Taxes

Payment Options

Municipal Hall remains open to the public and cashiers are available to assist with collecting payments however you can also pay property taxes online through your financial institution. Alternatively, the District of Lake Country has a secure drop box located to the right of the north entrance of Municipal Hall for property owners that would like to leave a post-dated cheque.

A 10% penalty will be added to current taxes (including unclaimed home owner grants) remaining unpaid after 6:00pm, July 4, 2023.

Payment options include:

• cheque, cash, debit card at Municipal Hall, in person or use drop box located at the north entrance
• credit cards (with applicable fees through service provider) will now be accepted for payment of property taxes (Click here to find out more about the Option Pay credit card service)
• postmarks on mailed remittances will not be considered as date of payment 
• at your financial institution (provincial Home Owner Grants are NOT accepted at financial institutions; they must be claimed online www.gov.bc.ca/homeownergrant)
• online/telephone banking, allow 2-3 business days processing time to ensure payment is made on time (make sure to include your property tax folio number when paying online)
• Pre-Authorized Monthly Payment Plan [Sign up for the equal monthly prepayment plan (Aug 10 - May 10) to make payments towards your annual property taxes.]
• To make changes to your payment plan, please complete the Property Tax Prepayment Authorization for Plan Changes form

New owners of a property who have not received a current property tax notice will be required to contact Municipal Hall to receive a copy of the tax notice. Non-receipt of a tax notice is not recognized as a valid reason for failure to pay the taxes by the due date.

Penalties

A 10% penalty will be added to current taxes (including unclaimed home owner grants) remaining unpaid after 6:00pm, July 4, 2023.

Penalties are also applicable to the Home Owner Grant portion of your taxes. Until the Home Owner Grant is claimed, that portion of the balance on your tax account is considered taxes outstanding.

These penalties are a requirement of the Community Charter and the District usually has no authority to either waive or modify the penalty amounts. 

BC Assessment

BC Assessment's role is to determine the fair market value of properties. Search for your current property assessment.

• Learn how BC Assessment assesses properties.
• What to do when you receive your assessment notice
• Property assessments and property taxes - a not-so complicated relationship

The property assessment is used to determine your share of taxes. Council's role is to determine the amount of taxes required to operate the municipality and set the tax rate. The tax rate is set by bylaw and sets a rate for each class as defined on the BC Assessment Roll. This rate applies to each $1,000 of taxable value of land and improvements.

Each year, Council, during its budgetary process, approves the amount of revenue required to operate the municipality. From this amount they subtract the known revenues, such as grants, licences, permits and so on. The remainder represents the amount of money to be raised by property taxes.

Understanding the assessment process, from BC Assessment, is published as a resource to answer your questions.

Find out more about agricultural uses and services that qualify land to be classified as a farm.

Home Owner Grant

The Provincial Home Owner Grant program helps to reduce the amount of residential property taxes that homeowners pay on their primary residence. 

All home owner grant applications are to be submitted directly to the Province. Residents in municipalities no longer apply through their municipal office.  

Lake Country is jurisdiction #331 (don't forget to input that when you claim your grant online through the provincial website). 

Find out if you qualify for the Home Owner Grant. If you qualify for the Home Owner Grant (HOG), you must apply each year to receive it. A payment does not have to be made to claim the grant. 

The homeowner grant may be available retroactively if you did not apply in the prior year. 

Retroactive home owner grant applications are being accepted online. Learn more about applying for a retroactive grant and about other information updates at gov.bc.ca/homeownergrant. 

Tax Deferment

Tax deferment is a low-interest loan program administrated by the Government of B.C that helps qualified B.C. homeowners pay their annual property taxes on their principal residence. Read the April 2023 update: What’s new in B.C. property taxes - Province of British Columbia (gov.bc.ca)

Residential property owners can apply for property tax deferment on their principal residence online, quickly and easily. The program and eligibility requirements are not changing. 

