Property Taxes

Information on 2021 property taxes will be available in the spring.  

Property Taxes 2020 

In order to assist those unable to meet last year's payment deadline, the City reduced late payment penalties to 2% after August 4, 2020 and after the first business day in the months of September, October, November and December for Residential, Utility and Support Housing property classes. Penalties applied to unpaid amounts, even unclaimed home owner grants.

To help Business, Industrial, Recreational and mixed property classes, a 6% penalty was applied after the first business day in October and a further 2% penalty after the first business day in each of the months of November and December to unpaid amounts.

Paying Your Property Taxes

Save time by paying your property taxes online through your financial institution. Other convenient payment methods include by mail, drop box, through your mortgage company, and credit card. See "Payment Options" below for further details. Our customer service team is happy to assist you over the phone at 250.361.0228 or by email at propertytax@victoria.ca.

You can also pay your property tax in person at City Hall, however, to avoid line-ups we encourage you to pay to your property taxes online, use the dropbox outside City Hall or pay by mail.

Located on the ground floor, the Public Service Centre is open Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. excluding statutory holidays. Upon arrival, please line up outside the Pandora Avenue entrance of City Hall. Ambassadors will be there to greet you. You will exit the building into Centennial Square. 

 Payment Options For Property Taxes

• Financial Institution Most financial institutions will accept a property tax bill payment. For online banking, the folio number is used as the account number. Contact your local branch for more details. NOTE: Financial institutions do not accept Home Owner Grant applications. It is the owner's responsibility to ensure a Home Owner Grant application is received by the City of Victoria. 

• By Mail  Make cheque payable to the City of Victoria in Canadian funds.
• After Hours Drop-off  A drop box is available for non-cash payments. It is conveniently located at the Pandora Avenue entrance of City Hall.
• In Person at City Hall  Payments can be made in person at the Public Service Centre on weekdays from 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., excluding statutory holidays.  
• Mortgage Company  If your mortgage company will be remitting payment to the City of Victoria on your behalf, confirm details of your tax payment with your mortgage company directly. Property owners eligible for the Home Owner Grant must complete the grant application each year. 
• Credit Card   As a customer service improvement, you may now pay your property taxes by using a third party payment option.  Using this service will result in an additional service fee to the customer.  This service is independent from the City of Victoria. You will need to sign up for an account in order for the payment to proceed. Please note: The option to pay by credit card is not available in person at City Hall. If using this method of payment, please choose the payee: Victoria BC (City) Property Tax.
• Pre-Authorized Payment Program
  Thinking ahead to next year's taxes, you may wish to enroll in the monthly, automatic pre-payment program.  This program allows you to pay on a monthly basis instead of one lump sum - making budgeting easier and helping you avoid the risk of a 10% penalty. For 10 months, on the first day of the month, a fixed amount is automatically debited from your bank account. Once taxes have been determined the remaining balance will be debited on the due date in July.
• Pre-Authorized Debit Agreement
• Pre-Authorized Change Form

Provincial Home Owner Grant

Effective 2021, all home owner grant applications are submitted directly to the province. Residents will no longer apply through City of Victoria. For more information on Home Owner Grant, please visit Home Owner Grant - Province of British Columbia (gov.bc.ca)

A Breakdown of Your Property Taxes

There are two ways to see a breakdown of your property taxes. 

Online Property Tax Services

• Access property tax account information and sign up for eBilling - MyCity Login
• Purchase tax certificates through myLTSA Enterprise or APIC

Sign up for eBilling

Sign up to receive your Property Tax Notice by email.

• Login or register an account at MyCity Online.
• Register your property tax account. If you own multiple properties, you can sign up each property for eBilling. Use your eight digit folio number and your six digit access code from your Property Tax Notice.
• Then select to receive your Property Tax Notice by email.

You will receive next year's notice by email, and less paper to worry about.

Property Tax Information

Each year, BC Assessment produces independent property assessments for all property owners in the province. Property owners receive a Property Assessment notice each year in December from BC Assessment and have until January 31 to appeal that assessment. BC Assessment provides assessed values to the City of Victoria and other government agencies as the basis for calculating property taxes each year.

Property Tax Inquiry & Tax Certificate Service

This service provides information about municipal properties including current year and prior year assessments, legal descriptions and tax levy information. To access this information, click here.

Tax Certificates: You can now obtain our Tax Certificates through myLTSA Enterprise or APIC. 

For information about myLTSA, or to become a customer, see their web site or call them at 1.877.577.5872.

For information about APIC, or to become a customer, see their web site or call them at 1.877.953.8253.

Property Taxation

Property taxation is the most important single source of municipal revenue. The amount of money that is to be raised through property taxes, and a portion of the tax rate, is set by Council each year. The tax rate together with the assessed value of the property determines the amount of property tax payable each year. Tax rates are expressed in "dollars per thousand". A rate of $10 per thousand means that the property owner would pay $10 for every $1,000 of assessed value.

• 2020 Tax Bylaw and Schedule
• 2020 Property Tax Mill Rate

Assessments

The value of a property for tax purposes is determined by BC Assessment, independent of the municipality.

School Taxes

The municipality acts as the collection agency for school taxes. School taxes are paid to the Provincial Government.

• Provincial School Tax Information

Other Agencies on Your Tax Notice

Several public agencies affect the property tax rate and the amount of property tax collected by the City of Victoria each year. The municipality does not have control over the tax rates set by other agencies for which we collect taxes on behalf of. More information on these agencies is available through their websites:

• Capital Regional District
• Capital Regional Hospital District
• BC Assessment
• Municipal Finance Authority
• Regional Transit Authority

Address Change

If you would like to submit an address change for your property tax account or have any inquiries about your property taxes please send your request to either of the following:

• Email Public Service Centre
• Email Property Tax division or call 250.361.0228

Tax Sale for Delinquent Property Taxes

Properties with delinquent taxes (three years of taxes owing) will go to public auction if the delinquent taxes remain unpaid. The Tax Sale is held on the last Monday of every September.

Property Tax Deferment Programs

For available programs and requirements visit www.gov.bc.ca/propertytaxdeferment. Starting in 2020, New Deferment Applications and Deferment Renewal Applications must be submitted directly to the Provincial Government before the tax due date to avoid penalty charges.

Property Tax Exemption

Under the Community Charter, Section 224, Council may choose to grant property tax exemption to non-profit organizations. Learn more about Property Tax Exemptions, also known as Permissive Tax Exemptions.

Heritage Tax Exemption

The City of Victoria is pleased to offer a Tax Incentive Program (TIP) to eligible owners of downtown Heritage Designated buildings to offset seismic upgrading costs for the purpose of residential conversion of existing upper storeys.