Property Taxes

• 2023 Tax Rates

  Levy per $1000 taxable value.

  	Class	General	Drainage	Metro	Fire Levy	School	Less Rebate	GVTA	MFA	BCAA	Totals
  1	Residential	2.1300	0.0789	0.0544	0.0800	1.0517		0.2188	0.0002	0.0336	3.6476
  2	Utility	30.5048	1.1298	0.1904	1.1451	12.5700		2.2031	0.0007	0.4550	48.1989
  4	Maj. Indus.	11.4452	0.4237	0.1850	0.4296	1.3300		1.2831	0.0007	0.4550	15.5523
  5	Lt. Indus.	7.0376	0.2604	0.1850	0.2642	3.3300		0.6279	0.0007	0.0964	11.8022
  6	Business	5.7721	0.2138	0.1333	0.2167	3.3300		0.7191	0.0005	0.0964	10.4819
  8	Rec/Seasonal	4.6059	0.1704	0.0544	0.1729	1.9900		0.1496	0.0002	0.0336	7.1770
  9	Farm	38.3245	1.4194	0.0544	1.4386	7.2900	-3.6450	0.3090	0.0002	0.0336	45.2247

• Taxation Revenue

  The distribution of general property tax revenue across different property classes is:

  	Class	Assessment %	Revenue %
  Residential	1	78.12%	54.45%
  Utilities	2	0.11%	1.11%
  Major Industry	4	0.17%	0.63%
  Light Industry	5	3.24%	7.46%
  Business & Other	6	17.38%	32.60%
  Recreation / Non-Profit	8	0.79%	1.37%
  Farm	9	0.19%	2.38%
  Total		100.00%	100.00%

• Permissive Tax Exemptions

  A permissive tax exemption is a means for Council to support organizations within the community which further Council's objectives of enhancing quality of life (economic, social, cultural) and delivering services economically.  Therefore, Council has adopted a policy to guide identification of organizations meeting these objectives.

  See the Permissive Tax Exemptions Policy, C061, Section 5 for more information. The application form can be found at the end of the Policy document.

• Update Your Property Tax Contact Address

  Have you recently changed your mailing address?
  Do you own properties other than your principal residence?

  If so, please complete BC Assessment's online Change of Address Notification form.

  The City receives periodic updates of property owner's mailing addresses from BC Assessment and any changes may take several weeks to be reflected in the City's records.

• Taxation 101: Property Taxes Explained

  The Regular City Council Meeting held on February 5th, 2019 included the following presentations:

  • BC Assessment Presentation
  • Property Taxes Explained

  The presentation materials from the meeting are available for viewing:

  • Property Taxes Explained by Cheryl Harding, Director of Financial Services
  • Presentation by BC Assessment by representative, Brian Smith

  Have more questions about property assessment and how it affects property tax rates? Check out this short video explanation:

• Provincial Property-based Taxes Study Update (2017)

  On April 29, 2016 the Board of Directors for the Metro Vancouver Regional District (MVRD) passed a motion requesting an update of a 1988 Metro Vancouver study entitled Real Property Taxation Issues in Greater Vancouver, focusing on Metro Vancouver's overall property tax burden and benefits relative to the rest of the province. Cascadia Strategy Consulting Partners Ltd. (Cascadia), an independent team of subject matter experts in public finance and economics, was requested to update the 1988 MVRD study, focusing specifically on the Home Owner Grant, Provincial School Property Tax, and Property Transfer Tax. This document outlines how each have been impacted by rising property values, resulting in increased Provincial tax burden within the region.

  If you have any questions you are encouraged to contact:

  Cheryl Harding, Director of Financial Services
  Email:  charding@pittmeadows.bc.ca
  Phone:  604-465-2461

Annual Property Tax Sale

• What properties are currently for sale?

  The list of properties that may be available for sale will be published in the local newspapers on two separate dates.  The last publication being not less than 3 days or more than 10 days before the date of the tax sale. A  final list of the properties still available for sale will be distributed at the time of the tax sale.

   

• What is the Tax Sale process?

  The sale is a public auction with the successful bid being the highest bid above the upset price.  The upset price is the total of all outstanding taxes plus penalties, interest and costs.  We require payment by cash, certified cheque or money order before 2:00 p.m. of the day of the tax sale.  If these are not produced, the tax sale is re-opened and the property is sold again.

  The owner of the property, or any registered charge holder, will be notified of the sale of the property for taxes.  They have a period of 12 months to redeem the property by paying the outstanding taxes.  Only at the end of the redemption period, if the property has not been redeemed will title pass to the successful bidder.  If the property is redeemed, all of the amounts paid to the City by the successful bidder will be returned with interest at the rate prescribed under the Act.

  The successful bidder has only limited legal rights to the property during the redemption period.  The registered owner continues to have use and enjoyment of the property.

  Also, the successful purchaser of tax sale property that results in transfer of title at the end of the redemption period will be required to pay any property purchase taxes and goods and services taxes which may apply to the sale.