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If you do not receive your tax bill by June 17, 2024, please contact the tax office.
First installment due: Thursday, June 27, 2024
Second installment due: Friday, September 27, 2024
Property owners that have not paid their 2024 interim property taxes on or before May 15, 2024 will see the arrears amount added to their 2024 Final Tax Bill
Interim tax bill package - January 2024
2024 Interim tax bills were in the mail on January 19, 2024.
Your property taxes are billed by the City twice per year.
The interim billing is sent in January and final billing in May, with two payment installments due for each billing.
The Municipal Act requires that your interim bill be based on 50 percent of your prior year taxes.
If you do not receive your tax bill by February 12, 2024, please contact the tax office.
Note: This information is provided as a reference tool only and should not be used for the basis of legal transactions.
Notification options
Property Tax bills are sent using Canada Post regular mail, unless you have signed up for eBilling.
Visit the eBilling page for information on how to sign up to receive your tax bills electronically.
All correspondence, including reminder notices are sent through Canada Post regular mail. It is the homeowner's responsibility to ensure we have a correct mailing address. Failure to receive the tax bill does not remove your responsibility for payment by the due date. Penalty and interest charges will be incurred for late payments.
Change of mailing address or ownership
Change of mailing address
All changes must be sent in writing by the property owner. In the event, the property has become the responsibility of an executor, trustee or Power of Attorney, legal documentation must be provided to the City along with the request, identifying their authority to request the change. Please ensure your assessment roll number or property address is included in the correspondence.
The City does not accept letters from the lawyer acting on behalf of the purchaser as direction to change ownership or direction to use a different mailing address than what is provided on the Transfer/Deed. It is the property owner's responsibility to ensure the documents that are registered on Title contain the correct mailing address.
Failure to receive the tax bill does not remove the property owner's responsibility for payment of property taxes on or before the due date. Nor will Late Payment charges be removed from the account.
Assessment information
Municipalities are not responsible for property assessment. Property assessments are the responsibility of the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) . Taxes must be paid as levied until notification is received from MPAC about a change to an assessment. Once an assessment change is received by the Municipality from Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC), an adjustment will be processed.
Property assessments for the 2023 property tax years continue to be based on January 1, 2016 current values.
This means your property assessment remains the same as it was for the 2022 tax year, unless there have been changes to your property. Some examples include: an addition, new construction, renovation, change to your classification, or change of status as farmland, conservation or managed forest.
All payments must be received on or before the due date. Late payments will be subject to penalty and interest charges. We do not accept the postmark as proof of the date of receipt. To make paying your taxes as convenient as possible we provide a variety of payment options including:
pre-authorized debit
by mail to PO Box 696 Lindsay, ON K9V 4W9 (post-dated cheques are accepted)
at most financial institutions (you must pay before the due date to use this option)
telephone or online banking
drop box at any Municipal Service Centre or City Hall
over the phone by credit card at 1-866-961-2313 (there is a 2.75% charge for this service)
Pre-authorized debit
Currently accepting monthly pre-authorized debit applications for the 2025 Interim Tax Bill issued in January 2025.
Please ensure your 2024 Final Bill has been paid in full. (Installments due June 27 and Sep 27)
We offer a 10-month, 12-month or installment due date plan. You must complete a pre-authorized debit application form and ensure your taxes are paid up to date prior to the start date of the plan. The PAD plans are not transferable between houses should you sell your property and purchase another in Kawartha Lakes.
If you choose a monthly plan please be aware of the cut-off dates for submitting your application. Applications received between November 1 and April 30 will be enrolled for the next Final Tax Bill with the first withdrawal in July. Applications received between May 1 and November 30 will be enrolled for the following year's Interim Tax Bill.
This is not an equal billing plan. Amounts are calculated for the Interim Tax Bill and re-calculated for the Final Tax Bill.12-month plans have withdrawal dates of January 15 - June 15 and again July 15 - December 15. On December 15, any residual balance owing to bring your account to zero will be withdrawn.
10-month plans have withdrawal dates of February 1 - June 1 and again July 1 - November 1. On November 1, any residual balance owing to bring your account to zero will be withdrawn.
Additions to tax roll 5% of amount being added ( $50 minimum)
To avoid penalty and interest charges, ensure payments are received on or before the due date. Penalty/interest is added the first day of each month on any outstanding tax amount. If you have made payment to a wrong account by mistake, please let us know as soon as possible to arrange a payment transfer. We will complete first time transfers at no cost, subsequent transfers will have a cost of $40.00 per transaction
Bank or mortgage company payments
If your bank or mortgage company is responsible for paying your taxes and it is not noted on the front of your bill, please forward the bill to them immediately. Your bank or mortgage company must notify us in writing if they will be paying taxes on your behalf or if they are going to stop paying taxes on your behalf.
Receipts
If you need a receipt please return your entire bill without detaching the payment stubs and include a stamped, self-addressed envelope. You can also e-mail, fax or bring your bill to our office or any Municipal Service Centre and we will stamp it for you at no cost.
If you have sold your property we are unable to provide a copy of the bill or a receipt in your name. You can find out how much you paid in taxes by reviewing the statement of adjustments prepared by your lawyer at the time of closing.
