It is City Tax Payment time…. Have you applied for your home owner grant?
Just want to give you a heads up that city taxes are due July 2, 2015. You HAVE to apply every year for your homeowner’s grant and additional grants that affect anyone 65 or older. Here is some information for you that might give you a better understanding of what city taxes are all about.
Understand Your Taxes
When you own or lease a property or manufactured home in B.C., property taxes must be paid yearly for each property. The money raised from the property taxes you pay is used to fund local programs and services, such as:
- Police and fire protection
- Emergency rescue services
- Road construction and maintenance
- Garbage services
- Recreation and community centres
- Parks
- Libraries
- Schools
- Hospitals
When a community starts a new service they are responsible for the costs. In some cases, the cost for the new service may be shared with other nearby communities. A recreation facility is a good example of when the cost to provide a new service may be shared.
You will receive your Property Assessment at the beginning of the year showing the assessed value of your property as of July 1st of the previous year.
You will receive a tax notice for your property around June 1st that shows the amount of tax you owe.
You need to make payment for the amount shown on your tax notice to the office that sent your property tax notice. Don’t forget to apply for your home owner grant!
How Much Property Tax Do I Have To Pay?
The amount you pay is based on the funds needed to provide services for the year. Tax rates are set to determine how to share the cost of providing the services.
Tax rates and your property assessment determine how much property tax you pay. Learn how property taxes apply to your property’s location.
Home Owner Grant
The home owner grant reduces the amount of property tax you pay for your principal residence.
The grant is available to qualified residents that pay property taxes to a municipality or the province in a rural area. If you pay your property taxes to a First Nation, contact the First Nation directly.
Find out what you may qualify for as a B.C. resident:
- Under 65
- Senior
- Veteran
- Person with disabilities
- Living with a spouse or relative with disabilities
- Spouse or relative of a deceased owner
You (or your spouse) can only claim the home owner grant for your principal residence each year. However, if you are married and have a written separation agreement with your spouse at the time you apply, you can each claim the home owner grant for separate principal residences.
If you have any questions regarding your mortgage payments and city property taxes, call the GLM Mortgage Group at (604) 259-1203. We always return our calls within 90 minutes.