Methodology

Source

Every Ontario municipality must file an annual Financial Information Return (FIR) under the Municipal Act. The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing publishes the full returns as open data at efis.fma.csc.gov.on.ca/fir under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. This site reads Schedule 26A, Taxation and Payments-in-Lieu Summary, which reports for each property class the taxable assessment (current value assessment) and the taxes levied, split into the lower- or single-tier municipal share, the upper-tier share and the education share.

Effective rate

For each class, effective rate = taxes levied ÷ taxable assessment × 100. The residential figure uses the "Residential" line only, excluding farmland, managed forest and multi-residential, which have their own lines. The municipal, regional and education components are computed the same way from their respective columns.

The effective rate equals the by-law rate when every property in the class pays the same rate. It differs slightly when a municipality applies area rates, phase-ins, or where supplementary and omitted assessments are billed in-year. For the residential class the difference is typically a few thousandths of a percentage point.

Years and ranking

Returns are due the May after the tax year and arrive over the following months. Each municipality's page shows its latest filed year. The provincial ranking uses the most recent year in which at least 90% of lower- and single-tier municipalities have filed, currently 2024, so that every municipality is compared on the same basis. Upper-tier governments (regions and counties) do not bill ratepayers directly and are shown as groupings, not ranked.

Population and households

From Schedule 02 of the same return, as reported by the municipality. Figures are municipal estimates and are not census counts.

Instalments and due dates

From Schedule 20 of the return, residential class, as reported for the year shown. Municipalities change their schedules; the current year's dates are on the municipal website.

Limitations

• Local improvement charges, business improvement area levies, special area rates and tax rebates are not included.
• Assessment in Ontario has used a January 1, 2016 valuation date since the 2017 tax year. Comparing rates across municipalities is meaningful; converting a rate into a bill requires your own assessed value.
• Small classes such as pipelines or landfill can have effective rates that swing with a single property.
• Where a municipality's return contains an error, that error is reproduced here until the municipality amends its return.

Updates

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