Your municipality or county collects property taxes from property owners within the relevant region. Property taxes are one of the most important ways the government raises money to pay for things like schools, fire and police departments, libraries, streetlights and community centres.

Your municipality will send out a tax bill.  For example, the Halifax Regional Municipality sends a tax bill every six months. Payments are due at the end of April and the end of October. The Cape Breton Regional Municipality sends an interim tax bill in April and a final one in September. Please check with your local municipality for details in your community.

Most municipalities allow people to pay their property tax bill in several ways: online banking, online credit card payment, in-person with a cheque or money order, or as part of your mortgage payment.

Property taxes are calculated as a percentage of the value of the property. The value of a property or “assessed value” is determined by a not-for-profit organization called the Property Valuation Services Corporation (PVSC).

A property assessment notice is sent to property owners at the start of every year advising them of the current assessed property value for property (municipal) tax purposes.

Assessments are based on market value, which varies by community and type of home. The municipality sets tax rates, taking into account services provided (for example, fire, police, schools, sidewalks, transit) and mandatory contributions for services such as education and corrections.

Property taxes are based on the market value of the property. The market value is the price a willing buyer would pay a willing seller for the property. Any houses or buildings on a property affect its value. For example, a property with a house will usually have greater value than a property without a house.

All real property is assigned a market value assessment by professional assessors employed by Property Valuation Services Corporation, on behalf of the Province. This value is based on such factors as construction quality, location and age of the property. This value may be adjusted annually to reflect changes that could go up or down in the market value of property in your area.

Go here for more information about how PVSC values property.

You can appeal your property assessment if you disagree with it. Assessments are mailed out in January each year. You must appeal within 31 days of receiving your Assessment Notice in the mail or epost.

It is a good idea to contact PVSC before you decide if you are going to appeal your assessment. Contact PVSC toll free at 1-800-380-7775 or visit their website at www.pvsc.ca/en/home/howassessmentworks/appealinformation/default.aspx for more information about the appeal process.

You can appeal your assessment by filing an Appeal Form.   The Appeal Form is attached to your Assessment Notice, and is also online on the PVSC website.  Explain why you are appealing the assessment on your Appeal Form.   Sign and date the form and then send it to PVSC by mail, fax, email, or drop it off in a secure drop-box at one of PVSC's locations.   PVSC must get the Appeal Form by the date (deadline) indicated on your Assessment Notice.

The account will fall behind if your property taxes are not paid on time. This is called being “in arrears”. Arrears is money that is owed and should have been paid earlier. 

If this happens, you will be charged interest on the amount you owe. For example, in the Halifax Regional Municipality, the interest rate charged for accounts in arrears is 15% per year (as of 2024). That means if you owe $1,000, you would owe an additional $150 after one year – a total of $1,150.  The interest rate on arrears may differ in other communities across the province, so check with your local municipality.

If property taxes remain unpaid for more than one year or two years (depending on your municipality or county), the municipality has the option of selling the property at a tax sale or trying to sue you on the debt as an alternative to a property tax sale.

The municipality can sell your property at a public auction if your property taxes remain unpaid for more than one or two years, depending on where you live. These tax auctions or sales are open to the public.

The municipality must notify the owner and all lien holders about the upcoming tax sale. A “lien holder” is someone who has a right or potential claim against someone’s property. The lien holder is usually a bank, credit union, or another financial institution. 

The notice to the owner must be in a registered letter. The owner will get information indicating the following:

• the amount owed
• how much time is left to pay
• the date of the tax sale and
• estimated extra expenses that could be added to the total.

When it is impossible to notify the owner, a Tax Sale Notice is stuck on the property door.

At auction, the starting price for the property will be the amount of outstanding taxes, interest, and expenses owed to the government, which is usually much less than the property's market value.

If the property taxes have been unpaid for more than six years, the successful bidder at a tax sale will get a tax sale deed. 

If the property taxes have been unpaid for six years or less, the owner still has an opportunity to redeem the property within six months. Redemption cancels the certificate of sale. If the owner does not redeem the property, the title passes to the successful bidder through a Tax Sale Deed. 