To qualify for the regular program, you must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident who has lived in British Columbia for at least one year immediately prior to applying for tax deferment benefits and be:

• 55 years or older during the current taxation year (only one owner must be 55 or older),
• a surviving spouse of any age who isn’t currently the spouse of another person, or
• a person with a disability (as defined by regulation)
• You must also have a minimum equity of 25% of the current assessed value determined by BC Assessment (other appraised values are not accepted), after deducting the upper limit of all outstanding mortgages, lines of credit, your property tax amount and other charges on your home.
• The regular program has a one-time administration fee of $60.00 on all approved applications. Each subsequent year, a $10.00 renewal fee will be applied on all approved renewals.
• To qualify for the families with children program, you must have a minimum equity of 15% of the current BC Assessment value (other appraised values are not accepted), after deducting the upper limit of all outstanding mortgages, lines of credit, your property tax amount and other charges on your home. You also must be supporting a child that is in a post-secondary education or trade school.
• The families with children program does not have any fees.
The interest is charged on your tax deferment loan from the date your property tax is due or the date you apply to defer your taxes, whichever is later. The interest rate you are charged depends on the tax deferment program you choose. The interest rates are set every April 1 and October 1. The rates in effect until September 30, 2023 are as follows:
• Regular Program:  4.45%  (Under the Regular Program you're charged simple interest at a rate not greater than 2% below the prime rate of our principal banker.)
• Families with Children Program:  6.45%  (Under the Families with Children Program, you're charged simple interest at a rate not greater than the prime rate of our principal banker.)

Property owners needing help to understand the requirements and eligibility of the program can contact government agents by phoning 1 888 355 2700 (within Canada) or 250 387 0555 (outside of Canada).

Tax Exemptions

The Community Charter provides for tax exemptions under the following two circumstances - General statutory exemptions and Permissive exemptions. The onus is on the applicant to clearly demonstrate how you are eligible for a tax exemption from Council.

Permissive tax exemption is available for qualifying registered non-profit organizations using property for municipal, recreational, religious, cultural or charitable purposes. 

Applications for tax exemptions must be made between June 30th and mid-July of each year to be considered by Council for the following taxation year. View the Tax Exemption Policy and Application Form. The application deadline is mid-July.

As per Permissive Tax Exemption Policy 204, organizations in receipt of a multi-year exemption are required to complete a Short Form Renewal on an annual basis to confirm that no changes in operation or location have taken place. If changes have occurred, as indicated in the Short Form Renewal, a new Long Form Application will be required. 

Permissive Tax Exemption renewals and new applications for 2024 are due July 14, 2023. 

Tax Rates

Council approves the Tax Rates Bylaw in May of each year. Tax notices are mailed to residents and are due the first working day in July annually. Because the District also serves as the collector for other taxing bodies, your tax notice will show the taxes collected for Provincial Schools, Okanagan Regional Library, Regional Hospital District, Regional District of Central Okanagan and BC Assessment. 

Parcel Tax

Pursuant to the provisions of Section 204 of the Community Charter, the District of Lake Country will be holding a Review Panel in regard to parcel tax assessment rolls.  Notices have been sent to registered owners of all properties being added to an assessment roll. 

The 2023 Parcel Tax Review Panel will sit in May 2023. You may only make a complaint to the Parcel Tax Review Panel on one or more of the following grounds;

• there is an error or omission respecting a name or address on the parcel tax roll;

• there is an error or omission respecting the inclusion of a parcel;

• there is an error or omission respecting the taxable area or the taxable frontage of a parcel; OR

• an exemption has been improperly allowed or disallowed. 

You or your agent must notify the District of Lake Country, in writing, of your complaint. Please address all your correspondence to the attention of the Collector. 

Tax Sale

On the last Monday of September, the District is required by the Local Government Act to sell at Tax Sale all properties whose taxes have not been paid for 3 years.

The Local Government Act gives the Collector authority to sell a property for the Upset Price which equals all outstanding taxes + penalties + interest + 5% tax sale costs + Land Title Office fees. 

Find out more

Property Tax Prepayment Authorization for Plan Changes

Authorize the District to make changes to your Tax Prepayment Account.

Apply

Property Tax Prepayment Plan Form

The Property Tax Prepayment Plan is an optional payment plan which allows you to make equal monthly prepayments towards next year's property taxes. Find the application form by clicking the link below.

Apply

Property Tax Refund Request

If you are on the Property Tax Prepayment plan, you may apply to receive a refund of your credit balance once your property taxes have been paid.

Apply