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Municipality of Grey Highlands Policy
_____________________________________________________
Policy Name: Property Tax Billing & Collection Policy
Policy Number: A09-F-22
Authority: Council
Effective Date: 2022-06-01 (By-law 2022-052)
Updated: 2025-11-19 (By-law 2025-093)
______________________________________________________
1 Purpose
The Municipality of Grey Highlands invoices and collects taxes on behalf of
the Municipality, the County of Grey and the school boards, and is
responsible to ensure all Property Taxes are collected in a timely and
systematic manner.
The purpose of this policy is to establish the responsibilities, internal
controls, authorizations and procedures ensuring the timely, accurate and
efficient preparation and collection of property taxes.
2 Scope
This policy covers all aspects of billing and collection of Property Taxes, up to
and including the initiation of Municipal Tax Sale proceedings. All procedures
related to a Municipal Tax Sale are carried out in accordance with the
authority from Section 286 of the Municipal Act, 2001 which states that the
Treasurer is responsible for invoicing, collection and reconciliation of all
amounts payable to the Municipality.
3 Legislative Authority
This policy is written in compliance with the Municipal Act, 2001,(the Act),
related Ontario Regulations made under the Act and applicable Municipal by-
laws, as amended from time to time. Where this policy contradicts legislation
of the Province of Ontario or the Government of Canada, the legislation shall
be followed.
4 Definitions
For the purposes of this policy:
Cancellation Price: an amount owing equal to all Tax Arrears, together with
all current taxes owing, Penalties and interest and costs incurred by the
Municipality after the registration of a Tax Arrears Certificate under section
373 of the Act.
Collection Costs: means all costs incurred by the Municipality to obtain
information for collection purposes and/or collect Tax Arrears including, but
not limited to, title search fees, corporate search fees, registered or certified
mail, administrative charges, legal costs and tax sale costs.
Extension Agreement: a contract between the Municipality and the owner,
spouse of the owner, a mortgagee or a tenant in occupation to extend the
Schedule A to By-law 2025-093
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period of time in which the Cancellation Price is to be paid. The contract is
entered into after the registration of a Tax Arrears Certificate and before the
expiry of the one-year period following the registration date.
Penalties and interest: amounts applied by the Municipality to unpaid
Property Tax accounts, in accordance with section 345 of the Act and
applicable Municipality by-laws.
Municipal Tax Sale: the sale of land for Tax Arrears according to proceedings
prescribed by the Act and Ontario Regulation 181/03.
MPAC: Municipal Property Assessment Corporation
Property Taxes: the total amount of taxes for municipal and school purposes
levied on a property and includes other amounts added to the tax roll as
may be permitted by applicable Provincial legislation
Tax Arrears: any portion of Property Taxes that remain unpaid after the date
on which they are due.
Tax Arrears Certificate: a document that is registered on title, indicating the
described property will be sold by public sale if all Property Taxes are not
paid to the municipality within one year of the registration of the certificate.
5 Accountability
The Treasurer, Finance Department and Municipal Staff are responsible to
ensure that outstanding Property Tax collection processes are performed in
accordance with this policy and all applicable legislation.
In addition, The Treasurer, or delegate, is responsible to:
- ensure this policy remains consistent with current legislation;
- ensure applicable staff are aware of and trained on this policy;
- assess overdue Property Tax accounts to ensure tax collection processes
are performed in accordance with this policy.
6 Policy
Billing, Payments and Delivery of Tax Bills
Property tax bills will contain all required information as stated in the
Municipal Act, and any other information deemed necessary.
Where allowed by legislation, and where available, provision of tax bills,
arrears notices, and other related correspondence may be provided
electronically.
The Municipality will strive to provide taxpayers with more than the
minimum notice requirements of 21 calendar days as set out in the Municipal
Act.
It is the taxpayer's responsibility to notify the Municipality in writing of any
mailing address changes. Section 343(6) of the Municipal Act, 2001
identifies that property tax bills shall be sent to the taxpayer's last known
residence or place of business or to the premises where the taxes are
payable, unless the taxpayer directs otherwise. This direction continues until
it is revoked in writing.
