| Penalty Date: July 2, 2008 |
Penalty on Late Payment: 10% |
Property Tax Information
Property taxes are payable by the penalty date printed
on the tax notice. If your payment is late, a ten percent
(10%) penalty is added to unpaid current year taxes, including unclaimed home owner grants.
Regardless of how you pay your taxes, please remember:
- To avoid penalty, your payment and home owner grant
application must be received by the penalty date.
- The home owner grant must be applied for each year.
- It is not necessary to make a payment in order to claim
the grant.
- Postmarks on mailed remittances will not be considered
as date of payment.
- Mail lost or delayed by the post office will be subject
to penalty.
Applying
for your Home Owner Grant
If you are an eligible
home owner, you can claim your Home Owner Grant by:
- completing the application form at the bottom of your
property tax notice, or
- completing the application electronically.
Your completed home owner grant application must be received
by the penalty date in order to avoid penalty on the grant
amount.
Tax Rates
Each year, after adoption of the financial plan, but before May 15, Municipal Council must, by bylaw, impose property taxes for the year by establishing tax rates (or mill rates) for:
• the municipal revenue proposed to be raised for the year from property taxes, as provided in the financial plan, and
• the amounts to be collected for the year by means of rates established by the municipality to meet its taxing obligations in relation to other local governments or other public bodies (i.e. Regional District and Regional Hospital District).
Click here to view the 2008 tax rates.
Property Tax Deferment Program
You may qualify for this program if you are age 55 or older, a widow/widower or in receipt of a disability allowance under the Disability Benefits Program Act. For more information, please visit the Provincial web site for the Property Tax Deferment program or contact our office at 475-5454.
If you are already in the Tax Deferment program, please submit your Deferment Renewal Form and your Home Owner Grant Application together with your payment for user charges before the penalty date to the Saanich Property Tax Office.
Eight Ways
to Pay Your Property Taxes:
- Pre-Authorized Payment Plan
The Property Tax Pre-Authorized Payment Plan is an
optional payment plan which allows you to make 10 equal
payments for property taxes. The payments can be
made any time by authorizing automatic transfer of payments
from a chequing account at any Canadian financial institution
to your property tax account with the District of Saanich.
- By mail
Send your payment to the District of Saanich, 770
Vernon Avenue, Victoria BC, V8X 2W7. Mailed payments must
be received no later than the penalty date printed on
the tax notice to avoid the late penalty. Mailing your
remittance and completed Home Owner Grant claim is recommended
to avoid parking congestion and lineups at the Municipal
Hall. Post dated cheques are accepted.
- By telephone or on the Internet
You can pay your taxes by telephone or via the Internet
by making the applicable arrangements with your financial
institution (when making your payment, please refer to
your folio number). However, you must submit
your completed home owner grant application directly to
the Saanich Tax Office (paper
or electronic).
- 24 Hour Mail Slot
There is a Mail Slot located at the entrance to the
Municipal Hall off of the parking lot for your convenience.
- At your bank
You can pay your property taxes at most financial
institutions. Remember to complete and sign
your home owner grant application.
- With your mortgage payment
Your financial institution can pay your taxes on your
behalf if you have made such an arrangement through your
mortgage agreement. Contact your mortgage company.
Remember to submit your completed home owner grant
application directly to the Saanich Tax Office
(paper
or electronic).
- Pay In Person
Bring your tax notice and payment to the Property
Tax Counter on the 2nd floor of the Municipal Hall at
770 Vernon Avenue. Interac is accepted. We are open
8:30 am to 4:30 pm from Monday to Friday.
- Prepayments
You may make prepayments of $5.00 or more at any time
from January 1 through to April 30. If you prepay your
taxes in full or in part between January 1 and April 30,
your account will be credited with interest from the prepayment
date through to the due date. You can only prepay
your taxes if you have no unpaid taxes from previous years.
PREPAYMENT
OF PROPERTY TAXES
Taxpayers may prepay their current year property taxes.
Prepayment interest applies to prepayments made from January
1 to April 30 (or last business day in April) of the current
year. Also, any credit amount on a tax account from the
previous year is applied as a current year prepayment. Prepayment
interest is credited to the tax account automatically. Prepayment
interest is calculated from the date of payment to the penalty
date and is credited to the tax account. The maximum prepayment
amount allowed is the net taxes paid in the previous year.
Contact the Property Tax Department at 475-5454 with any
questions.
CHANGING YOUR ADDRESS
We need your correct address in order to mail a tax notice
to you. If you move, or if the address to which your tax
notice should be mailed has changed, notify the Property
Tax Department (250) 475-5454 or the BC Assessment Authority (250) 479-7131.
