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Calculation hints

Last updated on February 16, 2021

Most property tax estimates are fairly straightforward if only one property class is involved and the taxes are based on total land and improvement values.

However, areas like the Okanagan, Cariboo, Fraser-Fort George and Peace River also calculate local service taxes on improvement values only and, in the Okanagan, on land values only.

The sections below provide hints on using the online calculator for situations requiring more than one calculation:

 Farm

Property that is classified as a farm by BC Assessment which includes a residence is more complicated than most calculations. Various exemptions apply to farm assessments in the rural areas of the province and two sets of tax rates apply.

Farm land is fully taxable for provincial rural tax ($0.50/$1,000 of assessed value). School and hospital taxes have a 50% value exemption. This means for provincial rural tax purposes, the tax applies to the full assessed value, while for school tax purposes, the taxable value would be half the total assessed value.

The farm residence is exempt for provincial rural purposes but is fully taxable for school and local service taxes. Where there is an additional assessment for residential land and/or a second residence, these values would be subject to normal taxation for general and school/hospital values at residential tax rates.

Therefore, to estimate property taxes for a farm, several steps are required:

  1. Enter the taxable value of the farm land for general purposes in the calculator. Select only the provincial rural tax rate from the tax rate table to calculate that portion of the taxes. Note the resulting tax amount.
  2. Enter the farm land assessment for school purposes in the calculator and select the school and local service tax rates from the tax rate table. Click on calculate and note the resulting amount.
  3. Enter the farm residence assessment in the calculator and select the residential school and local service tax rates from the tax rate table. Calculate and note the resulting amount.

Add the amounts from the three calculations to determine the total estimated taxes.

 Agricultural land reserve

Land within the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) receives a 50% value exemption for school and hospital taxes but is fully taxable for provincial rural tax. Any buildings are assessable and taxable for all purposes at the tax rates for the applicable property class.

To estimate property taxes for ALR land, follow these steps:

  1. Enter the total land and building value in the calculator and select the provincial rural tax rate from the tax rate table. Calculate and note the resulting tax amount.
  2. Enter 50% of the land assessment for school/local services taxes, together with the building values. Select the appropriate school and local service tax rates from the tax rate table. Note the resulting amount.

Combine the two calculated tax amounts to get the total tax estimate.

 Taxes calculated on land or improvement only

If the tax calculation you are performing involves land only taxes (L) or improvement only taxes (I), one or two additional steps are required:

  1. Identify those tax rates that have an (I) - improvements or (L) - land, at the end of the name of the levy. These are also identified by a VAC code of G for improvements or F for land. Do not include these rates in the first calculation of land and improvement taxes.
  2. Enter the total land and improvement assessments in the calculator field and select the appropriate tax rates and click on the Calculator button. Note this tax amount.
  3. Enter the improvement value in the calculator and select the tax levies to be applied against only the improvement values. Note this tax amount.
  4. Follow the same process for any land-only levies and note this amount.

Add the calculations together to get the total estimated taxes.