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Nova Scotia property tax assessments are now in the mail and property taxes will be going up across the board.
“2023 assessments reflect the market activity we saw throughout 2021,” says Lloyd MacLeod, PVSC’s Director of Assessment. “The real estate market was active with demand among homebuyers and rising costs of building materials and labour. This is reflected in the upward movement of property values across the province.”
The total value of the 2023 Assessment for both commercial and residential properties is $147.4 billion. That marks an increase of a little over $22.8 billion or 18.3 per cent.
In addition to property sales in 2021, this year’s assessment increase also considered the physical state of properties as of December 1, 2022, including new construction, renovations, demolitions, and impacts from Hurricane Fiona.
“Overall, commercial property values have increased as land and building costs rise,” continues MacLeod. “That said, the value of hotel, motel, and other accommodation properties remains relatively flat as they recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.”
CAP Program Offers Some Relief
This year’s rate for the provincial government’s Capped Assessment Program (CAP) is 7.7 per cent.
The CAP rate reflects the annual Consumer Price Index (CPI) for Nova Scotia. The CAP limits the annual increase in taxable assessment for eligible residential properties to no more than the CPI rate for the year. About 63 per cent of residential assessments, 381,898 property accounts, qualify for CAP for 2023.
Property owners should expect their assessment notices to arrive over the next few days, anyone wishing to appeal their assessment must do so by February 9.
