How Ontario property tax is calculated
Property tax is your property's assessed value multiplied by a tax rate. The rate depends on the class of property and is built from up to three parts.
1. Assessed value
The Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) assigns each property a current value assessment. It is printed on your property assessment notice and your tax bill. Putques does not hold assessed values for individual properties: you enter yours.
2. Property class
Each property is in a class such as residential, multi-residential, commercial, industrial or farmland. Each class has a tax ratio. Residential has a ratio of 1, and other classes are set relative to it. In 2024, the median commercial total rate in the file is 2.59% against 1.35% for residential.
3. The three parts of the rate
- Municipal. Set by your municipal council.
- County or region. Added where your municipality is part of a county or regional municipality (the “upper tier”). Single-tier municipalities have none.
- Education. Set by the province. See education property tax.
4. Worked example
In Toronto the 2024 residential rate is 0.7076%. A home assessed at $500,000 pays 500,000 × 0.007076 = $3,538 a year, before charges outside the rate.
What can differ from your bill
Special area rates, local improvement charges, and fees for water, sewer or waste are not part of the rate in Schedule 22. Some municipalities also bill in instalments or interim amounts. Your municipality's tax bill is the authority.