Unless a new address is provided, we will rely on address
(and ownership) records of the Land Title Office, provided
to us by the BC Assessment Authority.
Again, it's your responsibility to enquire if you don't
receive your property tax notice by the middle of June.
NEW HOMEOWNERS
When you buy a property, you become liable for all outstanding
taxes. You can't claim the home owner grant on the property
in the year you buy it if the seller paid the taxes in full
and did not claim the grant, or if you already claimed a
grant on another property.
HOW YOUR PROPERTY IS TAXED
Each year, the municipality, school districts, regional
district, hospital district, and other public agencies need
revenue for the services they provide to the residents of
Saanich.
Each public agency with taxing authority sets a budget
for the amount of tax revenue it requires. Tax rates vary
among property classifications and are calculated by dividing
the budget needs of the agency by its assessment base.
The appropriate tax rate is then applied to individual
property assessments, and the tax levy is calculated. Tax
exemptions for some categories of property - farms, for
example - are calculated as part of the assessment before
the tax rate is applied.
Municipal property tax rates are set by the District of
Saanich. The revenue from these taxes is used for public
services such as police and fire protection, street lighting,
road and drainage maintenance and operating parks and recreational
facilities. Your tax notice may also include local services
levies calculated on a parcel basis or on the frontage of
your property, rather than on its assessed value.
School tax rates applicable to residential properties
are set by the provincial government. Residential school
taxes are based in part on the number of residences, as
well as the total assessed value of residential property
in the province, creating a different tax rate in each school
district.
School tax rates applicable to non-residential properties
are also set by the provincial government. The rates vary
by property classification, but are uniform throughout the
province within each non-residential property class.
Other taxes shown on the tax notice raise revenues on
the budget needs set by local government bodies such as
the Capital Regional District, Capital Regional Hospital
District, BC Assessment Authority, Municipal Finance Authority
and Regional Transit Commission.
MEDICAL CERTIFICATES
If you are applying for the additional Home Owner Grant under the Medical requirements, please discuss with the Saanich Tax Department before you take the Medical Certificate to the doctor.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
I did not apply for the grant in previous years. What can I do?
The Provincial Government allows an extension of time in which to claim a grant for the prior year. Retroactive grant application forms are available at the Tax Department. Documentary evidence for proof of residency may be requested. Retroactive applications are applicable for the preceding year only.
If the registered owner has recently passed away, can we still claim the grant on their behalf?
If a spouse or relative of the deceased owner is living at the property, then he/she may claim the grant on behalf of the owner, if the following applies:
- Registered owner passed away during this calendar year
Applicant is a permanent resident of BC, occupied this residence prior to the death and continues to occupy this residence (proof of residency will be requested)
- The residence remains registered in the name of the deceased owner (or estate of deceased owner)
Note: If the deceased was eligible for the additional grant during this calendar year, you may apply for both the basic and additional grants in the year of death only.
My name does not appear on the property tax notice. What should I do?
If you have recently purchased your property, you may receive a property tax notice in the previous owner's name(s). Use this notice to make your payment and to claim your Home Owner Grant. Please record the Title Number to show us that the property is now in your name. Although the Land Titles Office will forward this information to us, it may not be in time for the July property tax due date.
Power of Attorney.
If a registered owner is unavailable to sign the homeowners' grant, he or she may appoint a committee or another person providing that:
- the registered owner qualifies for the grant
- you are in possession of a notarized power of attorney
Please note that some Power of Attorney forms, which are not provided by the Municipality, could be restrictive in nature and may not be applicable for purposes of claiming a grant.
Eligible occupants may also pay their gross taxes and apply for the grant retroactively. By paying gross taxes, the owners can avoid any penalties on unpaid taxes.
Penalties
If property taxes are not paid by the due date, a 10% penalty charge will be added to the amount owing (including amounts owing for unclaimed Home Owner Grants).
Example, if the total outstanding taxes are $1,000, the penalty charged is $100, so the balance due would then be $1,100. Saanich has no authority to either waive or modify these penalty amounts. A payment that is one day late is subjected to the same penalty as a payment of taxes six months after the due date. It is a requirement of the Local Government Act that these penalties be added.
Change of Address
To change your mailing address, please contact the our office at 250-475-5454.
NAME CHANGE
Any changes to the ownership of a property, including name
changes, should be filed at the Land
Registry Office, 850 Burdett Avenue, Victoria BC
V8W 1B4.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
WHERE MUNICIPAL
TAXES GO
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