Any tax bill, arrears notice, or other related correspondence is considered
delivered to and received by the addressee upon their generation. In order
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to ensure bills are received, especially in the event of no postal services,
property owners are strongly encouraged to register for electronic billing.
Failure to receive a tax bill does not exempt a taxpayer from paying the
taxes and the penalty and interest added as a result of late payment.
Billing - Interim
As provided in the Municipal Act each property owner, identified on the
returned assessment roll, shall be issued an interim tax bill. The interim bill
shall represent up to fifty percent (50%) of the previous year's taxes billed
and be payable in two instalments. The two due dates will be three business
days prior to the last business day of the months of March and June.
Participants in the monthly preauthorized payment program will have
received a notice in the preceding January advising of what their monthly
payment withdrawal from their bank account will be. Interim tax bills will
still be mailed to these participants.
Billing - Final
After completion of the annual budgetary process, and the setting of tax
ratios and rates, a final bill shall be issued to each property owner identified
on the returned assessment roll. The final tax bill shall be the levied taxes
for the year less the interim bill, and is payable in two instalments. The two
due dates will be three business days prior to the last business day of the
months of September and November.
All participants in any preauthorized payment program will receive a tax bill
with a note on the bill that they are a participant in a preauthorized payment
plan and that the bill is for information purposes only.
Supplementary
Supplementary and/or omitted assessments are billed separately from the
regular billing cycle and are issued after receiving the assessment
information from MPAC and the tax rates for the current year are approved.
MPAC may provide the Municipality with supplementary and/or omitted
assessment values for the current tax year and two years prior.
Participants in the monthly preauthorized payment program will receive a
note advising that they must pay the supplementary bill over and above
their current monthly payment plan or contact the Municipality in writing to
amend their pre-authorized amount to include this billing prior to the end of
the calendar year. Note that the supplementary bill may be processed closer
to the end of the year and there may not be sufficient time to accommodate
a monthly payment plan.
Mortgage Company
A mortgage listing of roll numbers, taxes due and owing and the due dates,
in standard format will be provided to each mortgage company who has
provided the Municipality with notification that they hold an interest in a
particular property.
Property Tax bills and notices are mailed to the address of the property as
shown on the tax roll unless the taxpayer advises the Municipality, in
writing, of an alternate mailing address. Use of the alternate mailing address
continues until it is revoked in writing or ownership of the property changes.
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Payments
Payment of taxes must be received in the Municipality's administrative office
on or before the due date.
Note that payments made by telephone or internet banking or sent in the
mail, should incorporate sufficient time to be received at the Municipal office
in advance of the due date.
Receipts will be provided for all cash payments, and upon request by the
registered owner for all other methods of payment.
Allocation of Payments
In accordance with the Municipal Act 347, where any payment is received on
account of taxes, the following apply:
1. The payment shall first be applied against late payment charges owing in
respect of those taxes according to the length of time the charges have been
owing, with the charges imposed earlier being discharged before charges
imposed later.
2. The payment shall then be applied against the taxes owing according to
the length of time they have been owing, with the taxes imposed earlier
being discharged before taxes imposed later.
Payment(s) made to the wrong account
In the instance where a ratepayer has made a payment to the incorrect roll
number or account number, or to their Utility account instead of the Property
Tax account (or vice versa), they should contact the Finance Department as
soon as the error is realized and request that the payment be transferred to
the correct roll number. Penalties and interest will be waived if the Finance
Department is informed within 3 months of the error. If the error occurs on
a second occasion for the account, the penalty and interest will not be
waived and an administrative fee will be charged, as set in the Fees &
Charges by-law, in order to process the transfer of the funds.
Pre-Authorized Payment Plan ("PAP")
To assist property owners who prefer to equalize their annual tax payments
the following preauthorized payment plans are offered. To enrol in the PAP,
the balance on the account must be in good standing. Those enrolled will not
be charged penalty/interest so long as their payments are not returned.
To participate in any of the Preauthorized Payment Plans applicants must
submit an application in writing on the Municipality's prescribed form and
submit it twenty (20) calendar days prior to the payment withdrawal date.
