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 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.

Payment Options

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.

1. Click on the “Register / Sign In” below.
2. Click on “Register” on the upper right of the screen.
3. Complete the required fields.
4. Click “Register”. Once registration is complete a new screen will appear.
5. Click on your Name on the upper right hand corner of the screen.
6. Under “Need to Add an Account”, select PT-Property Taxes.
7. 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.
8. Click on “Save Account”.
9. You account is now saved and you can add additional properties or utility billing accounts under the same profile.
10. 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