As new
homeowner, your home is one of your most important investments. Like any
investment, it is crucial to have on ongoing assessment of your home’s value.
Accessing your annual property assessment
BC Assessment is responsible for providing you with the assessed value of your property on an annual basis.
Each January, we deliver an Assessment Notice to you that informs you of the updated total value of your property. This includes providing the separated values of your property's land portion and the value of your actual constructed home structure (buildings). View this short video to learn more about how BC Assessment determines your property's assessment.
You can access your property's assessed value anytime by simply entering your address on our online 'Find your property assessment' service.
Register your property with BC Assessment
Sign up for a free, customized account to access advanced property search functions for your property across all your online devices.
With an online account, you will be able to:
- Access your property's annual assessed value, 10-year historical values and sales history
- Check the monthly updated sales of the homes in your neighbourhood to get a ongoing sense of your home's changing value
- Interactive map features for searching and browsing properties
- Create and save property comparisons/favourite properties for comparing property values with your own property.
- Search, view, save and compare details for any property in British Columbia
Already have an account? Log in
What you need to know about your assessment
As homeowner, your property is most likely classified as "Class 1 – Residential". Depending on the use of your property, you may also qualify for other property classifications.
July 1 valuation date
- Property assessments are updated annually and are only a snapshot in time.
- Based on the market value as of July 1 each year. This is same date used for all properties in B.C.
- When you receive your annual Assessment Notice in January, it will be based on what your property could have sold for in the local real estate market on July 1 of the previous year.
- To determine your home's current assessed value at any particular time, it's best to consult a realtor or private appraiser for the actual value in the most current real estate market for your neighbourhood.
October 31 physical condition and permitted use
- Any changes to your property, such as home renovations, will be factored into your next assessment as of October 31.
- If your property is rezoned as of October 31, this will also impact your next assessment.
- If you change the use of your home as of October 31 to include a business or other non-residential use, then this may impact your next assessment and classification type.
Your property assessment & property taxes
Our property assessments are used by local governments to calculate the distribution of property taxes used to finance important community services.
BC Assessment's role:
- Deals solely with the assessment and classification of properties and has no authority or control over taxes or tax rates
- Provides you with your individual assessment, your annual assessment change in value as well as the average change for your property classification for the entire local jurisdiction (e.g. municipality)
- Provides all the property assessments within your local jurisdiction to your local municipality or taxing authority
Your local taxing jurisdiction's role (e.g. municipality)
- Each year, your local jurisdiction approves a budget to finance the expenditures related to the local operations and services of your community.
- The necessary tax rates and tax distribution are calculated to ensure adequate revenue for your local community.
- Tax notices are prepared and mailed to all property owners in the spring of each year.
- Your taxes are collected and your community is funded for the year.
How assessments impact taxes?
An increase or decrease in your property assessment does not necessarily result in a corresponding increase or decrease in your property taxes.
The most important factor is not how much your assessed value has changed, but how your assessed value has changed relative to the average change for your property class in your municipality or taxing jurisdiction.
You can find your municipality or taxing jurisdiction's average change listed on your annual assessment notice or via BC Assessment's online interactive map.
Learn more about Property Assessments and Property Taxes: A not-so complicated relationship.
Addressing concerns about your assessment
As a homeowner, you are an important customer of BC Assessment.
Provide us with corrections/updates to your property information
If you disagree with the market value assessment of your property, contact us with your questions and concerns before January 31 upon receiving your annual Assessment Notice.
Appealing your property assessment
If, after talking to us, you still disagree with your property's value, you may request an independent review before a Property Assessment Review Panel (PARP).
A formal appeal, referred to as a Notice of Complaint, must be submitted no later than January 31. As a homeowner, it is important to understand that you cannot appeal your taxes. Neither the Assessor nor the PARP can consider taxes when establishing the assessment value of your home.
Learn more about the assessment appeal process.
Read our new homebuyer brochure for more information about BC Assessment
