Property Taxes

Property taxes are an annual payment covering January to December of the current year. Almost any owned property in the municipal boundaries is subject to taxes, the majority of which are homeowners and business or commercial property owners. Your annual tax bill is calculated based on the assessed value of the property, which is done provincially by BC Assessments, and mailed to homeowners in January of that tax year. That assessed value is multiplied by the tax rate that is set by each agency. The Village of Queen Charlotte sets the municipal tax rate and water and sewer frontage tax rates, which is the only portion of your property tax bill that is retained by the Village. The police, school, hospital taxes, library levy and North Coast Regional District taxes are forwarded by the municipality to each agency that provides vital community services.

Municipal property taxes are the most important source of revenue that help to provide the services the municipality is legislated to offer such as water & sewer services, road maintenance, emergency response and other facilities and services the Village runs, including the Youth Centre, cemetery, municipal campground, parks & recreation facilities.

Every year, Council & staff create operating and capital project budgets to ensure the services provided by the municipality are accounted for.

• The 2022 Budget Process occurred from January to May 2022.
  • The 2022 – 2026 5-Year Financial Plan & Tax Rates bylaws were discussed by the Budget Committee in a series of meetings including the February 28th Committee of the Whole & the April 4th, 2022 Public Meeting both of which were open to the public and broadcast virtually on Zoom and Facebook.
    • Committee of the Whole (Feb 28th) - Agenda - Minutes -
    • Public Meeting (April 4th) - Recording - Presentation Slides - 
  • The Financial Plan bylaw & Tax Rates bylaw went before Council for 3 readings on April 20th and were adopted at the May 2nd Council Meeting meeting.
    • April 20th Regular Meeting - Agenda - Minutes -
    • May 2nd Regular Meeting - Agenda - Minutes - 
  • This process is the same every year and public is welcome to provide feedback to Council at any time during this process.

2022 Property Tax notices were mailed on May 27th, 2022 and are due Monday, July 4th.

Click here to view payment options.

Unpaid Property Taxes

• A 5% late penalty is applied to unpaid current year taxes after July 4th 2022.
• A 2nd 5% late penalty is applied to unpaid current year taxes after August 31st.
• An unclaimed home owner grant is considered outstanding taxes and the above penalties apply.
• Failure to pay property taxes by December 31st will put a property tax account into arrears and that unpaid amount will start to accrue daily interest. After another full year, unpaid arrears will become delinquent. Delinquent properties (properties with taxes unpaid for 2+ years) will be put to tax sale by the municipality if not paid by the September deadline.

Assessment Appeals
BC Assessments has an appeal process for BC residents who feel their property assessment is inaccurate. The deadline to file a Notice of Complaint is January 31st annually. Information on BC Assessment appeals can be found directly on their website: https://info.bcassessment.ca/Services-products/appeals

Property Tax Deferment
Property Tax deferment is a low interest loan program that helps qualified B.C. homeowners pay their annual property taxes on their principal residence. If you’re unable to pay your property taxes this year, you may be able to defer your property taxes if you qualify for either the Regular Program or Families with Children Program. For information on eligibility and to apply, visit: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/taxes/property-taxes/annual-property-tax/defer-taxes

Homeowner Grants
Homeowner Grants are a provincial program that incentivizes homeowners by offsetting a portion of the property taxes on the home you live in. On Haida Gwaii, the maximum value of a provincial homeowner grant is $770 for the general population, and $1045 for seniors over 65 and other qualified participants, but it can vary depending on the assessed value of your property.

​​​​​​​As of 2021, Homeowner grants are administered by the province. You can no longer apply for your grant on the back of your property tax notice. You must apply online with the Province. Visit: www.gov.bc.ca/homeownergrant. If you are unable to apply online, call 1-888-355-2700 for assistance.

An unclaimed Home Owner Grant is considered outstanding taxes. In order to avoid penalties you must apply for your homeowner grant with the Province by the tax due date. This must be submitted every year.

Utilities

Utility payments are quarterly payments that homeowners, businesses, or any lot/structure that is connected to the water and/or sewer system pays to use this infrastructure. Garbage collection fees are also included on utility bills, however this service is provided by North Coast Regional District and the municipality forwards these fees directly to them. The Village of Queen Charlotte has a flat-rate billing system for water and sewer as is typical of small communities with limited resources and a small user base. 

• In early 2022, Council went through a water billing review and updated rates, categories and water frontage taxes. These changes were reflected on quarterly utility notices starting in April 2022.
• Utilities are billed quarterly in January, April, July & October.
• Payments are due March 15th, June 15th, September 15th and December 15th.
• Penalties are applied as a 3% lump sum to late or outstanding utility payments and will appear on your next bill.
• 2022 utility balances must be paid by December 31, 2022 or the balance will transfer to your property tax account in January 2023, and accrue daily interest.

There are multiple ways for homeowners to pay utility bills.

Click here to view payment options.

Paperless Billing Options

Unfortunately the paperless billing option ended at the end of 2021. If you signed up for paperless billing, you do not need to make any changes, you will receive a paper bill for quarterly utilities in January 2022 as normal. After December 31st 2021, access to your online account was deactivated.

Payment Options

There are multiple ways you can pay a property tax or utility bill:

Many residents opt to set up automatic monthly payments to cover or reduce their municipal bills. Automatic payments can be set up online with your bank (Northern Savings or Scotiabank), in the office for credit card payments (user fees apply), or providing the municipal office with post-dated quarterly or monthly cheques. Additionally you can apply cash payments to your account in person at any time.