News   Jan 09, 2025
News Roundup for January 9, 2025
 141     0 
News   Jan 09, 2025
The Naked City
 289     0 
News   Jan 08, 2025
50 Scollard Tops Off as Cladding and Glazing Installation Continues
 1.1K     0 

Municipal Taxes - You have to be kidding me!

K

kpad

Guest
I moved into a condo in December 2005, and became owner of the unit in May 2006. I received my first property assessment, which will be used to calculate 2007 municipal taxes. It values my property at $30,000.

I understand that the McGuinty government cancelled all assessment for 2006 and 2007, but does that really mean that, for the next two years, I will be paying property taxes on $30,000, which is just over one-tenth the value of the condo?

While I could use the extra money, you have to be kidding me!

Can they claw back at some future date? Am I missing something here?
 
I think it means your condo has an assessed value of $30,000 in which case your tax will be ( I'm guessing ) about $225.

Well done. For God's sake don't tell the City.
 
Are they doing this for all condos completed in 2006? Is $30,000 the default assessment value?

If so, the City has to be missing out on a ton of money.
 
On of the paradoxes of home ownership - at tax time you want a place that is practically worthless, and when you sell it, absolutely priceless.
 
Yeah, it's pretty upsetting that the city is clearly missing out on potentially millions of dollars of revenue due to negligence, despite its dire financial situation. Pretty irresponsible.

Also, I'm jealous.
 
I moved in March 1 2006 and I am in the $30,000 club too!
 
Congratulations, you've won the jackpot! :p

More seriously, not to be a complete killjoy, but you will be getting a supplementary assessment at some point. Don't spend all of that money you had budgeted for taxes. :\

Edit: Sorry, this really deserves a bit further elaboration. I don't know where you are located but my semi-educated guess is that you are currently assessed only for your proportionate share of the "land value" of your condo complex. $30,000 per unit sounds roughly right for the land component of some of the larger complexes in Toronto. At some point sooner or later, and probably sooner, they will pick up on the building component and you will be reassessed.
 
It values my property at $30,000.
Click to expand...

Clearly they have no taste concerning what you have worked so hard to purchase!

As for your evaluation, it is their responsibility to evaluate, not yours. If babel is correct, your tax bill will be very, very low.
 
But they can't back-date the reassessment, right? I've been saving on the assumption that I'd get taxed on an assessment equal to my purchase price plus ten percent.

So, I have the taxes on $30,000 and then some. It'd be really helpful if someone knows if I can spend the "and then some" without getting hit at some point in the future.
 
At the risk of sounding nosy, perhaps it was a typo and they had you assesed at $300,000?
 
Prometheus: Condo fees are payable to the condo corporation, not the city, and cover the operating costs of the condo itself. They are entirely separate from municipal taxes.

Kpad: I certainly wouldn't swear to this but it's my understanding that reassessments can go back three years. I'd be very interested to hear any response you might get on this (for professional reasons and plain old curiosity) -- could you post any further info which you might obtain here?
 
From what I can tell looking at Part X of the Municipal Act and at the Assessment Act, a 2008 assessment, which would be used for the 2009 tax year, will not apply for any previous tax year. So, it is a tax break for new homeowners, as far as I can tell.

Again, I am not an expert, and I am not researching this very carefully.
 
Kpad: Having just read your 8.59 pm. post I'm a bit concerned about your use of the (possibly misleading) term "tax holiday". I hope and assume you weren't implying that people who purchased in 2006 will pay no taxes until 2008.

As said before I won't swear to all of the details, but I do know that reassessments can and will take place during 06 and 07, in cases where there has been: a physical change to the property (such as construction of a building on formerly vacant land, which I suspect is your situation, or a building addition), a change of the use (say, from commercial to residential), a change of occupancy from vacant to occupied or vice versa for industrial and commercial properties, or in a few other cases such as having been placed in the wrong property classification. Those properties to which such changes do not apply won't be reassessed.

Like yourself I'm no expert and would welcome further info.
 
Observer, to clarify, when I said new homeowners would get a "tax holiday", I merely mean that they will pay taxes on the value of their property as at January 1, 2005. For most new homeowners, this value represents a fraction of the value of their homes today.

So, they will be paying taxes at a rate far reduced from what they would pay if assessments for the 2007 and 2008 tax years were not cancelled.

What's this all mean folks? Well, as I said, I'm not an expert. Call your local tax authority or the MPAC to be sure!

EDIT: Observer, you said that, assessments will take place where there is the construction of a building on formerly vacant land. That is my situation. Can you provide any info as to the basis for this statement?
 
don't you pay other fees while living in a condo? that's like a tax too. maybe the city takes this into account?

it's a great reward for optimal land usage .
 
You must log in or register to post here.

Back
Top