By now, most home owners in the City of Ottawa have received their Property Assessment Notice from MPAC. We've had some strong market growth in Ottawa over the past few years, so most likely your assessment will show a significant increase over the 2008 value, when the last assessment was done. Now, most home owners will be happy to see that the value of their home has gone up over the years, but inevitably the big question becomes ... "Will my property taxes be going up?"
The answer can't be known for sure at this point since it will depend on any budget increase that the Ottawa City Council approves for 2013. But what we can do is figure out the relative impact that this assessment will have on your property tax bill.
If you look along the right-hand column on page 1 of the Property Assessment you will see two key numbers that will help you get a clearer understanding as to how your house will be affected by any adjustments to property taxes.
photo by Matt Aiello
The first number you need to know is; the average increase in the assessed property values for the City of Ottawa for 2013. This is clearly laid out on the right-hand side of page 1 of the notice where it says "The average phased-in assessment of residential properties in your municipality changed by 6.44% since the 2012 tax year." This is true for all property owners in the City of Ottawa, and it is against this benchmark that we can measure ourselves to determine the relative impact it will have on our tax bills for next year.
I think it's fair to say that just about everyone who has owned a home on Ottawa over the past 4 years has seen the assessed value of their property go up in that time. The important thing to know is, did that assessed value go up more or less than the average 6.44%? Assuming that City Council sticks to it's stated goal of an increase less than 2.5% for 2013, then
- If your assessed value increased by exactly 6.44%, then you should expect your property taxes to go up by the same 2.5% increase in the budget.
- If your assessed value increased by less than the 6.44% average, then you should expect to see a tax increase that is less than 2.5% or you may even see a decrease in your property taxes.
- If, however, your assessment shows that your phased-in assessment increased by more than the 6.44% average you'll probably see an increase in your tax bill that is more than 2.5%.
For example, my assessment tells me that "Your phased-in assessment has changed by 4.64% since the 2012 property tax year." So I am expecting that my taxes will increase by less than the proposed 2.5% increase for 2013, since my lower-than-average increase should offset some of the proposed budget increase.
If you're still having trouble understanding your assessment, then it may be a good idea to contact a trusted real estate professional who can sit down with you to explain the specific details of your Property Assessment Notice.
In your service,
Bill Cullen
Sales Representative
REMAX Absolute Realty Inc., Brokerage
Comments(0)