How property tax works in six Canadian cities
Two cities can have the same headline rate and very different bills, because the rate is applied to different things. What counts is the assessed value, the share of it that is taxed and the parts the bill is made of.
5 min read
Why can't I compare property tax rates between cities?
Because the base differs. Toronto applies 0.767311% to a value fixed at January 1, 2016. Winnipeg applies mills to only 45% of the assessed value. Saskatoon and Regina apply mills to a taxable assessment that is 80% of the assessed value, after a mill rate factor. Victoria applies 5.6559 per $1,000 to the BC Assessment value.
What each city taxes
These are the 2026 residential bases and rates the property tax calculator uses.
| City | Applied to | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Toronto | January 1, 2016 current value assessment | 0.767311% (city 0.605295, education 0.153000, City Building Fund 0.009016) |
| Mississauga | Current value assessment | 1.087901% (city 0.396141, Peel 0.538760, education 0.153000) |
| Winnipeg | 45% of assessed value | 13.372 municipal mills plus 11.851 to 16.158 school mills |
| Saskatoon | 80% of assessed value | Mills times a residential factor of 0.8809, plus 4.27 school mills |
| Regina | 80% of assessed value | Mills times a residential factor of 0.88032, plus 4.27 school mills |
| Victoria | BC Assessment value | 5.6559 per $1,000, all levies included |
Use the property tax calculator to see your parts. For Calgary there is a separate Calgary property tax calculator.
Why the 2016 value matters in Toronto
Toronto's 2026 bill is based on what a property could have sold for on January 1, 2016, and the City says the increases in assessed value were phased in from 2017 to 2020 and are now fully phased in. So the assessed value is far below today's price, and the rate looks high for that reason. A buyer should not apply the rate to the purchase price.
Education and other parts of the bill
The bill is more than the city's own rate. Toronto and Mississauga include the province's education rate of 0.153000%. Mississauga's includes the Region of Peel. Winnipeg adds a school division levy that varies by where you live, and its provincial education support levy applies only to non-residential property. Victoria's total includes the region, hospital and transit levies. Water, waste and other fees are billed separately in all of these.
Cities not covered
Ottawa, Edmonton, Vancouver, Surrey, Halifax and Hamilton are not in the calculator because their official rate pages could not be read automatically.