Property Taxes + Homeowner Grant
Municipal Property Tax notices are mailed the third week of May, with a due date at the beginning of July of each year. The City strongly encourages homeowners to claim the BC Homeowner Grant and pay the municipal tax bill by the end of June. Taxes that are unpaid as of 5:45PM on Tuesday, July 2, 2024, are subject to a penalty of 10% for the current year. If paying online, payments should be made by June 25, 2024. If residents also fail to claim the Homeowner Grant by the due date, the 10% penalty will be applied to the entire amount without considering the grant amount. This penalty cannot be adjusted later.
HOMEOWNER GRANT
Homeowners MUST claim their Home Owner Grant WITH THE PROVINCE OF BC before July 2, 2024. Claim the grant in the following three ways:
- Online: www.etax.gov.bc.ca/btp/HOG.
- In-person: Visit the Service BC Office at 2194 Coutlee Ave, Merritt, BC V1K 1B8.
- By phone: 1-888-355-2700.
You will need your social insurance number and the jurisdiction and roll number for your property. The jurisdiction and roll number can be found on:
- Property tax notices (451-0XXXX.XXX)
- BC Assessment notices (451-XXXX-XXX)
- BC Assessment website search
If you are using your property tax notice information when applying online for your Homeowner Grant, you will need to ensure the decimal (.) is changed to a dash (-) and the leading zero (0) in the Roll number is dropped. In other words, write the Jurisdiction number (eg: 451) and modify the Roll number (eg: 01234.567) and create a new combined number in the following pattern: 451-1234-567 (with dashes and deleting the leading 0). (Other than the number 451, these numbers are for illustrative purposes only. Do not use these numbers. Reference your Property Tax Notice).
If you have not received your 2024 Property Tax Notice, please call City Hall at 250.378.4224.
Learn more about BC’s Home Owner Grant at gov.bc.ca/homeownergrant.
If you are interested in Property Assessment, click here or visit BC Assessment.
Note: Effective January 2021, the BC government changed the administration of the grant to operate under the Province of BC instead of under the municipalities. As such, the City of Merritt can no longer process Homeowner Grant applications. Applications must now be processed directly through the government of British Columbia.
Contact
Payment Options
Online Banking (Debit Card)
NOTE: Please allow 3-4 business days for your bank to process your payment.
List of Banks
- Royal Bank of Canada
- Scotia Bank/Tangerine
- CIBC/Simplii
- TD Bank
- Credit Union
NOTE: Please allow 3-4 business days for your payment to be processed by your bank.
Online banking for Property Taxes
Search for “Merritt” (Taxes) as a payee and use your 11 digit roll number found on your tax notice as the account number (starting with 451) with no spaces or decimals (i.e. 45101999030). Through your bank you can set up reoccurring monthly bill payments or make your final payment.
Monthly Payments
You can setup City of Merritt Property Taxes or Utilities as a reoccurring monthly payment through your online banking. Contact City Hall at 250-378-4224 (email: finance@merritt.ca) to check your tax and utility account balances prior to the tax deadline and utility discount deadline.
Pay by Credit Card (Online Only)
Property Tax Payments
You will be asked for your ROLL NUMBER when entering payment information for your property taxes. This can be found on your tax notice. If you have questions about your property tax notice please email finance@merritt.ca or call 250-378-4224. Click here to see a sample property tax notice.
Please remember eligible property owners must claim the Home Owner Grant every year separately from payment of property taxes. Effective 2021, all home owner grant applications are to be submitted directly to the province. Residents in municipalities no longer apply through their municipal office.
PAY VIA OPTIONPAY: https://payment.optionpay.ca/city-of-merritt/index.php
Pay in Person at City Hall: Cash | Debit |Check | Money Order. (Not credit cards).
Methods of payment accepted are cash, debit card, money order or cheque payable to the City of Merritt. Note that credit cards are accepted ONLINE ONLY and cannot be processed in person at City Hall.
Visit City Hall from 8:00 am to 5:30 pm (except for lunch 12:00 – 1:15pm), Tuesday through Friday.
Drop off Payment at Drop Box (Cheque or Money Order Only)
Drop box is located at the right side of City Hall. Remember to write your tax roll number or utility account number on your cheque.
Pay by Mail (Cheque or Money Order Only)
Send a payment to:
City of Merritt, Attention: Property Tax
2185 Voght Street, Box 189
Merritt, BC, V1K1B8.
Please write the tax roll number or utility account number on your cheque and ensure that the cheque is payable to the City of Merritt. Post-dated cheques are accepted. Mail lost or delayed by the post office will be assessed with a penalty if late, as the postmark will not be considered as the date of payment. Mail us a post-dated cheque early to avoid penalties. In the event of a postal disruption, please utilize alternative payment methods to ensure that payment is received by the due date.
