BC Property Tax Assessment and Market Value
You may have recently received your 2020 property BC tax assessment in the mail in the start of this new year (2021). Typically, these assessments reflect the values they determined back in July. There is a lot of confusion whether assessment values reflect current market values. Part of my service as a realtor, is to help my clients stay up to date with their home and market conditions. Should you wish to discuss your recent tax assessments in the mail, please do not hesitate to pick up the phone and call me to discuss. In the meantime, here are some interesting facts about how tax assessments are determined.
(Quoted from BC Assessment site)
“The assessment process in British Columbia is governed by the Assessment Act of British Columbia. The Assessment Act is legislation that provides rules and processes for BC Assessment to follow when creating and delivering property assessments.
The Assessment Process (Three Steps)
1. Information collection
Information is collected and analyzed by BC Assessment appraisers for all properties in British Columbia. (Most often this information collection occurs when properties are created/constructed, but can also occur at other times like when properties are renovated.)
2. Information analysis
Property sales are analyzed by BC Assessment appraisers to understand the property market as at July 1st of each year. This new market information is used to set the new assessments.
3. Create and deliver assessment notices
Assessment notices are created and then mailed to all property owners on December 31 each year."
Check out this excellent article written by Dustin Woodhouse, a mortgage broker, that recently explained market value verses BC Assessment
https://www.rew.ca/news/bc-
‘Think of the assessed value instead as something akin to a weather forecast, spanning far larger and more diverse areas than the unique ecosystem that is your neighbourhood, your specific street, or your specific property. A weather forecast made the previous July, not the previous week. As this is when assessed values are locked in, a full six months prior to the notices being mailed out.’
Should you wish to determine current market value, I would be happy to help you. If you need to dispute your assessment, the deadline is January 31, 2021.
Take care, Leanne