Property Taxes
BC Assessment
BC Assessment produces independent, uniform and efficient property assessments on an annual basis for all property owners in the province. BC Assessment provides market value information on properties within the Village of Burns Lake to the municipality as the basis for calculating annual property taxes.
BC Assessment has area offices located throughout the province to provide convenient access for property owners to obtain assessment information. The head office is located in Victoria and is responsible for corporate services and support to the various area offices. For more information about your property assessment, visit www.bcassessment.ca.
Property Tax Information
General Tax Information
The Village of Burns Lake sends annual property tax notices to all property owners. Property taxes cover the calendar year, are sent to homeowners in mid May, and are due the first business day after July 1st.
Each year, the BC Assessment Authority produces independent and uniform property assessments for all property owners in the province. BC Assessment provides market value information on properties within the Village of Burns Lake to the municipality as the basis for calculating annual property taxes. Municipal Council uses this information to determine the annual tax rate.
A portion of the amount the Village of Burns Lake collects each year is collected for other taxing authorities including the Provincial Government (School Taxes & Police), Regional District General & Special, Regional Hospital District, BC Assessment Authority, and the Municipal Finance Authority. The municipality has no control over the rates for these agencies. These taxes are paid to the specific agency, even if property owners do not pay their annual property taxes.
Burns Lake properties are levied property taxes, the most important single source of municipal revenue that pays for municipal services including recreation facilities, parks and trails, and fire services. These taxes are the Municipal General Tax portion of your tax notice.
If your payment is received after the due date, a ten percent (10%) late payment penalty is added to unpaid current year taxes, including unclaimed Home Owner Grants.
If you have not received your property tax notice, please contact the Village of Burns Lake Office at 250-692-7587. It is the responsibility of the property owner to pay property taxes by the due date to avoid penalty, regardless of whether a notice was received.
Property Tax Information
Property taxes are payable by the penalty date printed on the tax notice. If your payment is late, a ten percent (10%) penalty is added to unpaid current year taxes, including unclaimed home owner grants.
Regardless of how you pay your taxes, please remember:
- To avoid penalty, your payment and home owner grant application must be received by the penalty date.
- The home owner grant must be applied for each year.
- It is not necessary to make a payment in order to claim the grant.
- Postmarks on mailed remittances will not be considered as date of payment.
- Mail lost or delayed by the post office will be subject to penalty.
Applying for your Home Owner Grant
Effective 2021, homeowners in municipalities can no longer apply for the home owner grant through their municipal office. Everyone now applies directly to the province using a new online system that’s easy to use. The system will be available in early 2021.
Although the application process has changed, program details and eligibility requirements have not changed.
The new system helps ensure homeowners receive their full grant entitlement, including the additional grant for seniors or persons with a disability. It also helps process applications faster and reduce fraudulent applications.
Important: Early applications are not being accepted at this time. To be notified when the system goes live, subscribe to our What’s New in BC Property Taxes page. For more information about the home owner grant visit gov.bc.ca/homeownergrant
Call the Village of Burns Lake office to speak to staff who will assist you through the process changes.
Unclaimed grants constitute unpaid current taxes and are subject to penalties. A ten percent (10%) penalty will be applied on the amount of the Home Owner Grant. To avoid the penalty on Grant portion of your taxes, the Home Owner Grant must be claimed even if a payment on outstanding taxes is not made.
If your mortgage company or other agent pays your property taxes, it is your responsibility to claim the grant before the due date.
Tax Rates
Each year, after adoption of the financial plan, but before May 15, Municipal Council must, by bylaw, impose property taxes for the year by establishing tax rates (or mill rates) for:
- the municipal revenue proposed to be raised for the year from property taxes, as provided in the financial plan, and
- the amounts to be collected for the year by means of rates established by the municipality to meet its taxing obligations in relation to other local governments or other public bodies (i.e. Regional District and Regional Hospital District).
Property Tax Deferment Program
If you are already in the Tax Deferment program, please submit your Deferment Renewal Form and your Home Owner Grant Application together with your payment for user charges before the penalty date to the Village of Burns Lake Office.
Ways to Pay Your Property Taxes
- Prepayments You may make prepayments of $5.00 or more at any time. The maximum prepayment amount allowed is the net taxes paid from the previous year. You can only prepay your taxes if you have no unpaid taxes from previous years. Contact the Village of Burns Lake Office with any questions.
