerage Zoocasa is once again giving property taxes a moment in the spotlight with the release of its annual report of Ontario cities with the lowest and the highest property tax rates.

property tax Businessman's hand calculating invoice with house model in office

As it turns out, we didn’t see the same drama on the property tax front as we did on home prices as of late; the placements of the lowest and highest five residential property tax rates remain unchanged between 2020 and 2021, and are the following:

Municipalities with the 5 Lowest Residential Property Tax Rates:

Toronto: 0.611013
Markham: 0.632908
Richmond Hill: 0.659549
Vaughan: 0.669976
Milton: 0.683333

Municipalities with the 5 Highest Residential Property Tax Rates

Sudbury: 1.546783
North Bay: 1.568182
Sault Ste. Marie: 1.588067
Thunder Bay: 1.59108
Windsor: 1.818668

“Paying your taxes will be a financial obligation over the course of your home’s ownership, so it’s important to understand how they may impact your household’s bottom line,” reads the report.

This is especially noteworthy in today’s pandemic-era housing market. “As many Ontarians have switched from urban to small-town or rural living, they may not realize that while their home has a relatively smaller price tag, it may come with a higher tax rate,” explains the report. “That’s because property tax rates vary across the province, based on municipalities’ size, councils’ operating budgets, and the value of local housing markets.”

As a result, larger urban centres like Toronto can offer lower property tax rates due to a larger pool of taxpayers, and higher real estate prices. On the other hand, smaller communities will often have higher tax rates to account for a smaller population and, likely, fewer resources.

affordable cities Windsor/Shutterstock

But the municipal tax rate is just one factor. Another element is the recent value assessment of a home, as determined by the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC). The amount you actually pay in tax is calculated by multiplying your city’s residential tax rate by this assessment value, highlights Zoocasa.

MPAC usually provides this assessment every four years, and 2020 was slated for the next update; however, as part of COVID-19 tax relief efforts, they froze property value assessments at 2016 levels through the 2022 tax year – something locals and newly-located homeowners certainly weren’t complaining about.

Subsequently, value assessments of Ontario homes may change in the next few years thanks, to an unprecedented growth in home prices across the province that came with the pandemic.

To see how tax rates differ across the province, and how they’ve fluctuated from 2020, Zoocasa compiled 2021 property tax rates for 35 Ontario municipalities.

Residential Property Tax Rates in 35 Ontario Municipalities

1. Toronto: 0.611013

2. Markham: 0.632908

3. Richmond Hill: 0.659549

4. Vaughan: 0.669976

5. Milton: 0.683333

6. Oakville: 0.721512

7. Aurora: 0.762133

8. Burlington: 0.779583

9. Newmarket: 0.794819

10. Halton Hills: 0.796429

11. Mississauga: 0.803063

12. Caledon: 0.805224

13. Brampton: 0.962669

14. Ottawa: 1.000000

15. Pickering: 0.080044

16. Ajax: 1.091294

17. Waterloo: 1.093399

18. Kitchener: 1.106139

19. Whitby: 1.122891

20. Guelph: 1.142609

21. Cambridge: 1.18633

22. Hamilton: 1.208567

23. Barrie: 1.218959

24. Oshawa: 1.304741

25. Niagara Falls: 1.30914

26. Orangeville: 1.333837

27. Kingston: 1.365454

28. London: 1.388283

29. Peterborough: 1.448245

30. St. Catharines: 1.455746

31. Sudbury: 1.546783

32. North Bay: 1.568182

33. Sault Ste. Marie: 1.588067

34. Thunder Bay: 1.59108 35

35. Windsor: 1.818668

Taxes

Toronto Continues to Have the Lowest Property Tax Rates in Ontario

Property taxes are having moment in the spotlight with the release of Ontario cities with the lowest and the highest property tax rates.

Residential Property Tax Rates in 35 Ontario Municipalities

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Formerly a Special Advisor at rennie, Jennifer Podmore Russell is replacing Shayne Ramsay, who parted ways with Nch’ḵay̓ after an investigation into his time at BC Housing.

The retail complex at 798 Granville Street is well-known to any Vancouverite due its prime location at the intersection of Granville Street and Robson Street.

Slate Asset Management acquired Stephen Avenue Place, formerly called the Scotia Centre, in 2018.