Participants in the program wishing to make changes to their application (for
example banking information), or cancel their participation in the program
must do so in writing within twenty (20) calendar days prior to the payment
withdrawal date.
a) Monthly - provides for a withdrawal from the property owner's bank
account to the Municipality's bank account, on the last business day of each
month an amount sufficient enough to ensure that all taxes billed are paid
within the current year. Property owners are eligible if their account is paid
up to their chosen date of enrolment.
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The dollar amount to be withdrawn from the participants account shall be
recalculated twice a year:
1) Once in January, calculating a monthly amount based on the previous
current year's taxes averaged over twelve payments, to take effect on
January 31st of the year. For example in January 2026 take the total taxes
for 2025 and divide them by 12. This would give the monthly withdrawal
amount commencing on January 31st 2026; and
2) After the calculation of the final bill. This is calculated as the current
year's taxes, less what has been paid, divided by the remaining months (or
withdrawals) in the year.
If a monthly payment is returned or rejected, the missed payment and
associated fee must be paid within 15 days of the rejected payment,
otherwise, the account will be removed from the Pre-Authorized Payment
Plan before the next withdrawal date and penalty/interest will be charged.
b) Instalment - provides for a withdrawal from the property owner's bank
account to the Municipality's bank account, on the due date an amount
sufficient to ensure that all taxes due and payable on the said date are paid
in full.
If an instalment payment is returned or rejected, the missed payment,
associated fees, and penalty/interest must be paid to avoid removal from
the Pre-Authorized Payment Plan.
Late Payments and Charges/Penalties and Interest
All Tax Arrears are also subject to Penalties and interest. In accordance with
the Municipal Act, section 345 and the Municipality's bylaws, penalty and
interest shall be charged at the rate of 1.25% per month on any tax arrears
that remain outstanding. The penalty is applied within three (3) business
days of the dates indicated below. The penalty/interest for March and
September will be applied within 3 business days of the 15th of the month
prior, which is to facilitate administration of the Interim and Final Tax Bills.
For clarity, monthly penalty shall be applied as follows:
- January 1
- February 1
- February 15
- April 1
- May 1
- June 1
- July 1
- August 1
- August 15
- October 1
- November 1
- December 1
Penalty and interest charges cannot be waived. In accordance with the
Municipal Act, once penalty/interest has been applied, they are deemed to
be taxes and may only be written off or adjusted in circumstances stated in
the Municipal Act.
Payments not clearing the payer's bank will result in the payment being
removed from the applicable tax account and an administrative fee, as
indicated in the Municipality's User Fee Bylaw, being added to the applicable
account.
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The payer shall be advised of the returned payment, administrative fee, and
the current balance due and owing on their account.
Tax Arrears Collection
Realty taxes are a secured special lien on land in priority to any other claim,
except a claim by the Crown. Taxes may be recovered, with costs, as a debt
due to the Municipality from the original owner and/or any subsequent
owner of the property.
The Municipality will primarily use the following methods to collect Tax
Arrears:
- verbal communication;
- email communication (where email address is provided);
- issue Year End Statements of Taxes, Overdue Notices and Final Notices;
- send the taxpayer a form or personalized letter(s);
- arrange terms of payment;
- issue Notices to Interested Parties;
- legal action; and
- Municipal Tax Sale
Collection Steps
To remind property owners that their tax account is not in good standing,
reminder notices shall be sent to each property owner whose account is over
ten dollars ($10.00) in arrears. Overdue reminder notices shall be forwarded
to the property owner by the fifteenth (15th) day of the following months:
April, July, October, and January. Reminder notices may be sent out more or
less frequently at the discretion of the Treasurer. Overdue Notices will not
be sent to taxpayers with overdue amounts less than ten ($10.00) dollars.
Notices shall not be sent in the event that general mail services are not
available.
Payment Arrangements
Payment arrangements may be entered into with a property owner who is in
tax arrears prior to the registration of a Tax Arrears Certificate. Payment
arrangements must include all Tax Arrears, current taxes, accruing
estimates of future taxes and Penalties and interest and be sufficient to
ensure payment in full is realized within a specified period of time. Penalties
and interest will continue to accrue during all such payment arrangements
until full payment on the account has been made. Pre-authorized payments
are the preferred method of payment.
The maximum negotiable payment arrangement term is 24 months.