Failure to pay
If you do not pay your installments by the due date your account may be issued to the Bailiff for collection. This could result in extra fees. Once the account has been issued to the Bailiff, you will need to deal directly with them regarding payment, arrangements or balances. If a payment is made in person at our office we will notify the bailiff so they can adjust their records accordingly.
Fees
tax certificate: $67.00
copy or reprint of tax bill: $31.00
duplicate receipt: $31.00
new account fee: $44.00 (charged to the purchaser of the property)
returned cheque fee: $47.00
retrieval of post-dated cheque: $42.00
electronic payment recall: $42.00
reminder notice: $26.00
registered mail: $37.00
tax search: $62.00
tax sale administration fee: $373.00
transfer of electronic payments: $42.00
Tax rebates
We offer tax rebates for the following criteria:
Application for Reduction
If your house or another building on your property was demolished or damaged by fire, you may qualify for a property tax reduction by submitting a Section 357/358 application below.
The deadline for applications is February 28 of the current year. For the preceding taxation year (Example, February 28, 2025 would be the deadline for a 2024 application).
Low Income Senior and Low Income Person with a Disability Programs
Council grants eligible seniors and disabled property owners up to $300. The deadline to apply is June 30, 2024.
Successful applicants will receive a credit applied to future tax installments. The City does not issue refunds for this program.
If you are on a monthly pre-authorized payment plan the credit will be applied towards your reconciliation payment. For those on the installment due date plan, the credit will be applied to the September installment.
If applicable, charges for local improvements, area rates and other charges are included on the tax bill under the heading Special Charges and Credits.
As a property owner in Ontario, you are required to support a school system, even if you do not have children or your children are not currently attending school. This information can be found on your Property Assessment Notice.
For residential properties that are occupied by tenants, the tenants school support preference will supersede that of the owners.
For properties that have more than one self-contained unit, such as a duplex, the tenants for each unit can direct their school support, as though they were assessed separately.
School support designation helps property owners and tenants identify which school board they wish to support in a school board election. School support information collected by MPAC is provided to municipalities and school boards for planning purposes.
There are five different school support designations:
English public
French public
English separate (Catholic)
French separate (Catholic)
As per legislation, your school support defaults to the English Public school board. However, you may be able to change your school support.
Who this information is for?
This information is for property owners and tenants in Ontario who would like to change which school board they support.
Changing your school support online
Did you know you can view and update your school support designation online via an online portal if you are a residential property owner or a tenant registered with MPAC?
To get started, select the option below that applies to you:
A guide is available to assist users with how to navigate changing their school support designation online: English | French
If you are unable to access the portal, MPAC also accepts paper applications for school support change requests. For more information, please see “Alternative method - changing your school support” below or call the MPAC Customer Contact Centre to register as a user, which may take up to 24 hours until you are registered within our systems.
Criteria
In order to change your school board support, you must meet the following criteria:
You must own or lease a property or be the spouse of someone who owns or rents property.
You may direct school support to only one of the school boards operating in your municipality. Note that not all school board types are available in all municipalities.
If you own or lease more than one property in a single school board jurisdiction, all properties must support the same school board.
To direct your taxes to a Catholic school board, you must be Roman Catholic or your joint owner/tenant (such as Roman Catholic spouse) may designate the property's support for a Catholic school board.
To direct your taxes to a French-language school board, you or your joint owner/tenant must be a Canadian citizen and meet one of the following criteria:
French is their first language learned and is still understood.
You received elementary school instruction in a French-language education institution* in Canada.
Your child(ren) received or receives their education at the elementary or secondary level in a French-language education institution* in Canada.
To support a French Separate school board, you must meet the criteria for both the Separate (Catholic) and French Language school boards.
* This does not include French immersion or French as a second language.
Benefits of changing your school support
In addition to supporting the board that best reflects your educational preferences, you will be able to vote in the next municipal and school board election for trustees for the school board that you support.
Alternative method – changing your school support
To change the school board designation that we have on file for you, please follow these steps:
You must complete an Application for Direction of School Support form, which you can download (English | French) from this page or obtain from your school board's office.
If you are Roman Catholic but your joint owner or leaseholder is not, and you want to change your designation to a Catholic or French Language board, you may do so by completing the Attestation of Unit Support section on the Application for Direction of School Support form.
Using mail or email, please send us your Application for Direction of School Support.
We will process the change to your school support designation upon receipt. If an email address is provided, the applicant will receive an email confirmation.
Kawartha Lakes is now taxed at full Current Value Assessment and has exited the program.
Frequently Asked Question: What drives the amount that my taxes increase or decrease each year?
Question: What drives the amount that my taxes increase or decrease each year? Answer: Property taxes are determined based on the following inputs:
1. Current year phased-in property assessment value
Determined by the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC).
2. Council approved Tax Rate
Includes the General, Police and Fire levies. It is important to note that Police and Fire levies are specific to the service delivery for the property, hence, residents pay different levies based on the services received.
Police example: Residents outside Lindsay/Ops pay for OPP services, residents in Lindsay/Ops pay for CKL Police Services
Fire example: Residents that have full-time fire protection pay a different levy those that have volunteer fire protection services
Levies may also include location dependent Special Rate Area levies (eg. transit, parks and streetlights) that are charged to address the cost of infrastructure or delivery of specific services which vary across Kawartha Lakes.
