BC homeowners: Property tax

Don't you mean your property VALUE? Has your tax gone up, too? (It doesn't always). What did you pay last year compared to this year?

Municipalities are the ones determining the property value, Reyn, and they submit that to the province who then bills you, so you need to take it up at City Hall. Also, you can appeal it.

P.S. I found all this out when I received my property assessment last year. My property value jumped over $200,000 in one year. There's a phone number on the assessment and I spoke with a really nice fellow. I'm sure their phones are ringing off the hook right now. I think my taxes did increase (but only because West Vancouver decided to up them) but not by too much - maybe a couple of hundred dollars.

Hi, Mame! Yes, I meant the tax assessment on the value. In my experience, usually a jump in one's assessment means a jump in your municipal taxes. This has happened for us most times.

Out here in Abby, too, we already know that we're getting a general 5% tax increase as well.

Last year, we got a 16% increase which included the start of paying for the infamous "Plan A". This is a trio of projects which we will be paying for the next 20 years.

There's no point in appealing the assessed value on my place, as I know for a fact that townhouses around here are selling for much more that my assessed one. I just don't think it's a fair system. There should be in place some kind of cap on how much your place can increase in this assessed value (at least in one year), so folks can still afford to actually continue to live in their homes.

After all, the increased value of your home only does you any good if you're selling it. Then, you only benefit if you buy down, or "further out" (so to speak).

What's the saying? House rich, cash poor?

You could be right, Reyn. Around here, they tax the increase in price (not value) at the time of sale. That ought to hold them for awhile.

The assessed value of my house in Belcarra has tripled in the last 8 years, the property tax has respectively increased as well.

I suggest y'all might want to learn about Tax Creep

Roger,

here in Canada houses used as a principle residence have no tax applied at all at time of sale, the gains are for all intents and purposes fully tax free, it's one of the extremely rare examples where the Canadian tax implications of assessing a given asset's gains are more favorable than the US equivalent.

However as it applies to houses in the US if you are "buying up" after your principal resident house sale, and do so within a specified time, you pay no tax in the US also. And if you are "buying down" you only pay tax on the differential net gains.

In almost all other circumstances, from interest rates, to costs for basic goods and services, to capital gains, to interest income, to business deductions, to wills and estates, to retirement implications, etc the US presents a much more favorable environment than does Canada.

Well, I can kind of see why your assessed value has gone up so much. You're a lot closer to Vancouver than I am, and folks are looking for areas like that to live, much like Anmore and Pitt Meadows, etc.

Mission, out here, has had large population increases, and a lot of folks are coming out to Abbotsford as well. Although, it's a hefty commute to downtown, if one were to work there.


It all sucks having to shell out more bucks.

I liked the way things were 40 years ago in the lower mainland!

Yeah, I hear ya. "Progress" got in the way of all that.