Notwithstanding any such arrangements, no third party payments will be
refused for payment on account (e.g. payment from a mortgagee), as long
as the third party has sufficient information regarding the property.
Confidential account information will not be released to unauthorized parties.
If acceptable payment arrangements are negotiated, the account is
monitored for compliance. Once a payment arrangement has been
established, if there are two consecutive returned payments or two
payments are returned within six months, the payment arrangement is
deemed void and the taxpayer is advised that payment in full is required or
the next collection step will be taken.
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Any payment arrangements made must specify the time schedule, method
of payment and the amount of each payment.
Collection Steps for Accounts with Arrears
If acceptable payment arrangements are not agreed upon, where any part of
tax arrears is owing with respect to land in a municipality on January 1 in
the second year following that in which the real property taxes become
owing, the treasurer of the Municipality may prepare and register a tax
arrears certificate against the title to that land.
The Property Tax Aged Trial Balance shall be monitored for property owners
whose taxes are at or approaching two years in arrears.
The Municipality may engage an outside Agency to register the Tax Arrears
Certificate and to carry out other required procedures as required by the
Municipal Act.
All costs incurred for collection are payable by the property owner and are
added to the tax account, including but not limited to: title search fees, mail
or courier, collection agency fees, legal fees, property valuations, tax sale
specialist fees.
Extension Agreements
An Extension Agreement may be requested by the property owner, their
spouse, the mortgage holder or their legal agent, prior to the one year
period of the registration of the Tax Arrears Certificate.
If no agreement is reached as to the terms, the agreement is denied by the
Treasurer, or there is a breach of the agreement, the tax sale process
recommences by returning to the point where the stop in the tax sale
process was at immediately prior to the extension agreement being
requested.
Council has delegated the authority to the municipal Treasurer to authorize
the execution of tax arrears extension agreements pursuant to Section 378
of the Municipal Act, 2001.
The payment terms of any Extension Agreement will not exceed one year.
When an extension agreement is entered into the sale process is suspended
or placed on hold until all the terms of the agreement have been fulfilled or
the agreement is cancelled.
Public Tender - Sale of Land Process
The Municipal Act provides that the property may be sold by sealed tender,
or public auction. The Municipality's preference is by sealed tender.
Public tenders will be conducted according to Section 379 of the Municipal
Act.
Section 357/358 Tax Reduction Applications
The onus is on the property owner to file any application by the legislated
timeline. In accordance with the Municipal Act, the Municipality determines
eligibility, while MPAC determines the quantum of relief (assessment value).
Council has delegated the authority to determine eligibility to the Treasurer.
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Through By-Law, Council has delegated the authority to determine eligibility
to the Assessment Review Board for applications under Section 357(1)(d.1).
Penalty and Interest Reversal
Late payment charges (penalty and interest) are adjusted when the
following situations arise:
a) Taxes are adjusted under Sections 354, 357 or 358 of the Municipal Act;
b) Taxes are adjusted following an Assessment Review Board decision;
c) Taxes are adjusted in accordance with a decision of the Court(s);
d) Deemed by the Treasurer as a gross or manifest clerical error.
e) In extraordinary circumstances, there may remain a balance owing on a
taxpayer's account after a payment is received. When the remaining amount
is small enough that it is not cost effective to incur the costs of collection, it
may be expedient to write-off the amount. Upon request, the Treasurer shall
have the authority to approve such write-offs for outstanding amounts of up
to $50.00 once per tax account during the lifetime of the ownership.
f) Per the Municipal Act section 345 (6) & 345 (7) penalty and interest that
has accrued on a property tax account as the result of non payment, and a
write off taxes has occurred as the result of one of the legislation tax
reduction methods; the penalty and interest shall be reversed as though the
taxes had originally been billed correctly. The amount of penalties and
interest cancelled is limited to the amount related to the tax reduction
associated with a tax adjustment, change in assessment or Municipality error
or omission.
Minimum Balance Write-off
A balance owing of less than $10.00 on an account after payment is received
will automatically be written off following the last interim instalment date,
and at December 31st each year, as it is uneconomical for the Municipality to
pursue collection of these amounts.