Pay at your Financial Institution (In-person on online banking)
Use your original current tax notice to make payment. Reprints of tax notices will not be accepted at financial institutions. The City of Merritt is not responsible for errors made by financial institutions. Please note that banks will not accept the Home Owner Grant application. Not all banks will accept City of Merritt bill payments so please follow up with your financial institution to find out more. Owners are responsible to ensure that payment of their annual property taxes is received at City Hall by the due date to avoid penalty. As some banking institutions hold payments before forwarding them to the City of Merritt or are located in different time zones, avoid the risk of a penalty being applied by paying online a few days before the deadline.
Mortgage Company
If your taxes are paid by a mortgage company, the Home Owner Grant (if applicable) must still be completed online by the due date. Your bank will retain a portion of your mortgage payment to be allocated to property taxes. The bank will forward to the City of Merritt the outstanding balance of your taxes, taking into consideration your Home Owner Grant if eligible. The City of Merritt is not responsible for errors made by mortgage providers. Please ensure that your mortgage provider is aware if you are claiming the grant each year.
Need a financial break?
Apply for BC’s Tax Deferment Program
Eligible BC homeowners, including seniors and families, may wish to participate in the Province of BC’s low-interest Tax Deferment Program. This includes:
REGULAR PROGRAM
- 55 or older during the current year
- A surviving spouse of any age
- A person with disabilities
FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN PROGRAM
- A parent
- A stepparent, or
- Are financially supporting a child
Register and View your Property Tax Account Online
You may view details of your Property Tax account including assessments and bill summaries if you are registered.
- Click on the “Register / Sign In” below.
- Click on “Register” on the upper right of the screen.
- Complete the required fields.
- Click “Register”. Once registration is complete a new screen will appear.
- Click on your Name on the upper right hand corner of the screen.
- Under “Need to Add an Account”, select PT-Property Taxes.
- Use the last 8 digits after the 451 of your Roll Number (including the decimal, i.e. 451 09999.030 ➔ 09999.030) and the Access Code/PIN from your Property Tax Notice.
- Click on “Save Account”.
- You account is now saved and you can add additional properties or utility billing accounts under the same profile.
- To view your Property Tax account place your cursor over the “Online Services” tab above the City logo and click on “Property Taxes” or access through the “Quick Link” tool at the top of the page.
Property Tax Sale
Tax Sale Process
The following notes are intended to provide a general outline of the tax sale process. For more information about the annual sale of properties, prospective purchasers should consult the Local Government Act, starting with Section 645.
- The City 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.
- All property sales are “as is” without warrant or guarantee by the City of Merritt.
- Advertising
- The Local Government Act requires municipalities to advertise in a local paper not less than 3, or more than 10 days prior to the Tax Sale.
- The legal description and street address must be published.
- To avoid your property being listed in this ad in the newspaper, your delinquent taxes must be paid approximately 2 weeks prior to the Tax Sale date.
Tax Sale
- A public auction will be held at 10 am, on the last Monday in September each year in Council Chambers, City Hall.
- Bidding is accepted on all properties.
- Prospective bidders are advised that it is their responsibility to search the title of the property in advance to determine if there are any charges registered against the property.
- The minimum bid is the amount of the Upset Price.
- If no bidding takes place within 3 calls by the Collector (auctioneer), the City is declared the purchaser at the Upset Price.
Purchasing Property
- The successful bidder is required to have their SIN or BN, your corporate seal if required.
- Payment is to be in the form of cash or certified cheque for at least the upset price amount at the close of the Tax Sale.
- The balance owing must be received by 12:00 pm on the day of the Tax Sale.
- If full payment is not received by 12:00 pm on the day of the Tax Sale, the Collector again offers the property for sale.
Notifying Charge Holders
- The Collector is required by law to search all property titles and within 90 days after Tax Sale notify all registered charge holders shown on each property.
Redemption
- The original owner has one year after the property is sold at Tax Sale to pay the taxes and buy back their property. This is called redemption.
- All registered charge holders have full right to redeem the property.
- To redeem the property, the charge holder must remit the full upset price, plus interest on the purchase price at a rate set by the Province, within one year of the Tax Sale.
- If the property has been sold at Tax Sale and the City has been declared the purchaser, 50% of the upset price, plus interest may be paid as an instalment thus extending the redemption period by 11 months and 21 days. This applies only to property having improvements.
- As soon as the property is redeemed, the Collector will refund to the Tax Sale purchaser the purchase price, plus interest to the date of redemption
WAYS TO BUDGET
- Claim your homeowner grant
- Make a partial payment or set up online regular payments
- Investigate the Property Tax Deferment Programs
- Pay your Utilities before the deadline to receive the discount