Buying a property at a tax sale is a risky thing to do. If you are considering bidding for a property at auction, consult with a property lawyer first. 

A property lawyer can make sure that you understand the associated risks. They can also do a title search on the property to confirm whether the title is clear and whether there are liens registered against the property. Only bid on a property if you understand and accept the risks involved. 

Some of the risks associated with bidding on a property at tax sale are unavoidable. Some of them you can protect yourself against by consulting with a lawyer. Here are some examples of the risks associated with buying property at a tax sale:

• No pre-purchase inspection or walk-through. The property is purchased “as is, where is”. A property sold at auction cannot be checked with anywhere near the same level of detail as a property purchased on the market. 
• No property disclosure statement. There may be significant issues with the property, which you need to take financial responsibility for as the new owner. 
• Regulatory compliance issues. You might think you got a bargain, but there may be costly regulatory compliance issues waiting for you when you take ownership of the property. A common example is environmental issues (oil spills, wastewater, hazardous materials,etc). If you purchase a property with issues like that, they become your problem to deal with (and you pay the bill). 
• Neighbour disputes. Sometimes the properties that end up at tax sale are marginal properties with disputed boundaries. Purchasing a property like that can mean that you’re walking into a protracted dispute with the surrounding property owners. This is another risk that you can protect yourself from by consulting with a lawyer. 
• Wasted time. Many of the properties that are put up for auction are redeemable by the owner or mortgage holder. That means the results of the auction aren’t actually final. If the property taxes have been unpaid for six years or less, the owner still has an opportunity to redeem the property within six months. Redemption cancels the certificate of sale. Also, the auction process usually involves sealed bidding and because the minimum bid is often so low, there’s a lot of guesswork involved in making a bid and people often guess wrong. 
• Rising prices. The minimum bid at auction can still be quite low, but it’s very common for the successful bid to end up being pretty close to fair market value. Basically, there are fewer and fewer “deals” to be had at tax sales. The prices are rising, but the risks are the same. 

If you are thinking about bidding on a property at a tax sale, consult with a property lawyer. You can review the local rules applicable to the tax sale before bidding.

Paying property taxes is an essential part of owning property. Municipalities across Nova Scotia offer some tax relief options, including tax payment deferrals (postponements), payment plans (paying in smaller monthly amounts), or exemptions for those with a lower income.  Please check with your local municipality to find out what options are available.

Property tax relief options tend to vary from one municipality to another. However, the Nova Scotia Property Tax Rebate for Seniors is available province-wide. Seniors who get or who are eligible to get the federal Guaranteed Income Supplement or Allowance can get a 50% rebate of what they paid on their previous year's property taxes, up to a maximum of $800. If you are a senior living in your home and your taxes are paid in full, you can apply for the rebate by contacting Service Nova Scotia toll-free number at 1-800-670-4357.  Applications for the rebate are accepted each year from July 1 to December 31.

There are also various municipal tax exemption programs for households with low taxable incomes.

For example, the Halifax Regional Municipality offers the Affordable Access Program, which may help some low-income property owners with their tax bill payments. 

Although the owner is responsible for their tax bill, someone else can pay it on their behalf. If someone other than the owner pays the tax bill, that person does not get ownership rights. That means they don’t become an owner just because they paid the tax bill. At most, the person has a claim against the owner (or their estate) for the money they put toward the taxes.

Property Valuation Services Corporation (PVSC)
Website: www.pvsc.ca
Telephone: 1-800-380-7775

Your municipality

Halifax Regional Municipality (Halifax)
Taxes Website: www.halifax.ca/home-property/property-taxes
Telephone: call 311 or 902-490-5016

Cape Breton Regional Municipality (CBRM)
Website: www.cbrm.ns.ca/Telephone: 902-563-5025 or 902-563-5080 (Citizen Service Centre)

Click here to find your municipality.

Legislation that applies:

Nova Scotia Assessment Act
Nova Scotia Municipal Government Act