A tax appeal is a complaint about how a municipality calculated taxes for a specific property. For most municipalities, the appeal is made under the Municipal Act, 2001. Toronto has its' own taxing statute entitled the City of Toronto Act, 2006, which in most respects mirrors the provincial counterpart.

There have been many changes to Ontario’s property tax legislation in recent years. One consequence of these changes is occasional errors in property assessments and tax bills. If errors are not corrected, they can lead to excessive taxes that will be virtually impossible to correct in future years.

Our legal professionals work with tax departments and MPAC to ensure that you receive fair and accurate assessments and tax bills. In the vast majority of cases, results are achieved through a negotiated resolution with MPAC and Tax Department representatives.

An assessment appeal is a complaint about the assessment of a property determined by the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC), under the Assessment Act.

We file all material required by legislation and will pursue the most appropriate litigation strategy. We have experienced legal counsel committed to argue your case, and valuators who will present expert evidence on your behalf. Through this approach, we ensure that the taxes you pay are based on the lowest possible assessment.

Most assessment appeals are resolved through negotiation. In order to facilitate the negotiation process, we attend to all preliminary matters leading up to a hearing. We will obtain the most recent valuation records from MPAC and conduct a detailed review and analysis of the records to verify data integrity. Most importantly, we will identify all potential areas to maximize your tax recovery, and minimize your taxes going forward.

Across Ontario, most municipalities have created property tax deferral programs to assist property owners during these difficult times. These programs typically include one or more of the following measures:

• suspension of bank withdrawals and holding post-dated cheques
• a grace period for the payment of interim property taxes
• waiving of penalties and interest
• deferral of payment due dates

In Toronto, both residential and business property owners will have a 60-day grace period for property tax payments and penalties, retroactive to March 16, 2020. Contact us to find out more about property tax deferral programs available in your municipality.

As part of the Ontario Government’s Economic and Fiscal Update, the Province has announced a decision to postpone the 2020 Assessment Update, which would have seen the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) update the assessed value of every property in Ontario this year. That’s not happening anymore.

Property assessments for the 2021 property tax year will continue to be based on the fully phased-in January 1, 2016 current values. This means your property assessment for the 2021 property tax year will be the same as the 2020 tax year, unless there have been changes to your property.

Normally, the deadline to file assessment appeals is March 31 of each year. For 2020, the deadline has been extended. The Assessment Review Board recently indicated that property owners will be permitted to file an appeal for the 2020 tax year within 15 days after the Emergency Order is lifted by the Government of Ontario. Similarly, MPAC also recently announced that the RfR deadline for the 2020 taxation year will be 16 days after the Emergency Order is lifted.

Since the deadlines to file both Assessment Appeals and Requests for Reconsideration have been extended, that means it’s not too late to commence a review of your property tax assessment for 2020.

We provide a free professional service to review any MPAC assessed value. Why not signup today? We will put our knowledge and expertise to work for you, ensuring that you pay only your fair share of property taxes, nothing more.