Toronto vs Ontario property TAX

Pick your poison double land transfer tax and additional garbage tax in Toronto or higher property taxes elsewhere.

DaveTheDude wrote: ↑ Pick your poison double land transfer tax and additional garbage tax in Toronto or higher property taxes elsewhere.

Land transfer tax is a 1 time payment and a large chunk is refundable to a first time home buyer.

BiegeToyota wrote: ↑ I have been looking at Hamilton a lot and I am surprised how much property tax is there.

For example a new condo in DT Hamilton of similar size costs more than 100% more in property tax than my condo in DT Toronto. This is absolutely nuts considering that condos are not exactly cheap. We are talking 700-800psqf.

Is this the same case with the rest of Ontario?

Because if it is all those WFH geniuses are in for a big surprise.

Toronto has lower taxes because it has a higher tax base (more homes and businesses) and other revenue streams to pay for Toronto's municipal budget. I'm sure there are other factors in play but this is the biggest reason.

Or it could be the spirit of Rob Ford we have to thank.

BiegeToyota wrote: ↑ Land transfer tax is a 1 time payment and a large chunk is refundable to a first time home buyer.

Chances are the "WFH geniuses" aren't first time home buyers.

There is a reason everyone wants to live in Toronto, property tax is the lowest in the GTA

superscoots wrote: ↑ Hamilton has always had notoriously high property taxes while Halton has one of the lowest in Canada.

Oshawa within Durham region also quite high at 1.7% mill rate last I saw vs rest of Durham at 1.4%. Mind you this was a few year back.

BiegeToyota wrote: ↑ I have been looking at Hamilton a lot and I am surprised how much property tax is there.

For example a new condo in DT Hamilton of similar size costs more than 100% more in property tax than my condo in DT Toronto. This is absolutely nuts considering that condos are not exactly cheap. We are talking 700-800psqf.

Is this the same case with the rest of Ontario?

Because if it is all those WFH geniuses are in for a big surprise.

It doesn't really matter all that much to buyers. Higher taxes have a tempering effect on purchase prices. Lower the taxes and the price just goes up to fill the void. You end up paying the same. Your money either goes to the city who will spend it on services you might use, or it goes to the seller who will take your money and run. Which would you rather have?

Kiraly wrote: ↑ It doesn't really matter all that much to buyers. Higher taxes have a tempering effect on purchase prices. Lower the taxes and the price just goes up to fill the void. You end up paying the same. Your money either goes to the city who will spend it on services you might use, or it goes to the seller who will take your money and run. Which would you rather have?

I’d rather give it to the seller because it means the Buyer will give it back to me when I sell

Vs paying 12k a year for aurora property tax which just goes down the drain permanently

lolbeast wrote: ↑ I’d rather give it to the seller because it means the Buyer will give it back to me when I sell

Vs paying 12k a year for aurora property tax which just goes down the drain permanently

<shrug> You don't use garbage collection, the fire department, police services, streets...? The money for all of that has to come from somewhere. We tend to think of real estate prices and property taxes as two independent things, but that couldn't be further from the truth. One has a direct effect on the other, one goes up it pushes the other down. Cut taxes and that does not translate into savings for buyers. You end up paying the same, but your money flows to the seller instead of to the municipality...and ultimately back to you in city services.

I think that the property taxes outside of Toronto proper are actually low. For instance if one owns a large enough home in the suburbs/small towns/etc then owning the same home and lot in the city would require paying way more taxes (since its assessment in Toronto would be much higher in value).

I understand that taxation is done on the value basis but it's important to compare the taxes on individual properties of comparable size, etc.

Toronto property taxes are artificially low. It's a big fiasco whenever the mayor talks about raising it. Then you have people constantly complaining about infrastructure and the cost of transit, etc.