Property owners received their 2015 assessment notices the first week of January from BC Assessment (BCA).

This notice is BCA’s estimate of a property’s value as of July 1, 2014, and for new construction or substantially renovated homes, the physical condition as of October 31, 2014.

BCA is the provincial Crown corporation responsible for determining and reporting property value estimates for the 1,974,120 properties in its database, an increase of 1% from 2014.

BCA has produced the assessment roll since 1974. Local and provincial taxing authorities will use the roll to raise $6.8 billion in property taxes in 2015.

Where you can view your assessment

BCA’s website includes e-valueBC at http://evaluebc.bcassessment.ca.

e-valueBC provides details about every property, including a photo, a property description (land and buildings), the total assessed value, the previous year value, the legal description and property ID.

e-valueBC lets users compare neighbouring properties and sample sold properties to decide whether their property has been correctly assessed.

Useful features on BCA’s website

BCA’s website offers useful features, including:

·         an interactive map of BC showing the percentage change for residential and for business property types by community, 2015 compared to 2014. View the map at www.bcassessment.ca/Pages/ChangeInAssessmentRollMap.aspx;

·         real estate market trend graphs with statistics such as median sales prices by quarter for single family homes and strata properties. Visit: www.bcassessment.ca/Pages/AssessmentRollInformation.aspx and select province-wide property trend graphs;

·         property identifiers (PID) and the legal descriptions; and

·         videos about BC’s 10 assessment areas at www.bcassessment.ca under Social Media.

BCA’s assessment and a REALTOR’S® assessment — why the difference?

BCA’s assessment and the market value determined by a REALTOR® may be different. Why?

Both BCA assessors and REALTORS® calculate market value by analyzing sales of comparable homes within a local market, and look at factors that affect value such as size of home, view, location such as on a busy or quiet street, number of bedrooms, construction quality, floor level, and garage or parking stalls.

Where every lot and every home on a street are typically the same, both BCA’s value and a REALTOR’S® value will be similar during stable market conditions.

Differences occur in neighbourhoods where lots have been rezoned or are different shapes and sizes, where architecture and views are unique, and where owners have made changes that BCA hasn’t yet taken into account.

Deadline to appeal assessment is February 2, 2015

Property owners who disagree with their assessment should do homework by:

·         comparing their assessment with neighbouring properties; and

·         contacting BCA at 1-866-valueBC (1-866-825-8322) and talking to staff who can make adjustments if there is an obvious error, for example if BCA included a complete renovation, when it was merely a spruce-up.

Property owners who decide to appeal their property assessment must complete a Notice of Complaint (Appeal) form available on www.bcassessment.ca. Under the For Public menu option, select Notice of Complaint (Appeal) Process or go directly to www.bcassessment.ca/public/Pages/AppealingyourAssessment.aspx.

The deadline to file the appeal is February 2, 2015.

Each year less than 1% of BC property owners appeal their assessment.

Note: you can’t appeal your taxes, you can only appeal your assessment.

For information about BC Assessment and to access e-valueBC visit: www.bcassessment.ca or phone 1-866-valueBC (1-866–825–8322) or contact Harriet Permut, Manager, Government Relations at: [email protected].

Source: BC Assessment

© Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver