Frequently Asked Questions

If your property is classified as residential, farm, managed forest or conservation land:

1. You MUST first file a Request for Reconsideration (RFR) with MPAC within 120 days of receiving your Notice.
2. You MUST receive their Notice of Decision BEFORE filing an appeal with the Board.
3. Your deadline to file with the ARB is 90 days from the mailing date of MPAC's Notice of Decision.

For all other property types:

1. You may file an appeal directly with the ARB or you may file a RFR with MPAC.
2. If you file a RFR and do not reach a settlement with MPAC, you may then file an appeal with the ARB. Your deadline to file with the ARB is 90 days from the mailing date of MPAC's Notice of Decision.
3. If you file directly with the ARB, your deadline to file with the ARB is March 31 of the tax year for annual assessment appeals or 90 days from the notice date for other types of assessments.

For more information, please see Filing an Appeal and the Assessment Act.

For residential, farm, or managed forest properties the fee is $ 132.50 For commercial, industrial and other properties the fee is $318. There is a $10 discount if you e-File (Assessment Act appeals only) and pay online. Filing a RFR with MPAC is free. ARB fees are not determined by MPACs property classification. According to the Assessment Act, 8.1 the ARB has the authority to set the fees for the appeals.

The ARB encourages potential appellants to resolve their matter tough the Request for Reconsideration (RFR) process with the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC). The RFR process with MPAC is free, and in many cases, can help to avoid the ARB process altogether.

The Board will NOT waive or refund all or part of a filing fee, absent appropriate circumstances. A waiver or refund request should be directed to ARB.Registrar@ontario.ca.

This is the date that the property's current value assessment is determined. Current value means the amount a willing buyer would pay a willing seller for your property on the valuation date. The valuation date for the 2017-2020 tax years is January 1, 2016. The increases in your property value will be phased in over those four years.

The Assessment Review Board (ARB) hears appeals on property assessments and some property tax appeals. In a court like setting, the Board hears evidence about the appeal and makes decisions based on the evidence and the law.

Please direct questions about your property assessment and/or your Property Assessment Notice to the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC). The ARB does not prepare or send out property assessments. Please contact MPAC at 1-866-296-6722.

Please direct questions about your property tax bill to your municipality. The ARB does not send out property tax bills. Please contact your municipality.

Your municipality is responsible for collecting property taxes. If you have any questions about your property taxes, including any amount owing to you, contact your municipality.

The ARB hears appeals about property assessments and some tax matters. Please speak to the agency that is responsible for farmland registration. Contact the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs c/o Agricorp at 1-888-247-4999 or contact@agricorp.com for more information.

You can represent yourself at a hearing or you can have someone else represent you. If you choose a representative, then you must give him/her signed written authorization.

The Law Society Act requires that anyone providing legal services in Ontario requires a licence, unless the group or individual is not captured by the Law Society Act or is exempt by a Law Society by-law. There is an exemption that allows for persons who are not in the business of providing legal services to occasionally provide assistance to a friend or relative for no fee. For information on licensing please refer to the Law Society of Upper Canada's website www.lsuc.ca or call 416-947-3315 or 1-800-668-7380.

As per the assigned Schedule of Events for your property and appeals, you must file all required documents/evidence that you will be relying on at the hearing in advance with the Board. You will not be able to submit for the first time your evidence at the hearing.

• Detailed property information such as location, lot size, square footage, age of building, and the number of stories;
• Detailed information, as above, on comparable properties in the same area as your property;
• Sales information on your property and comparable properties;
• Assessed values of your property and comparable properties;
• Photographs of your property and comparable properties;
• Any other evidence you think will help prove your case;

The Board holds hearing events to give you an opportunity to prove why your assessment is wrong. If you do not want to proceed with your hearing, you can withdraw your appeal. For more information, please see our "Withdrawing An Appeal" Information Sheet here.

If you did not file an appeal but still received a notice, please contact the Board and have the notice ready.

The Board and MPAC are two separate organizations. If you have a question for a MPAC assessor or any other person at MPAC, please contact them at 1-866-296-6722. You should speak to MPAC about your assessment before the hearing to understand how they determined your assessment.

MPAC generally provides appellants access to www.aboutmyproperty.ca. If you are not prepared for your hearing, you may request that your hearing be postponed. To do this, you must send an Expedited Board Direction form to the Board.

For information about your property, please contact MPAC.

The name that is on the assessment roll is the name that receives documentation from the Board. If you are no longer the owner of the property, please call MPAC at 1-866-296-6722 and ask them to update their records.

Under very rare and specific circumstances the Board may accept a late appeal. For more information, please see Rule 26 of the ARB Rules of Practice and Procedure.

There are different types of assessments. There is the Annual Assessment Notice (under Section 40 of the Assessment Act) there is the Assessment Change Notice (Under section 33 and 34 of the Assessment Act) and there is the Amended Assessment Notice (under section 32 of the Assessment Act). Sometimes these notices are received at different times of the year. If your property is residential, farm, managed forest or conservation land you still need to file a Request for Reconsideration with MPAC and must do so within 120 days of receiving your Notice.

For all other properties, such as commercial or industrial, you must file either your appeal or RFR within 120 days of receiving your notice.

There is nothing further the Assessment Review Board can do at this time. However, you may file an application for judicial review with the Divisional Court.