Property Assessment
BC Assessment
- The value of property for tax purposes is determined by BC Assessment Authority, which is established under provincial legislation and is independent of the municipality.
- Property assessment is the determination of a property's market value as of July 1 of the prior year. BC Assessment Authority annually mails to each property owner, a property assessment notice, which shows the property's market value and other important information about the property. If you feel your assessment is incorrect, contact BC Assessment Authority in January to file an appeal.
- Provincial and local governments use property assessments to determine what tax rate they must set to raise the revenue needed to pay for public services. Tax authorities set tax rates that are applied to the assessed value of properties, which is subsequently shown on your tax notice.
- You cannot appeal your taxes, but you can appeal your assessment. Review BC Assessment's appeal process for deadlines and details.
- BC Assessment provides property assessment information for individual properties as well as neighbourhoods and sales data. Your property information can also be viewed on the City's Online Mapping System.
- More information on your assessment is available on the BC Assessment Website, or contact their office at 1-866-825-8322 or by email at [email protected].
Property Assessment Notices
You should receive your Property Assessment Notice in January.
If you disagree with your assessment, you are encouraged to call the BC Assessment Authority office first at 1.866.825.8322.
If you still disagree with your assessment you can submit an appeal by January 31. More detailed information about the appeal process can be found on the BC Assessment Website.
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How does your property's change in value relate to the taxes you pay? Municipalities factor out the effect of the overall increase or decrease in assessments when calculating property taxes. There isn’t a taxation 'win' in years with assessment increases, nor do we have a budget crisis in years with reduced values. This process also allows property owners to more accurately manage their budgets. Any increase required to cover the City’s budgetary needs is added to what was collected last year. The total amount to be collected is then used to arrive at property tax rates for the year. Properties that change in value by the same percentage up or down as the average property (2024 residential values in the Chilliwack area decreased by about 5% from 2023) will experience a tax increase at the Council-approved overall budget increase. Properties that increase or decrease in value by more or less than the average will experience changes in their taxes that are more or less than the average increase. |