Toronto's residential property tax burden in regional and national context, against campaign claims of skyrocketing taxes and tax restraint.
Receipt . Last reviewed 2026-05-07 . Next review 2026-06-07
“Living in Toronto has never been more expensive. Over the past three years, property taxes have skyrocketed by almost 25%: we had a 7% in 2023, 9.5% in 2024, and a proposed 6.9% increase for this year.”
Brad Bradford, Toronto City Councillor (Ward 19, Beaches-East York), post on X, 2025-01-13.source.retrieved 2025-01-13
“This proposed budget will mean change in Torontonians' lives today. Change means libraries open seven days a week, transit fares frozen while TTC service increases and thousands more kids fed meals at schools and summer camps.”
Olivia Chow, Mayor of Toronto, statement to reporters at 2025 budget launch (covered by Global News).source.retrieved 2025-01-13
The receipt
Toronto's headline rate of property tax increase has run well above CPI for three consecutive years (2023 to 2025), but the city's effective residential tax rate remains among the lowest in the GTA and below most peer Canadian cities. Higher Toronto assessed values mean a low rate can still produce a comparable or larger dollar bill than higher-rate suburbs.
Exhibit 1.Toronto's 2025 total residential property tax rate is lower by mill rate than most 905 municipalities and Mississauga.
Toronto's 2025 combined residential rate (city tax 0.592653%, City Building Fund 0.008434%, education 0.153000%) totals 0.754087%. Mississauga's 2024 effective residential rate was approximately 0.946649%. Markham, Vaughan, and Richmond Hill all sit lower than Mississauga but the GTA suburbs that match or exceed Toronto's rate include Oshawa, Whitby, Pickering, and Orangeville.
Toronto 2025 total residential rate: 0.754087%. Mississauga 2024: ~0.9466%. On a $750,000 assessed home: Markham $5,103, Vaughan $5,354, Mississauga ~$7,100.
T1City of Toronto, 2025 Property Tax Rates; corroborating Zoocasa GTA property tax rates 2024 (link)
Caveat.Mill rate comparisons do not control for assessed value differences. Toronto's higher median assessed values mean a lower rate can still yield a higher dollar bill on a comparable detached home. MPAC values are also frozen at 2016 levels for the current cycle, distorting cross-city comparisons.
As of 2025-01-13
Exhibit 2.The cumulative 2023 to 2025 nominal residential property tax increase is roughly 24%, materially above cumulative CPI inflation over the same window.
Bradford's tweet states the year-over-year residential increases were 7% (2023), 9.5% (2024), and 6.9% (2025). Compounded, this is approximately 24.6%. Cumulative CPI inflation over 2023 to 2025 averaged closer to 8% (Statistics Canada CPI All-items Toronto CMA, single-digit annual rates). Industry summaries place the three-year average annual property tax increase at 7.8% versus 2.8% inflation.
Compounded 2023 to 2025 residential property tax increase: ~24.6% nominal. Average annual: 7.8%. Average annual CPI: ~2.8%.
T1City of Toronto Budget Implementation backgrounder; corroborating Toronto Taxpayer history (link)
Caveat.Headline percentage applies to the residential levy, not to total household tax burden. Many Torontonians also faced steep utility (water, solid waste) increases and the City Building Fund levy. The pre-2023 decade was characterized by Tory-era restraint that ran below inflation, so part of the post-2023 spike reflects deferred catch-up.
As of 2025-01-13
Exhibit 3.Toronto's residential rate sits in the middle of the major Canadian peer city pack, well below Ottawa and above Vancouver.
Comparable 2024 city rates: Vancouver ~0.296%, Toronto ~0.715%, Calgary ~0.708%, Ottawa ~1.196%. Vancouver's lower rate is offset by far higher assessed values, producing comparable dollar bills on detached homes. Ottawa's rate is roughly 1.6x Toronto's by mill rate.
2024 effective residential rates: Vancouver 0.29681%, Toronto 0.71529%, Calgary 0.70844%, Ottawa 1.19564%.
T2Zoocasa, A National Snapshot of Canada's 2024 Property Taxes (link)
Caveat.Rate comparisons across provinces understate Toronto's burden because Ontario education tax is bundled into the residential rate, while some provinces handle education funding separately. Zoocasa is a real estate brokerage, not a primary government source, though their inputs are municipal websites.
As of 2024-06-25
Exhibit 4.Peer-reviewed research on Toronto's Municipal Land Transfer Tax shows the tax was largely capitalized into lower house prices and reduced sales volumes, not paid only by buyers.
Dachis, Duranton, and Turner (2012) used a regression discontinuity design at the Toronto border to study the 2008 introduction of the 1.1% MLTT. They found a 15% decline in sales volume and a price decline approximately equal to the tax, with welfare loss of about $1 for every $8 in tax revenue. The economic incidence was shared between buyers and sellers and via foregone transactions.
Sales volume decline: 15%. Price capitalization: approximately equal to tax (1.1%). Welfare loss to revenue ratio: ~$1 per $8.
T3Dachis, B., Duranton, G., Turner, M. A. (2012). The effects of land transfer taxes on real estate markets: evidence from a natural experiment in Toronto. Journal of Economic Geography, 12(2), 327 to 354. Re-cited in C.D. Howe Institute Commentary 364 (link)
Caveat.The study examines the original 2008 MLTT introduction at lower rates, not the 2023 and 2025 luxury-home tier expansions. Incidence estimates may differ at higher tax brackets and under tighter supply conditions.
As of 2024-12-20
Exhibit 5.The 2024 residential property tax increase of 9.5% was the largest single-year increase since the 1998 amalgamation.
Toronto's 2024 budget passed a 9.5% residential property tax increase, exceeding all annual increases since the 1998 City of Toronto amalgamation. The previous decade under Mayor Tory averaged increases at or below the rate of inflation.
2024 residential increase: 9.5%. Pre-2023 decade (Tory era): typically 2 to 3% range, often at or below CPI.
T2CBC News, Toronto city council approves largest property tax hike in more than 25 years; corroborating Fraser Institute, Toronto property tax hikes a brief history (link)
Caveat."Largest since amalgamation" is true in nominal year-over-year terms, but cumulative real-terms erosion under Tory-era restraint set the baseline lower than peer cities, complicating direct historical comparisons.
As of 2024-02-15
Exhibit 6.The 2026 mayor's budget proposes a 2.2% residential property tax increase, the smallest in four years and below the projected 2026 inflation rate.
Mayor Chow's 2026 budget keeps residential property tax increases at 2.2%, ending the streak of 6 to 9% increases. The reduction is funded in part by reserve drawdowns, which Bradford has criticized as deferring future increases.
2026 proposed residential increase: 2.2%. Compared to 2023 (7%), 2024 (9.5%), 2025 (6.9%).
T2CBC News, Toronto mayor's 2026 budget keeps 2.2% property tax increase (link)
Caveat.Reserve-fund use to soften 2026 rates means 2027 budget pressure may rise, depending on revenue tools approved (e.g., expanded MLTT luxury tier). The 2026 rate is below CPI projections, making it a real-terms decrease.
As of 2026-01-15
What the data cannot settle
Whether Toronto's tax level is "right" depends on service expectations, which is a values judgment, not a data question. Property tax incidence research (Mieszkowski, Zodrow, Oates) shows incidence depends on capital mobility assumptions and the tier of analysis. Cross-city mill rate comparisons cannot adjudicate whether Toronto residents receive proportionally more or fewer services per dollar than 905 residents. MPAC's frozen 2016 assessment cycle distorts year-over-year and cross-municipal comparisons.