Taxation

Property taxes are billed twice each calendar year on an interim tax bill and a final tax bill. The Township is responsible to collect taxes on behalf of the County of Oxford and the school boards with jurisdiction in our municipality. Property taxes are calculated based on the property’s assessed value using the established tax rate for the property’s classification.

Interim Tax Bill

1st instalment due on the last working day of February
2nd instalment due on the last working day of May

Final Tax Bill

1st instalment due on the last working day of August
2nd instalment due on the last working day of October

The interim tax bill contains 2 instalments, with the first instalment being due on the last working day of the month of February and the second instalment being due on the last working day of the month of May. The interim tax bill is calculated at 50% of the previous year’s total taxes billed on the property.

The final tax bill contains 2 instalments, with the first instalment being due on the last working day of the month of August and the second instalment being due on the last working day of the month of October. The final tax bill amount is determined following Council’s adoption of the Township’s budget and the passage of the tax rating by-law for the current year. The final tax bill reflects the total taxes assessed on the property for the year less the amount already charged on the interim tax bill.

For inquiries regarding the Property Assessment Value assigned to your property, please contact the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation. Visit the MPAC website for more information.

Please complete a Property Assessment Reconsideration form if you feel that your property value needs to be reevaluated. Forms are available by visiting the MPAC website.

For any inquiries or comments regarding your property tax account, please contact the office at 519- 485-2490.

Viewing property information in person

The Assessment Rolls are available for you to view during our regular office hours, Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Municipal Office. 

The Township of Zorra's Assessment Rolls list all properties in the Township. They include the following information for each property:

• owner and/or tenant names;
• mailing address;
• assessed value; and the
• school support for taxation purposes.

Property Assessment Search Tool

Use our Property Assessment Search Tool to search properties within the Township of Zorra. The Search Tool includes information approved by Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC). Please email MPAC if you have any questions regarding your assessment or call 1 866-296-6722 (toll free). 

The Assessment Cycle

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ontario government has postponed the 2020 Assessment Update. They have indicated that property assessments for the 2022 and 2023 property tax years will continue to be based on the fully phased-in January 1, 2016 current values. This means your property assessment for the 2022 property tax year will be the same as the 2021 tax year, unless there have been changes to your property.

In 2016, we mailed a Property Assessment Notice to every property owner in the province – assessing more than five million properties in Ontario. Your 2016 Notice reflects the assessed value and classification of your property as of January 1, 2016 and this will be used as the basis for calculating your 2022 and 2023 property taxes.

We continue to review properties during non-Assessment Update years as new homes are built, owners renovate, structures are demolished and properties change use.

You may receive a notice from MPAC if there has been a change to your property including:

• Change to property ownership, legal description, or school support.
• Change to the property’s value resulting from a Request for Reconsideration, or an Assessment Review Board decision.
• Property value increase/decrease reflecting a change to the property; for example, a new structure, addition, or removal of an old structure.
• Change in the classification or tax liability of the property.

The Assessment Cycle | MPAC

There are a number of ways to pay your property taxes.

Pay in Person at the Zorra Office

We accept cash, cheque, or debit at the office during business hours Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (excluding statutory holidays).

Pay Online through your bank

We are set up with most major banks to accept payments using internet or telephone banking. You must use your Property Roll Number indicated on your tax bill to register.

To setup your property taxes as a bill payment through your online banking, go to “add a bill” and search for “Zorra”. Select Zorra Township Tax and enter the Roll Number from your tax bill as your account number. Use your 15-digit roll number, excluding the dashes.

Example: If your roll number on your tax bill shows 014-010-01106-0000 then you would enter this as 01401001106. If an error occurs, please add the extra four zeros at the end and try again.

Note: you must setup a separate bill payment for each property roll number. If you own three properties, you must submit three separate tax payments, one to each roll number.

Setup Pre-Authorized Payments from your Bank Account

The Township offers a pre-authorized payment plan for the payment of property taxes. This is a free service. Payment options include:

• 4 instalments with payments being withdrawn on the regular instalment due dates for the amounts indicated on your tax bill
• 10 instalments with payments being withdrawn from your account on the last day of the month from January to October.
• 12 instalments with payments being withdrawn from your account on the last banking day of the month January to December.

Please visit our Forms page and complete a Pre-Authorized Payment Application form if you are interested in signing up for this service.

