Property, the CRA and money owed: questions answered

The tax is levied annually, but almost every municipality lets you pay it in parts. The usual options are instalments tied to the interim and final bills, or a pre-authorised monthly withdrawal spread across the year. If your lender collects property tax with your mortgage payment, you are effectively paying monthly and the lender remits to the city. Instalment dates and plan rules are set locally, so check your bill or your municipal tax account.

You declare online through whichever authority levies the tax: the city for Vancouver's empty homes tax or Toronto's vacant home tax, and the province for British Columbia's speculation and vacancy tax. Declarations cover the previous calendar year and open shortly after it ends, with deadlines early in the new year; miss one and the property is treated as vacant and taxed. Confirm this year's dates and exemption codes on that authority's own page.

Your municipality sets the schedule, so timing varies across the country. The common pattern is an interim bill early in the year based on the previous year's taxes, then a final bill after council approves the budget and the assessment roll is returned. Instalment due dates are printed on each bill. If a bill has not arrived, contact the municipality rather than waiting, because interest still runs on a missed instalment.

Ontario municipalities levy property tax once a year but bill it in stages. Most send an interim bill early in the year, then a final bill after council approves the budget, with each bill carrying its own instalment dates. Many municipalities also offer pre-authorised monthly withdrawals, and lenders often collect the tax with the mortgage payment. Because the dates differ from one municipality to the next, work from your own bill or online tax account.

The municipality charges a penalty on the missed instalment, then interest for each month the balance stays unpaid, at rates set by local bylaw. Arrears stay attached to the property, so they must be cleared on a sale, and a lender may pay them and add the cost to your loan. If arrears run for years the municipality can start the tax sale process set out in provincial law and ultimately sell the property to recover them. Contact the tax office early to arrange a payment plan.

Check the statement of account in your municipal property tax portal, which lists each bill, the payments applied and any balance owing. The tax office can also confirm by phone or email using your roll number. If a lender collects the tax with your mortgage, its annual statement shows what was remitted. On a purchase or sale, the lawyer's statement of adjustments sets out the tax position at closing, and a tax certificate gives formal proof.

Property tax receipts come from your municipality, not from the CRA. Most cities let you download a receipt or a statement of account from their online property tax portal once you sign in with the roll number and access code from your bill; the rest issue one on request from the tax office. Keep it with your records, because it supports a rental expense claim or a work-space-in-the-home claim. Ask for a reprint if the original was lost.

A Toronto purchase attracts two land transfer taxes: the Ontario tax and the City of Toronto municipal tax. Both are calculated on the purchase price through graduated bands, with additional bands for higher-value residential property, and both are payable on closing. First-time buyers can claim a rebate at each level when they meet the conditions. Run your actual price through the city's land transfer tax calculator instead of using a rule of thumb.

Calgary property tax is set each year by the city and appears on the assessment and tax notices sent to the owner. The bill is your assessed value multiplied by the municipal rate council approves in its budget, plus the provincial education requisition, so it moves every year and differs by property class. Use the city's property tax calculator or your own assessment notice for an accurate figure, and consider the monthly payment plan.

Property tax is your property's assessed value multiplied by a tax rate. The assessed value comes from a provincial assessment authority, such as MPAC in Ontario or BC Assessment in British Columbia, using a fixed valuation date and comparable sales. The rate is set annually by your municipality, varies by property class, and carries a provincial education portion. Neither your purchase price nor your mortgage balance sets the tax directly.

In British Columbia the notice comes from your municipality if the property sits inside municipal boundaries, and from the provincial rural property tax office if it does not. Notices are mailed each year ahead of the annual due date printed on them, generally in the first half of the year. Apply for the home owner grant separately each year directly through the province, since municipalities no longer handle those applications.

A refund transfer on your notice of assessment means the CRA applied your refund to another amount you owe instead of paying it out. Common destinations are a balance on another tax year, GST/HST or payroll accounts, instalments, a spouse's balance where you asked for the transfer, or a debt the CRA collects for another government program. The notice shows the amount moved and where it went. If you disagree, call the CRA or check My Account.

The late-filing penalty is 5% of the balance owing at the deadline, plus 1% of that balance for each full month the return is late, up to 12 months. If you owe nothing, there is no late-filing penalty, though filing late can still delay benefit payments. Interest runs separately on the unpaid balance from the payment deadline. Repeat late filing after a CRA demand carries a heavier penalty.

File on time even if you cannot pay, because the late-filing penalty depends on the return being late while an unpaid balance attracts interest only. For the 2025 tax year the deadline was 30 April 2026, or 15 June 2026 to file if you were self-employed, with payment still due 30 April 2026. Pay instalments when the CRA requests them, report every slip you receive, and keep records six years from the end of the last tax year they relate to.

You ask for taxpayer relief. File form RC4288 setting out why you could not comply: serious illness, a death in the family, a natural disaster, a CRA error or processing delay, or a genuine inability to pay. The CRA can cancel or waive penalties and interest at its discretion, never the underlying tax, and only for years inside its published time limit. File the outstanding returns first, attach evidence, keep the account current, and expect a written decision.

It means a balance you still owe the CRA: tax, penalties or interest from the return just filed or from an earlier year. The CRA applies any new refund against that balance first, and interest compounds daily on what remains until it is cleared. You can see the amount, and the year it came from, in My Account. If you cannot pay it in full, ask the CRA for a payment arrangement rather than waiting for collections action to begin.