Property Assessment

Who Assesses Your Property?

The Town of Saugeen Shores does not assess your property. The Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) is responsible for assessing and classifying all properties in Ontario. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ontario Government postponed the 2020 Assessment Update. Your property assessment for the 2026 property tax year will continue to be based on the fully phased-in January 1, 2016 value (same as the 2025 tax year) unless there have been changes to your property.

The Current Value Assessment (CVA) on your notice was used to calculate your 2017 to 2026 property taxes.

Changing Your Address With MPAC

For information on changing your address with MPAC please visit their website.

How MPAC Assesses Properties

To assess your property, MPAC will analyze sales of similar properties that have sold in your area. Based on the sales information, there are five major factors that generally account for your property’s assessed value.

Age of the buildings on the property
Total square footage of living area
Location of your property
Size of your lot
Quality of construction

Ultimately, it is MPACs job to ensure that valuations are fair and equitable so that similar properties pay a similar share of property taxes. As Ontario’s property market experts, they are committed to delivering impartial and accurate assessments that reflect the marketplace as of a common valuation date — currently January 1, 2016 — so that all property owners are taxed on a consistent basis. 2016 values have been reviewed by MPAC’s Office of the Quality Service Commissioner and the International Property Tax Institute and both reviews determined that MPAC assessments are transparent and fair.

To learn more about how MPAC assesses properties, watch MPAC's video.

Visit MPAC'S About My Property

To learn more about your assessed value, see what information MPAC has on file, or compare your property to others in your neighbourhood, visit About My Property, a free self-service application provided by MPAC. Login using the roll number and special access key that is provided on your assessment notice.

MPAC'S Property Assessment Notice

Your Property Assessment Notice from MPAC provides:

January 1, 2016, Current Value Assessment (CVA) – what a property could have reasonably sold for on January 1, 2016
property classification

phase-in assessed values over four years, including:

increases in the assessed value of your property, were gradually phased in from 2017 to 2020

decreases in the assessed value, were fully implemented immediately

When Is MPAC Required To Send You A Notice

MPAC is required to send a notice for a wide variety of reasons including when there is a new property, an updated tax class or change in assessment value of more than $10,000 or 5% of the total assessed value. For a complete list of when MPAC is required to send a notice please click here.

How To Read Your Assessment Notice

For more information on how to read a MPAC Assessment Notice click here or watch MPAC's video

Assessment Questions or Disagreements

General Questions

Assessment general questions can be directed to MPAC, please contact MPAC at 1-866-296-6722.

Disagreements

A reminder that your current assessment is valued as of 2016. When you review your property assessment, confirm the assessed value by considering if you could have sold your property for that amount on January 1, 2016. If the answer is no, you can appeal your assessment by filing a Request for Reconsideration (RfR) to MPAC. When an assessment notice is issued, the deadline to file an RfR is 120 days after the date on the assessment notice. For subsequent years, the deadline is March 31st. Forms are available on the MPAC website.

Farmland Classification

As a farmland owner in Ontario, you may be eligible to apply for a property tax reduction through the Farm Property Class Tax Rate Program from Agricorp. The telephone number for Agricorp is 1-888-247-4999, or visit the Agricorp website for more information. Click here for a general feature sheet from Agricorp.

Changes to Assessment Via Supplementary or Omitted Tax Bill

Changes to your assessment can happen for a wide variety of reasons including but not limited to:

Any new construction or additions/improvements that are made to a property
Change in tax classification or tax status
Requests for reconsideration that are approved by MPAC
Any tax adjustment forms submitted to MPAC that are approved

It can take time for a property to be assessed. The assessment may result in supplementary billings and can occur anytime during the year. The change can effect the current year plus two prior years. Taxes for the entire waiting period could be billed all within the same year and come due at the same time. For more information on supplemental billings please click here.

Requesting a tax adjustment

To request a tax adjustment please email propertytax@saugeenshores.ca for further information.

A building destroyed by fire, demolition or otherwise
Mobile home unit is removed
Sickness or extreme poverty
Gross or manifest clerical/factual error
A building is damaged and unusable
Your property ceases to be liable at the tax rate it was taxed

To request a tax adjustment please email propertytax@saugeenshores.ca for further information.