Refunds of Credit Balances on Accounts
From time to time property tax accounts may experience credit balances for
various reasons, such as:
- Duplicate payment of a tax instalment(s),
- Mortgage company and property owner both pay an instalment,
- A reduction in assessed value,
- A change in a tax class to lesser tax rate class, and/or
- Preauthorized Payments made in advance of an instalment being due.
Credit balances will be refunded under the following conditions:
1) Duplicate payment of a tax instalment - the property owner must request
in writing to have the overpayment refunded.
2) Mortgage company and property owner both pay an instalment - the
property owner must request in writing to have the overpayment refunded,
and direct who the overpayment is to be returned to. No overpayment will
be refunded unless all instalments billed have been cleared.
3) Prior to refunding any credits from the property tax account, the
Municipality will verify that all other debts with the Municipality (utilities, and
miscellaneous accounts receivable, etc.) have been cleared prior to releasing
a credit refund. The Municipality reserves the right to transfer credits on
property tax accounts to accounts with other debt.
4) Credits as the result of an assessment reduction will be refunded, but
only after the last instalment billed has been cleared. For example: a prior
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year assessment reduction is calculated in February; the interim tax bills are
generated the first week in March with the last instalment on the interim
billings due on the last business day in June. Any credit balance on the
account will be applied first to the two instalments and then any remaining
credit balance will be refunded to the registered property owner at the time
the cheque is issued.
5) Credit balances being refunded will be issued to the property owner at the
time the cheque is issued. Property owners selling properties who have
outstanding application(s) should ensure that their solicitors are aware of
possible tax reductions. The Municipality will not divide credit balances
between previous and current owners as the result of a tax reduction. This is
mainly because Municipality does not have knowledge of, nor wish to
negotiate, legal agreements that may or may not be in place between the
seller and the purchaser.
Severances / Consolidations of Properties
From time property owners will apply for severances of their properties
under the authority of the Planning Act. If granted the assessment values
must also be split between all the parcels of land. As part of their legislated
services MPAC provides the divided assessment information. Under the
authority of the Municipal Act, section 356 the Treasurer may divide the
assessment roll into the parcels being severed and direct the property taxes
accordingly.
Upon receipt of the divided assessment from MPAC the Municipality will
monitor the report to ensure that MPAC picks up the split for the following
year's returned assessment roll.
As severed portions of land are often sold, the Municipality will not
recalculate the property taxes for a part year. It is understood that the
seller's and buyer's lawyers would address who owes what as part of the
property sale process.
Consolidations are processed by MPAC at the written request of the property
owner. Property owners should contact MPAC directly.
Property Sale
Property taxes are assessed on the property, irrespective of the owner. The
Municipality will not recalculate the annual property taxes for a part of a
year on the date of sale of a property. The property taxes for a property
being sold are adjusted for on the Statement of Adjustments prepared by
the seller and/or purchaser's lawyer. Any questions regarding the calculation
of the allocation on property taxes in the case of an ownership change
should be directed to the lawyers involved in the sale. Utility billing charges,
as applicable, are treated in the same manner.
Records
On occasion taxpayers request tax bills or account information to determine
assessment values and property taxes paid for income tax capital gains
calculations. Municipal Staff will only provide information for the current year
plus 6 years prior. However, any legislation, records management policies,
and software limitations shall take precedence.
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Other Amounts Added to the Roll
Section 398(2) of the Municipal Act allows municipalities to add unpaid
balances of other types to the tax roll for collections. The amounts that may
be added include property-related types of billings including water or
wastewater, property standards, Building Code, or any other type of charge
related to the property or incurred by the property owner. The Municipality
shall transfer amounts to the property tax account that are past due for the
purposes of collection. Once transferred, these amounts are treated the
same as property taxes for the purposes of collection, arrears, and tax sale
proceedings.
Discretion
In order to ensure that all taxpayers are treated fairly and equitably, the
Treasurer, or designate, has the authority to exercise discretion in the
application of this policy where unusual or extraordinary circumstances are
apparent, provided such discretion is in accordance with all applicable
legislation, ensuring fairness to all taxpayers, and that the overall best
interests of the Municipality are met.
Reporting
The Finance department will report to Council in the Quarterly Financial
Reports the Tax Collection Summary, which summarizes the taxes billed and
collected in the current year and outstanding Property Taxes from previous
years.