A guide to appealing your BC Assessment value
Every January in BC, BC Assessment sends its valuations to property owners. These letters form the basis of property tax values on real estate across the province. They are based on many factors, but sometimes the assessed value may come as a shock to you. If this is the case, and you feel the assessment is incorrect, you can file an appeal.
Why your BC Assessment value may not be what you expect.
To help equip yourself for the best chance of success during an appeal, it’s best to review some reasons why your assessed value may not be what you expected. BC Assessment bases its valuations on the following factors:
- The location of the property. That is, how desirable is the place it’s located?
- The size of the property. Is it a tiny house or a multi-room mansion?
- The size of the lot. Is it a small lot, or a massive multi-acre estate?
- View from the home. A mountain view is worth more than a line of dumpsters.
- The property age. Is it newly built or an outdated structure? It could also be historically valuable.
- Home add-ons such as carports, garages and decks.
- The sales’ prices from similar homes in your area.
In essence, that means that surrounding properties can have an impact on your property value, in addition to your own property. For example, if all your neighbours improve their properties by renovating their homes, upgrading landscaping and similar efforts, this could increase your assessed value as a knock-on effect. In situations like this, filing an appeal to show that you didn’t undertake similar efforts could help your appeal succeed.
