Property Taxes

Property tax notices are mailed at the end of May or early June. If you have not received yours by mid June please contact the Finance Department by email: pmtaxes@pittmeadows.ca. It is the responsibility of property owners to pay property taxes by the due date to avoid a late payment penalty, whether or not a bill is received.

For more information on where your tax dollars go, read the 2024-2028 Financial Plan.

View your property tax and utility accounts, sign up for e-billing, apply for your Home Owner Grant, and access other services right from your own home. Use the Access Code provided on your tax notice to register for your online account at mypittmeadows.com.

The Province (Community Charter) requires municipalities to charge a late payment penalty. 

Unpaid taxes or unclaimed Home Owner Grants will incur a 5% penalty charge the day after the due date and an additional 5% penalty charge after August 1. If you are eligible for the Home Owner Grant, you must apply for it each year before the penalty date.

The City understands that homeowners may not be able to pay their bill by the due date. However, the Community Charter and City Bylaws clearly state that a penalty must be applied to the outstanding balance. The City cannot waive the penalty.

• Applications for Provincial Home Owner Grants are due the same date as property tax payment and now go directly through the province.
• Speculation and Vacancy Tax declarations are due March 31 and go directly through the province.

Levy per $1000 taxable value.

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

Background
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.

Interested organizations are encouraged to review Council Policy C061 Permissive Tax Exemptions prior to applying to ensure all eligibility criteria has been met.  The application form can be found at the end of the Policy document.  

Eligibility 
To be eligible for a permissive tax exemption, an organization must qualify under Section 224 of the Community Charter and comply with the City’s policies, plans, bylaws and regulations.  An organization must be a registered charity, philanthropic, or not-for-profit organization and meet all policy criteria. 

Application Deadline
Deadline for applications is August 31 of each year.  Applications using the prescribed form may be submitted by email to pmtaxes@pittmeadows.ca.  The City will only process complete applications.  Late applications will not be accepted.

Exemption Term
Council will consider new applications annually.  Permissive tax exemptions are for the lesser of five years and the exemption date of the current bylaw.

Annual Declaration
Outside of the five year cycle, existing recipients of a permissive tax exemption are required to complete an annual declaration confirming no material changes in operation or ownership that would require a change in exemption status.

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.

The following presentations explain how property taxes are calculated

• BC Assessment Presentation
• Property Taxes Explained

The presentation materials are available for viewing:

• Property Taxes Explained
• Presentation by BC Assessment

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

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

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.

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.