- Pay In Person Bring your tax notice and payment to the Village of Burns Lake Office at #15 3rd Avenue. We are open 8:00 am to 4:00 pm from Monday to Friday. Acceptable payment methods include:
- Personal cheques – payable to The Village of Burns Lake*
- Post-dated personal cheques*
- Money Orders
- Bank Drafts
- Cheques issued by your Credit Card provider
- Debit Card
- Cash
- Credit Cards are accepted for property tax payments online only. Click here to pay online.
*Dishonoured cheques constitute non-payment of taxes and will be subject to penalty, interest, and a $25.00 returned cheque fee.
- Online Payment If you bank at the Bulkley Valley Credit Union, CIBC or RBC, you can pay your propery taxes online. Simply add the Village of Burns Lake as a payee in your online bill payment function. DON’T FORGET THAT YOU MUST STILL CLAIM YOUR HOMEOWNER’S GRANT. See “Applying for your homeowner’s grant.”
- 24 Hour Mail Slot There is a secure Mail Slot located at the entrance to the Village of Burns Lake Office that is accessible seven days a week.
- By mail Mailed payments must be received no later than the penalty date printed on the tax notice to avoid the late penalty charges. Post dated cheques are acceptable.
Send your payment to: The Village of Burns Lake PO Box 570 Burns Lake BC V0J 1E0 - With your mortgage payment Your financial institution can pay your taxes on your behalf if you have made such an arrangement through your mortgage agreement. Contact your mortgage company for further information.
- At the local Credit Union You can pay your property taxes at the Credit Union if you are a Credit Union customer. For your payment to be considered on time, you must have a receipt from your bank with a date stamped on or before the tax due date. If making a payment on the due date, please check your bank stamp to ensure the correct date is shown. Receipts stamped after the penalty date will be subject to a 10% penalty. Please check with the Credit Union regarding bank cut off times to avoid penalty.
- Tax Deferment You may be eligible to defer your current property taxes. The British Columbia Tax Deferment Program is a loan program that allows you to defer your annual property taxes on your home if you meet certain criteria. Only current year taxes are eligible for deferment. You will still be responsible to submit your Home Owner Grant to the Village of Burns Lake Office by the due date as well as pay your annual refuse charge if applicable to avoid a 10% penalty. Applications received after the property tax due date will be subject to a 10% penalty as well as any denied applications. For detailed information on this program visit the Deferment Office Website, or contact the Village of Burns Lake Office at 250-692-7587.
NOTE: Failure of an intermediary such as a financial institution, Canada Post, or a lawyer to remit payment and/or the home owner grant application on behalf of the owner is a private matter for resolution between the parties involved and is outside the Village of Burns Lake’s authority and responsibility.
Changing Your Address
Unless a new address is provided, we will rely on address (and ownership) records of the Land Title Office, provided to us by the BC Assessment Authority.
Again, it is your responsibility to inquire if you don’t receive your property tax notice by the middle of June.
New Homeowners
When you buy a property, you become liable for all outstanding taxes. You can not claim the home owner grant on the property in the year you buy it if the seller paid the taxes in full and did not claim the grant, or if you already claimed a grant on another property.
Name Change
Additional Resources
- Contact the Village of Burns Lake
- BC Assessment Authority, Suite 102-3350 Douglas Street, Victoria BC V8Z 7X9, telephone 250-479-7131.
- Home Owner Grant Administration
- Property Deferment Branch
How Your Property Is Taxed
Each public agency with taxing authority sets a budget for the amount of tax revenue it requires. Tax rates vary among property classifications and are calculated by dividing the budget needs of the agency by its assessment base.
The appropriate tax rate is then applied to individual property assessments, and the tax levy is calculated. Tax exemptions for some categories of property – farms, for example – are calculated as part of the assessment before the tax rate is applied.
Municipal property tax rates are set by the Village of Burns Lake. The revenue from these taxes is used for public services such as fire protection, street lighting, road and drainage maintenance and parks and recreational facilities. Your tax notice may also include local services levies calculated on a parcel basis or on the frontage of your property, rather than on its assessed value.
School tax rates applicable to residential properties are set by the provincial government. Residential school taxes are based in part on the number of residences, as well as the total assessed value of residential property in the province, creating a different tax rate in each school district.
School tax rates applicable to non-residential properties are also set by the provincial government. The rates vary by property classification, but are uniform throughout the province within each non-residential property class.
Other taxes shown on the tax notice raise revenues on the budget needs set by local government bodies such as the Regional District, Regional Hospital District, BC Assessment Authority, and Municipal Finance Authority.
Medical Certificates
If you are applying for the additional Home Owner Grant under the Medical requirements, please discuss with the Village of Burns Lake Office before you take the Medical Certificate to the doctor.
Property Tax News
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