Amortization

Income tax is tax charged on the income you earn in a year, levied by both the federal government and your province or territory. Rates are graduated, so successive slices of taxable income are taxed at higher rates, and credits such as the basic personal amount reduce the tax calculated. Employment income is taxed through payroll withholding and settled on your T1 return. Quebec residents also file a separate provincial return with Revenu Quebec.

Multiply the assessed value of the property by the tax rate for its property class. Assessment is set by a provincial assessment authority on its own cycle and increases are often phased in, so the value lags the market. The rate is set each year by the municipality out of its budget, with an education portion added by the province. Both figures appear on your notice, which is why identical homes in different municipalities carry different bills.

Not on a Canadian personal return. Net income there is total income minus deductions such as RRSP contributions and union dues, worked out before any tax is applied, and it is the figure used to test income-tested benefits and credits. In everyday payroll language, net pay does mean what reaches your account after tax and other withholdings. For a corporation it depends on the statement: accounting net income is normally after tax, while the return starts from income before tax.

Two things drive the bill: the assessed value of that specific property and the rate the municipality sets. Assessment reflects size, age, lot, condition, renovations and recent comparable sales, so neighbouring houses rarely match. Rates differ because each council raises what its own budget needs from its own assessment base, and property class matters, with residential, multi-residential and commercial treated differently. A local education levy and area charges for services such as water or transit widen the gap.