From the blog...
MPAC – Your Recent Assessment and What It Means
You will likely have recently received your property tax assessment in the mail from MPAC (Municipal Property Assessment Corporation) and you might have some concerns in terms of the assessment accuracy – and what it might do to your property taxes themselves.
Firstly – if your home’s value has been accurately assessed – and it has gone up – this doesn’t necessarily translate into higher property taxes for you. It is when your home’s value has increased at a higher rate than others that you might be facing an increase in your taxes higher than the municipal budgetary property tax increase.
To establish your property’s assessed value, MPAC analyzes property sales in your community. This method is called Current Value Assessment. In addition to recent sales, they look at the key features of the property – location, lot size, living area, age and quality of construction. Other factors that may come into play are number of bathrooms, fireplaces, garages, pools, water frontage, etc. This analysis compares your property with sales of comparable properties in your community.
Go to the MPAC web site at www.aboutmyproperty.ca. You will need your 19-digit roll number and the website password provided in your recent assessment. Carefully review the information about your property to ensure its accuracy and compare your assessment to similar homes sold and unsold in your area. You can obtain information about your property and information on up to 24 additional properties of your choice and up to six selected by MPAC, free of charge.
If you feel your assessment is out of line, you can start the process of filing a “request for Assessment Review”. For the 2013 tax year, your deadline to file a RIR with MPAC is April 1, 2013. You can do this from the AboutMyProperty website or by sending a letter to MPAC with all pertinent information.
You can also call MPAC at 1-866-296-6722
MPAC
P.O. Box 9808
Toronto ON M1S 5T9
Toll free fax: 1 866 297-6703
If I can be of any assistance by, for example, providing you with a quick market evaluation, please give me a shout.
Chris