Money & tax

Property Tax in the GTA by Municipality: 2026 Rates, How MPAC Assessment Works, and What You Actually Pay

Property tax is the ownership cost that outlasts the mortgage, and across the GTA it varies by more than two to one for the same assessed value. The rate is only half the story — the other half is MPAC’s assessed value, which has been frozen on a 2016 base for a decade. This guide gives the 2026 rates for every major GTA municipality, explains how the bill is built, and shows what a typical home pays in each city.

Updated October 22, 2026 · TORE.ca editorial

1. 1.How your property tax bill is calculated

   Annual tax = MPAC assessed value × total residential tax rate. The total rate has up to three parts: the municipal rate set by your city or town; a regional rate where the municipality belongs to a region (Peel, York, Durham, Halton); and the provincial education rate, 0.153% for every residential property in Ontario in 2025–2026. Toronto has no region, so its rate is city + education (plus a small City Building Fund levy).

   MPAC (the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation) assigns the assessed value. The last province-wide reassessment used January 1, 2016 values; the 2020 reassessment was postponed during the pandemic and has not been rescheduled, so 2026 bills are still based on 2016 market values — roughly 40–60% below today’s prices in most of the GTA. This is why effective tax as a share of current market value is much lower than the published rate suggests, and why municipalities raise rates rather than relying on assessment growth.

   When reassessment eventually happens, your bill does not automatically rise with your value: municipalities set a revenue-neutral rate, and only properties that rose faster than the municipal average see increases, phased in over four years.

2. 2.2026 residential tax rates across the GTA

   Total rates (municipal + regional + education) for 2026, lowest to highest. Rates are applied to MPAC assessed value, not purchase price.

   • Markham — 0.723%
   • Vaughan — 0.749%
   • Richmond Hill — 0.760%
   • Toronto — 0.767%
   • Oakville — 0.851%
   • Milton — 0.864%
   • Aurora — 0.874%
   • King — 0.916%
   • Newmarket — 0.919%
   • Caledon — 0.982%
   • Halton Hills — 1.004%
   • Mississauga — 1.088%
   • Brampton — 1.253%
   • Pickering — 1.337%
   • Whitby — 1.382%
   • Ajax — 1.389%
   • Oshawa — 1.575%

   Source: 2026 rates compiled by WOWA (updated September 29, 2026) from municipal by-laws; Toronto’s published 2025 total residential rate was 0.754087% (City of Toronto). Burlington is omitted because a verified 2026 figure was not available at publication. Rates change annually with each municipality’s budget — confirm on the municipality’s site before relying on a figure for a purchase decision.

3. 3.Why York Region and Toronto are low and Durham is high

   A low rate does not mean low taxes; it means high assessed values relative to the municipality’s budget. Markham, Vaughan, Richmond Hill and Toronto have expensive housing stock, so a small rate raises the revenue they need. Oshawa, Ajax, Whitby and Pickering have lower assessed values and a regional government (Durham) with significant service costs, so their rates must be higher to fund comparable services. Brampton combines moderate values with a large, fast-growing service base.

   Toronto is the special case: the lowest-taxed large city in the province for decades, by political choice, with the gap funded by the Municipal Land Transfer Tax (a one-time tax on buyers) and, increasingly, by rate increases well above inflation — 9.5% in 2024 and 6.9% in 2025 — plus the City Building Fund levy. Expect Toronto’s rate to keep rising faster than the 905’s for the rest of the decade.

4. 4.What a home actually pays: worked examples

   Because bills use 2016-base assessments, use the assessed value on the listing or the MPAC notice, not the purchase price. Two illustrations:

   • A home assessed at $800,000 (2016 base; likely $1.2–$1.4M market today): Markham $5,780 · Toronto $6,140 · Oakville $6,810 · Mississauga $8,700 · Brampton $10,030 · Oshawa $12,600 per year.
   • A home assessed at $500,000 (a typical 2016-base condo or 905 townhouse): Vaughan $3,750 · Toronto $3,840 · Milton $4,320 · Mississauga $5,440 · Pickering $6,690 · Oshawa $7,880.

   The spread between Markham and Oshawa on the same assessed value is about $6,800 a year on an $800,000 assessment — over a 10-year hold, $68,000, which is several times the Toronto land transfer tax that dominates the buy-side comparison. For buyers choosing between municipalities at the same price, the annual tax belongs in the comparison alongside the one-time land transfer tax.

5. 5.Property tax and your mortgage

   • Qualifying: lenders include the annual property tax (÷12) in your GDS ratio. On a $1M purchase, $7,000 of tax is about $580 a month of debt-service room — the difference of roughly $90,000 of mortgage at a 6.5% qualifying rate.
   • Tax account: most lenders on insured and many on uninsured mortgages collect property tax with your payment and remit it; some let you pay the municipality directly. A tax account can hold a cushion of a few months’ tax.
   • At closing: the statement of adjustments prorates the year’s tax between seller and buyer to the closing date. Toronto bills in interim (February–March, based on half of last year) and final (July–September) instalments, so the adjustment can go either way.

6. 6.Rebates, deferrals and appeals

   • Seniors and persons with disabilities: Toronto offers a tax deferral (interest-free, repaid on sale) and a cancellation program for low-income owners; most 905 municipalities offer a deferral or rebate with income tests. Apply to the municipality.
   • Vacant Home Tax: Toronto charges 3% of assessed value on residential units vacant more than six months in a year; every Toronto owner must declare occupancy status annually or be deemed vacant. Several 905 municipalities have introduced or are considering similar taxes — check locally.
   • Request for Reconsideration: if you believe MPAC’s assessed value is too high (relative to comparable 2016-base values, not today’s market), file an RfR with MPAC by the deadline on your notice, free; appeal to the Assessment Review Board if refused.
   • Supplementary bills: after a renovation, addition or new construction, MPAC issues a supplementary assessment and the municipality bills the increase retroactively to the occupancy date — budget for it on a new build or major renovation.

Sources: 2026 total residential tax rates compiled by WOWA.ca (rates last updated September 29, 2026) from municipal and regional by-laws; City of Toronto 2025 Property Tax Rates page (total residential rate 0.754087%); Ontario Ministry of Finance education tax rate (0.153%, 2025–2026); MPAC assessment cycle (January 1, 2016 valuation date; 2020 reassessment postponed); Assessment Act (Request for Reconsideration, Assessment Review Board, supplementary assessments); City of Toronto Vacant Home Tax by-law (3%) and tax relief programs; Toronto budget increases 2024 (9.5%) and 2025 (6.9%). Worked examples are rate × assessed value and are illustrative; confirm current rates and assessed values with the municipality and MPAC.