Property Taxes

Tax Notices - 2024 Property Taxes Were Due July 2, 2024

Thank you to all participants of the 2024 - 2028 Five Year Financial Plan and Budget 2024 process. Property Tax Notices have been mailed. Property taxes were due by July 2nd, 2024. If you have not yet paid your taxes you will incur a 10% penalty. Information related to Home Owner Grants, the Property Tax Deferment Program, and Ways to Pay can be found on the Property Tax Notice insert that was mailed with your notice as well as in the Documents section on this page. If you did not receive your notice, please contact City Hall.

On Monday, May 13th, Kimberley City Council approved a 5.33% increase to municipal property taxes for 2024 to fund inflationary increases and incremental operating cost adjustments. For the average single-family home assessed at $540,885 in 2024, this represents a municipal tax increase of approximately $145. The actual tax adjustment for your property will vary depending on how much its assessed value has changed in relation to the average assessment increase from 2023 to 2024. To view all budget documents and meetings related to the 2024 Budget and Five-Year Financial Plan Process, head to EngageKimberley.ca. 

The City is also required to collect property taxes on behalf of other organizations. The amount of property tax requested by the Regional Hospital District for 2024 represents a 26.1% increase over the 2023 request. Since 2019 the amount of tax paid by Kimberley property owners to the Regional Hospital District has increased by a total of 375%. The Regional District of East Kootenay has advised that this increase is primarily related to increased contributions to reserves to fund future capital infrastructure investment.

The amount of property tax requested by the Regional District of East Kootenay in 2024 is 6.2% higher than in 2023. The City has no control over the amount of property tax collected for these other organizations and it doesn’t retain any of this tax collection to fund its own operations.

The following chart illustrates the amount of property tax that will be billed for each of the various organizations in 2024 on the average single-family home with an assessed value of $540,885. Only the Municipal Tax (Variable and Flat) is retained by the City and all of the other tax is paid by the City directly to the organization for which it is collected.

Need more information on your Property Taxes including payment options, Home Owner Grant information and the Property Tax Deferment Program, review the information available on this page or the 2024 Property Tax Notice Insert that accompanied your Property Tax bill or visit Engagekimberley.ca for more information. 

Payments

With Online Services there’s no need to leave home. There are multiple options to pay your property taxes from the comfort of your own home, or wherever you might be. Go to www.kimberley.ca and click I want to… located at the top right side of the page. From there click Property Taxes under Pay for a list of ways you can make your payment, including online options.  They include:

• pay by internet or telephone banking through your financial institution (contact your branch for details)
• pay by Visa/Mastercard Credit/Debit Card through Paymentus
  • please note that at the time of purchase, Paymentus will charge a convenience fee of 2.5% for Visa/Mastercard Credit Card transactions and a fee of 1.5% for Visa/Mastercard, Debit Card transactions (subject to change). These fees go directly to Paymentus with the City retaining only the amount of the property tax
  • the Paymentus service is only available within North America

Here are some alternative methods of payment if you are unable to pay online: 

• Mail a cheque to the City of Kimberley, 340 Spokane Street, Kimberley BC, V1A 2E8 
  • the date the cheque arrives at City Hall is considered the date of payment, not the date of the postmark, so please allow time for mailing
  • cheques post-dated to the July 2, 2024, due date will be accepted
• Drop a cheque in the mail slot to the right of the main entrance at City Hall 
  • cheques must be dropped in the mail slot by 4:45 p.m. on the July 2, 2024, Due Date to avoid a 10% penalty
  • available 24/7
• If online payments or any of the other alternatives noted above aren’t an option for you, payments can be made in person:
  • at your financial institution (check with your branch for business hours 
  • at City Hall by cash, cheque or debit card only (from 8:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. Monday to Friday, excluding statutory holidays)

  • if paying by debit card, please check with your financial institution to ensure your limit is sufficient

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Property Tax Payment Plan

The City of Kimberley offers a convenient tax prepayment plan for those accounts with a zero balance. The City will automatically debit your bank account for 10 months on the first day of the month – August 1st to May 1st. Payment amounts are estimated each year so that 90% of your taxes will be prepaid before the tax notices are mailed out.

The City will pay interest at a rate established by the Province of BC on the prepayments and apply it against your tax account, if applicable.  The interest rate is 3% below the prime interest rate. To apply for the property tax payment plan, you must fill in a Tax Prepayment Plan Authorization Form and supply a voided cheque to the City of Kimberley.  

Penalties on Unpaid Property Tax and Unclaimed Home Owner Grants

A 10% penalty will be applied to property taxes not paid and Home Owner Grants not claimed by the due date. 

Interest on Property Taxes

Arrears property taxes relate to amounts owing from 2023 which are charged daily interest at a rate prescribed by the Province of BC. This rate is updated quarterly.

Delinquent property taxes relate to amounts owing from 2022 which are charged daily interest at a rate prescribed by the Province of BC. This rate is updated quarterly.

Home Owner Grant

The Province of BC offers a Home Owner Grant of $770 for home owners who are under 65 and up to $1,045 for home owners who are 65 and older or have a qualifying disability.

In 2021, the Province changed the application process such that homeowners can no longer apply for their Home Owner Grant through City Hall.  Everyone is required to apply directly to the Province. If you are eligible, please follow these instructions to apply:

•    apply 24/7 to the Province online at www.gov.bc.ca/homeownergrant;
•    apply with the assistance of a Province of BC agent by phoning 1-888-355-2700, Monday to Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. MDT; or
•    apply 24/7 using the Province’s automated self-serve system by phoning 1-888-355-2700, option 2.

Your Home Owner Grant application must be submitted by the July 2, 2024 Due Date to avoid a 10% penalty on the unclaimed amount.  

Property Tax Deferment

Home owners can apply to have the Province pay their property taxes through their low interest loan program. To be eligible, home owners must qualify under one of the following Province of BC Programs

Property Tax Deferment applications must be submitted directly to the Province of BC:

•    check your eligibility and apply to the Province online at www.gov.bc.ca/propertytaxdeferment;
•    if you have any questions, call a Province of BC agent at 1-888-355-2700 or visit a Service BC location
•    If you currently defer your property taxes, please refer to your Annual Statement of Account to verify whether or not you have selected the automated renewal option.

Tax Sale

Under section 403 (1) of the Local Government Act, the City must hold a tax sale at 10:00 a.m. on the last Monday of September each year.

Properties required by Provincial legislation to be auctioned by the Collector at the tax sale are those with delinquent taxes (unpaid amounts from 2019) outstanding as of the date and time of tax sale. To avoid going to tax sale, owners must pay the delinquent amount of taxes outstanding prior to 10:00 a.m. on the last Monday of September.

Purchase Tax Certificates Online

Our tax certificates are conveniently available to purchase online through:

• Dye & Durham (APIC):  Please visit www.apicanada.com for directions on how to purchase tax certificates either by credit card or using the myLTSA portal using your deposit account.