Tax Bills, Certificates and Statements

You, your lawyer, or your financial institution can request a tax certificate.

Fees may be applicable for other documents, such as letters or account analysis.

Tax bills

Interim tax bills are mailed in late February.
Final tax bills are mailed in late July.

Tax installments are usually due on the last business day of March, May, August, and October.

Property owners are responsible for paying property taxes, even if they haven’t received their property tax bill. Read more about penalty and interest charges for late payments.

Owners who pay their property taxes through their mortgage company will receive an interim and final tax bill to retain for their records.

Tax certificate

Contact ServiceNorfolk to request a tax certificate.

The Tax Certificate can be useful when used during the sale or purchase of the property.
In addition to taxes levied and outstanding, the Tax Certificate advises when property owners are enrolled in a program that requires some action before the closing date, such as a pre-authorized payment plan or a tax deferral program.
The Tax Certificate also identifies whether the property owner has other debts to the municipality that have yet to be added to the tax roll.
A minimum of three business days is required to issue a Tax Certificate.
Property owners, who must supply proof of identity, or those who present a Power of Attorney or Authorized Representative form, may receive verbal tax account and property information. Conditions apply.
Please see User Fees for current tax certificate fees.

Statement of account and tax bill reprint

Contact ServiceNorfolk to request a statement of account.

Property owners may request a Statement of Account/tax bill reprint.
A Statement of Account does not provide the same information as an official Tax Certificate (see above).
A tax statement or a tax bill reprint fee per property per year/bill. Please see current User Fees.

Documentation for income tax

Your property tax bill does not provide proof of payment; however, a statement of account can be provided for a small fee.

Unless this is specifically requested by Revenue Canada you do not need to provide a tax bill. You require only the total amount paid to record on your return.

To obtain a statement of account, visit ServiceNorfolk or call 519-426-5870 or 226-NORFOLK, extension 0.

A letter can be prepared if you require documentation for income tax on property you no longer own. A user fee applies. Please email propertytaxes@norfolkcounty.ca or call 519-426-5870 or 226-NORFOLK, extension 1666.

Supplementary tax bills

Supplemental tax bills are issued for new, omitted, or updated property assessments based on information provided by the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC).
Supplementary taxes are in addition to the amounts already billed for property taxes and can apply to a maximum of three tax years.
Supplementary tax bills are issued in the same manner as interim or final tax bills, generally splitting the amount due between two installments. Typically, supplementary taxes are billed any time after the final tax billing has been issued.

If you have received a supplementary bill and you are participating in a pre-authorized payment (PAP) plan for payment of your taxes, the PAP is not recalculated when a supplementary bill is issued. You will need to make separate payments for the supplementary bill according to the due dates provided.

Other fees and charges

Reminder Notice Fee

A fee will be added to the tax account upon issuance of a tax reminder notice. These are issued three times a year for any property with an outstanding balance. Please see User Fees for the current tax reminder notice fee.

Property Tax Account Title Administration Fee

The Property Tax Account Title Administration Fee is charged to offset the costs required to update ownership and title information in the County’s tax system. Similar fees are charged by other municipalities in Ontario.

Once the changes have been processed in the County’s tax system, a notice showing all outstanding property taxes on the account and the administration fee will be mailed to the new owner. To avoid late charges (1.25% per month), payment of the Property Tax Account Title Administration Fee must be made before the first day of the month following the fee application.

Unpaid utility charges and liens

The Municipal Act permits Municipalities to apply amounts for certain public utility fees and charges to the tax roll.

Any amounts that are invoiced by utility providers and unpaid by the user can be applied as a lien on the property taxes and collected in the same manner as taxes on the property. In addition, once added to the tax roll, these utility amounts can be included in the cancellation price of a property listed for tax sale.

Provincial legislation under the Municipal Act provides that charges for the public utility supply may be added to the taxes for the property to which the utility was supplied, including the arrears of the tenants of an owner’s property or the previous owner. The owner’s responsible for ensuring that the tenant is paying the water and wastewater charges. Additionally, unpaid utility charges are liens on the property, not the owner.

An account adjustment fee will be added to the tax account when water and wastewater arrears are applied to the tax account. The fee is charged in accordance with the User Fee By-law.

Along with water and wastewater charges, Accounts Receivable and By-Law amounts may be applied to your tax roll if they remain unpaid 30 days after the invoice date.

Section 398 of the Municipal Act:

The treasurer of a local municipality may, and upon the request of its upper-tier municipality, if any, or of a local board whose area of jurisdiction includes any part of the municipality, shall add fees and charges imposed by the municipality, upper-tier municipality or local board, respectively, to the tax roll for the following property in the local municipality and collect them in the same manner as municipal taxes: In the case of fees and charges for the public utility supply, the property to which the public utility was supplied.
In all other cases, any property for which all of the owners are responsible for paying the fees and charges. 2001, c. 25, s. 398 (2); 2006, c. 32, Sched. A, s. 170 (2).

Priority lien status

According to the Municipal Act, Section 398, fees and charges imposed by a municipality or local board under the Act for specific services which are added to the tax roll have priority lien status, which means that they form a lien against the property that can be collected in the same manner as taxes. The municipality has the authority to collect amounts owing on the property tax account before mortgage companies and financial institutions, as well as other levels of government.

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