Vancouver Property Tax - How Much Do You Pay?

Jan. 5, 2011 - PRLog -- It's that time of year again - property tax assessment time! Vancouver property owners are dreading their property tax assessments arriving in the mail this week. As I've mentioned on my site over the last few weeks and months (http://www.vancouverrealtornews.com) a hike in metro Vancouver property taxes is due.

All the media hype surrounding Vancouver real estate lately has been telling us that property prices in and around metro Vancouver have been rising. In some cases (Richmond, BC) property prices have risen 17 percent on last year. Only in Whistler, BC, have prices dropped (2 percent).This is all pointing to a rise in property taxes...according to a recent vancouver Sun article a 4.2 per cent property tax increase for homeowners.

So what is an assessment? Well according to BC Assessment, which is the provincial Crown corporation that classifies and assesses the value of all real property in British Columbia, an assessment is the determination of a property's market value, property classification and applicable exemptions as of July 1 each year. This organization mails a Property Assessment Notice to each property owner in BC, showing the property's market value as of July 1 (property value is defined as probable price that an unencumbered property would sell for on the open market). This assessment is the basis used by the City of Vancouver and other municipalities'  taxing authorities for determining the share of municipal and provincial property taxes owners will pay.

So is the value of your property directly linked to the amount of property tax you pay? Well, this is a little less black and white: Provincial and municipal governments (taxing authorities) pay for public services through property taxes, which are based on assessed value.

BC Assessment determines the market value of properties and sends property owners a Property Assessment Notice (what you get this week in the mail). The tax authorities determine the property tax rate they will set to raise the revenue needed to pay for public services. (There are those bike lanes we see dotted around the city, there are the skytrains, the buses, and don't forget the Olympics and the ghostly Olympic Village in Vancouver's False Creek) The tax authorities apply the rate to the assessed value of properties and send property owners a Tax Notice. This is guaranteed to be a lot more than you paid last year, but how much of a hike is what is of interest to us all.

All is not lost if you think that one bedroom condo is not worth the $2 million value that BC Assessment has put on it. If you are not happy with your assessment, you can file a notice of complaint (appeal) to the Property Assessment Review Panel.

You can read more valuable property tips on my site: http://www.vancouverrealtornews.com

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