Note: If for any reason you wish to be removed from this payment plan, or if your banking information changes, you must notify the tax office in writing at least thirty (30) days before the next pre-authorized payment is due.

eTransfers

eTransfer is now available! Use email address accountsreceivable@zorra.ca for the recipient. In the message field, please indicate what you are paying or purchasing from Zorra (i.e. Composter, Work & Road Use Permit, Building Permit, etc.).

Please note, etransfer is not recommended as a payment method for property tax payments. Consider instead using the pre-authorized payment or online bill payment option. 

Penalty and interest charges of 1.25% will be added to instalments not paid by the due date. Interest charges are applied on the first day of each month until the balance is paid. Failure to receive a tax bill does not exempt the taxpayer from late payment charges.

The Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) is responsible for accurately assessing and classifying all properties in Ontario in accordance with the Assessment Act and Regulations established by the Ontario Government. If you feel that your property assessment is not a reasonable reflection of your property’s value and/or classification, you can ask MPAC to review them by completing certain forms and returning them to the Township who will forward to MPAC. This review is free of charge.

Visit MPAC's AboutMyProperty to learn more about how your property was assessed, see the information MPAC has on file, as well as compare it to others in your neighbourhood.

On January 4, 2012, Ontario Regulation 282/98 under the Assessment Act was amended to provide greater clarity and introduce new rules governing the property tax treatment of renewable energy installations. The amendments apply to facilities that generate electricity using solar energy, wind energy or anaerobic digestion of organic matter. The amendments take effect as of January 1, 2011. Click here for a fact sheet regarding Property Tax Treatment of Renewable Energy Installations.

Property owners in Ontario are required to support a school board, even if they do not have children or their children are not currently attending school. In the case of a residential property occupied by tenants, the tenants can direct the school support for that property. By default, school support is directed to your municipality’s English Public School Board.

The Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) is legislatively required to collect school support information and provide it in the assessment roll to every municipality and school board. By ensuring that you are supporting the school board of your choosing, you will be able to vote in the next municipal and school board election for trustees in that school board. Property owners, occupants, and  tenants can update their school support designation online at MPAC's website. Click here to visit the MPAC website.

View Section 357, Section 358, and Section 359 on e-Laws.A Section 357 Tax Appeal is filed due to a change of event that occurred during the current taxation year.

A supplementary/omitted tax notice is a tax bill issued by the Township which reflects any additions or improvements that have been made to your property. For example, owners of newly constructed homes will receive a supplementary tax notice pertaining to the assessed value of their house effective from their occupancy date. The supplementary/omitted tax notice is in addition to what may have been previously billed on the property. This tax notice does not include payments already made to your tax account or future instalments that have been previously billed and are still outstanding.

From the assessment information provided by the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC), the Township calculates the tax amounts due and issues tax notices, based on the following formula:

Assessment Value X Tax Rate

Number of Days Liable

Legislation allows MPAC to assess a property for the current year and up to two previous years, retroactive to the closing date. These tax notices are payable in two instalments, as indicated on the due date field of the payment stub.

Reason for Issuing Supplementary/Omitted Bills

You should have already received a Notice of Assessment from MPAC indicating the reason for your supplementary/omitted tax notice(s). A supplementary tax notice can be issued for any of the following reasons:

New Construction

• The value of your new construction was not previously billed to you.

Improvements / Additions to Property

• Renovations / improvements were done to the property that has increased the assessment value and this increase in value was not previously billed to you.

Reclassification

• The entire property or a portion of your property has had a change to the tax class. 

If you feel that your supplementary/ omitted assessment is incorrect, a Request for Reconsideration (RFR) process is available. Please refer to the Notice of Assessment sent by the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) for the deadline to file an RFR. Please contact MPAC at 1-866-296-6722 or visit http://www.mpac.ca/ for more details.

On October 4, 2023, a report was presented to Council outlining reasons to consider eliminating the Vacant Unit Rebate Program. Council supported the recommendation in the report and passed by-law number 48-23 to eliminate the program. Visit our Council meeting page for a link to the agenda to read the full report. The by-law is available here. 

Tax certificates are issued upon request in writing to anyone requiring certified information on the status of a property tax account. The cost is $52.00 per certificate and cheques can be made payable to the Township of Zorra or paid by etransfer. Emailed/faxed requests are not accepted.

Effective January 1, 2024, an additional fee of $41.00 is payable for all rush requests (required within two (2) business days).

Click on the links below to review tax rates for the past few years.

• 2024 Tax Rates
• 2023 Tax Rates
• 2022 Tax Rates
• 2021 Tax Rates
• 2020 Tax Rates
• 2019 Tax Rates
• 2018 Tax Rates