Taxes

Property taxes are due by the end of Tuesday, July 2, 2024

Property taxes are calculated through a joint provincial/municipal process. Each year BC Assessment determines the value of your property and Kitimat Council determines the tax rate for the community (see Finance Department Reports for our current and past tax rate bylaws). The property value and tax rate are multiplied to find the taxes owing.

Property tax notices are mailed out in May each year.

Your property tax includes school and Regional District taxes. We collect these taxes on their behalf. Residential water and garbage fees are also included in your property tax. Seniors receive a 10% discount.

Note: If your property assessment goes up, it does not always mean your property taxes will also. An increase in property assessment means higher taxes only if the percentage increase exceeds the community's average percentage increase.

How We Determine the Tax Rate

Tax authorities, such as local governments, schools and regional districts, develop their annual budgets and determine how much revenue will be needed through taxes to cover expenses. This target revenue is divided by the assessed value of properties to arrive at a tax rate.

Home Owner Grants

A reminder that all Home Owner Grant (HOG) applications must be submitted directly to the BC government. (See How to Claim Your Home Owner Grant below).

Please note that you will still pay your property taxes through city hall (see How to Pay Your Property Taxes below), but you will not be able to apply for your HOG there.

View Your Property Taxes Online

To see your property taxes, including your property tax history, register with our online A-MAIS service.

When you first register you will need the roll number and password from your property tax notice.
After you've registered your roll number and password from your tax notice will not be required.
Your property tax history begins from the time you register with A-MAIS.

How to Pay Your Property Taxes

You will receive your property tax notice in May each year.

Payment of taxes can be made through:

online banking
Paytm Canada app
debit card
cash
cheque dated no later than the deadline date

We do not accept payment by credit card unless it's through the Paytm Canada app.
Note: Payment through the Paytm Canada app can take up to five business days to process. Read more below.

Payment must be received by the District of Kitimat by 4:30 p.m. on the property tax due date or a 10% penalty is charged.

Avoid the Line, Pay Online

Use online banking with the following financial institutions:

BMO
CIBC
Envision Credit Union
RBC
Scotiabank
TD Canada Trust

Search for "Kitimat, District - Property Tax" or "District of Kitimat taxes" under "Payees". The exact name may vary depending on the financial institution. Contact your financial institution if you need help.

Use Your Credit Card with the Paytm Canada App

We do not accept payment of property taxes directly through credit cards, however we accept payment through the Paytm Canada app. Paytm charges a fee for payments made by credit card. Please note that this is a contract between you and Paytm.

To pay your property taxes with your credit card through the Paytm Canada app:

download the Paytm Canada app and set it up as needed
choose "District of Kitimat - Taxes" as the biller or payee
enter the roll number from your property tax notice
enter the amount you will be paying and submit payment to us

Note: Payments done through the Paytm Canada app may take up to 5 business days to process. Be sure to make your property tax payment in time for us to receive it no later than 5:00 p.m. on the property tax due date.

Pay in Person

The District of Kitimat main office is located downtown on the third floor in City Centre Mall.

Reception desk hours are 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

There is a drop slot available by the office doors for after hours drop-offs.

Note: We are closed on July 1 for Canada Day.

Pay by Mail

If you pay by mail keep in mind that the payment must be received at the District of Kitimat office no later than 5:00 p.m. on the property tax due date; the date of the postmark is irrelevant.

Mailing address:

District of Kitimat
270 City Centre
Kitimat, BC
V8C 2H7

Don't forget to apply for your Home Owner Grant (HOG), whether you will be paying your property taxes, paying only a portion of them, or not paying them at all. See below.

How to Claim Your Home Owner Grant (HOG)

A Home Owner Grant (HOG) is available to Canadian citizens or landed immigrants who reside permanently in BC.

You are entitled to the HOG if you occupy an eligible residence as your principal residence.

The HOG reduces the amount of property tax you pay for your principal residence. Find more information on the provincial government website.

Apply for this year’s HOG (or a retroactive HOG) online, at your local Service BC office, or by phoning toll-free 1-888-355-2700. You will need your:

property roll number and jurisdiction number which are on your property tax notice, or you can look them up in the first step of the online application process
social insurance number
date of birth

The best time to apply for your HOG is after property tax notices are mailed out in May but before the tax deadline. If you apply for your HOG:

before May, your application will remain on hold until property tax notices are issued
after the property tax deadline, a 10% penalty will be applied to outstanding property taxes

Apply for your HOG even if you are paying only a portion of your property taxes, or not paying them at all.

Most property owners qualify for the HOG and can pay the property tax shown in the Reduced column on the property tax notice.

You are responsible for applying for the HOG even if your bank is making your property tax payment for you.

If you recently purchased the property and your name isn't on the property tax notice, please contact our Finance Department at 250-632-8900.

Notice of Court of Revision

Each year we send out a letter headlined "Notice of Court of Revision".

The purpose of these letters and the meeting of the tax review panel (Court of Revision) is to confirm that the name(s) we have on file for your property is correct for the District of Kitimat’s flat tax roll.

On the letter, if the information is not correct then please follow the directions to have the information corrected.

If the information is correct, there is nothing further you must do.

These letters are sent out annually ahead of property tax notices and are required as the District includes a flat tax as part of residential property taxes.