The City of Toronto launched its 2025 Budget process on Monday, and this year's package includes a proposed property tax increase of 5.4% for residential properties. That, combined with the city building levy of 1.5%, would bring the total increase to 6.9%.
The 5.4% is intended to support the City’s operating budget for the year, and funds collected from the building levy, in effect since 2016, are used to support and advance critical infrastructure projects.
While6.9% is by no means slight, it follows last year’s increase that was proposed to be a staggering 10.5% (9%, plus the building levy) and approved at 9.5% (8%, plus the building levy), marking the largest increase since the city's amalgamation. The increase proposed this year is more in line with what we saw under former Mayor John Tory, who opted for a 5.5% increase (7%, including the building levy) in 2023.
The prospective 6.9% increase for 2025 was revealed to media on Monday morning by Mayor Olivia Chow and Budget Chief Shelley Carroll outside of City Hall, where city staff will begin their two-week-long deliberations of the 2025 budget. In a news release emailed out shortly after, Carroll said the increase is intended to help the City “balance the need for financial sustainability,” while also enhancing its services.
“I understand the challenge this presents for Torontonians,” Carroll said in the release. “But this is a necessary investment in our city’s future — a future that is equitable, vibrant, and thriving.”
Carroll also laid out “key investments” for the next year, which reportedly include increased funding for shelters, renter protections, and new housing initiatives, and the expansion of transit service hours (amongst more). The City is citing support for 300 more households through the Rent Bank program and increased transit service hours by 5.8%, in particular.
The 6.9% hike, if put into effect, would result in an increase of $210 annually for the average assessed value of a Toronto home ($692,031) or approximately $17.50 per month, the City says. The City has also specified that the 2025 budget calls for base property tax increases of 2.7% for multi-residential properties, 2.7% for commercial properties, and 5.4% for industrial properties.
