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Important Notice

May 1, 2024

Effective June 1, 2024, you can now observe Zoom hearings at the ARB without making a special request. The ARB will provide seamless and easy access to links for its Zoom hearings in advance through the e-calendar of scheduled events. For more information, visit Observing a Hearing.

ARB Resources

Learn more about appeal types and processes at the Assessment Review Board (ARB) with our resources.

Navigate through ARB resources using the tabs.

1. Glossary
2. Reports and Statistics
3. Frequently Asked Questions

1. Glossary

Learn more about appeal types and processes at the Assessment Review Board (ARB) with our glossary.

Use e-Services to file appeals and check appeal status at the ARB.

Go to e-Services
Additional Resources

Assessed Value (Assessment): The value of a property (lands and buildings) for taxation purposes.

Assessment Act: The law that governs the way property is assessed in Ontario.

Assessment Office: One of the local Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) offices in Ontario, which administer property assessment.

Assessment Region: One of the 28 regions in the province whose boundaries coincide with those of the counties, regional municipalities or districts in their area.

Assessment Review Board (ARB): An independent tribunal established by statute to hear assessment appeals.

Assessment Roll: An annual list of the assessed values of all properties in a municipality, which includes the names of the property owners or tenants and their addresses.

Commencement Date: The commencement date is the day from which all due dates in an assigned schedule of events, are calculated and begin.

Current Value: The amount of money a property would realize if sold by a willing seller to a willing buyer in an at arm’s length transaction.

Deeming: if an appeal is open within the current value assessment (CVA) cycle on March 31st then an appeal will be administratively created by the ARB. This deemed appeal is free and no filing fees are required. For example, an appeal was filed for the 2017 tax year and remained unresolved by March 31st, 2018. The ARB will create a free 2018 appeal. Deeming only applies to assessment appeals.

Disclosure: All parties must provide a copy, in paper or electronic form, of all relevant documents in their possession, control or power that they will be using to support their case to all other parties in the proceeding, except for privileged documents.

Exempt Property: Property which is assessed but not taxed. Generally, properties which are exempt from property taxes provide services for the public good, such as schools, churches, and hospitals. Other charities and philanthropic organizations not mentioned in the Assessment Act may be given exempt status if certain criteria are met.

Land: As defined in the Assessment Act, land includes buildings, trees, minerals and land covered with water. The terms “property,” “real estate” or “real property” are more generally used.

Local Municipality: A city, town, village or township.

Lower-Tier Municipality: A municipality which is part of a county, region or district municipality. Examples are the City of Mississauga, a lower-tier municipality within the Regional Municipality of Peel and the Town of Gravenhurst, a lower-tier municipality within the District Municipality of Muskoka.

Omitted Assessment: An assessed property which has not been recorded on the assessment roll. When an omitted assessment is added to the assessment roll, property taxes can be collected for the current year and, if applicable, for any part or all of the previous two years.

Property: See ‘real property’ or ‘land’.

Property Assessment Notice: A form sent to property owners and tenants by the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation containing information about their property and its assessed value.

Property Assessor: An employee of the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation who determines the assessed value of a property.

Property Class: One of seven standard classes of property used for assessment and taxation purposes: residential, multi-residential, commercial, industrial, pipe line, farm and managed forests.

Property Tax: The combined tax on a property made up of the municipal (local) tax and, if applicable, the region or county tax and the school tax.

Property Type: The categorization of a parcel of land in the official plan that determines zoning.

Real Property: Land and buildings, often called “property,” “real estate” or “land.”

Reassessment: The process of creating a new base for property taxation by updating assessments to reflect more current values.

Roll Number: The 19-digit number assigned by the Assessment Commissioner to an assessable property for identification purposes. This number appears on all notices issued by the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation and the ARB. For example, 1904-031-200-01100-0000 represents:

  • 19 – County or Municipal District
  • 04 – City or Town
  • 031 – Ward
  • 200 – Area Subcenterision
  • 01100 – Street Subcenterision
  • 0000 – Plate number (formerly used in realty/business assessments)

Schedule of Events: A schedule of due dates and processes that parties must comply when working an appeal.

School Support: A term which refers to the tax support for school boards.

Single-Tier Municipality: A municipality that is not part of a county, region or district (e.g., the Town of Smiths Falls or the City of Windsor).

Supplementary Assessment: A change to the assessment of a property made during a taxation year due to a renovation or new construction, or a change in status of a property which ceases to be exempt from taxation.

Taxable Property: All property in a municipality which is not exempt from taxation.

Tax Rate: A rate set by municipalities for each property class based on the revenue required to provide local services, such as firefighting, garbage collection and snow removal. Property tax may be calculated by multiplying the tax rate for the property class by the assessed value of the property.

Taxation Year: The calendar year (January 1st to December 31st).

Upper-Tier Municipality: A county, region or district municipality (e.g., Simcoe County, the Regional Municipality of Halton and the District Municipality of Muskoka).

Valuation Date: This is the date that the property’s value is determined. The valuation date for the 2009 tax year is January 1, 2008.

2. Reports and Statistics

View current and previous reports and statistics from the Assessment Review Board (ARB).

Use e-Services to file appeals and check appeal status at the ARB.

Go to e-Services
Additional Resources

Annual Reports

Current Statistics

Previous Statistics

Quarterly Statistics

  • ARB Quarterly Statistics April 1, 2022 – March 31, 2023 (PDF or Excel )
  • ARB Quarterly Statistics April 1, 2021 – March 31, 2022 (PDF )
  • ARB Statistics Q3 (as of December 31, 2021) (PDF or Excel )
  • ARB Statistics Q2 (as of September 30, 2021) (PDF or Excel )
  • ARB Statistics Q1 (as of June 30, 2021) (PDF or Excel )
  • ARB Statistics Q4 (as of March 31, 2021) (PDF or Excel )

Requests for Review

3. Frequently Asked Questions

See frequently asked questions and answers at the Assessment Review Board (ARB).

Use e-Services to file appeals and check appeal status at the ARB.

Go to e-Services
Additional Resources

I disagree with my assessment from MPAC. How do I appeal to the ARB?

If your property is classified as residential, farm, managed forest or conservation land:

  1. You MUST first file a Request for Reconsideration (RFR) with the MPAC within 120 days of receiving your Notice.
  2. You MUST receive their Notice of Decision BEFORE filing an appeal with the ARB.
  3. Your deadline to file with the ARB is 90 days from the mailing date of MPAC‘s Notice of Decision.

For all other property types:

  1. You may file an appeal directly with the ARB or you may file an RFR with MPAC.
  2. If you file an RFR and do not reach a settlement with MPAC, you may then file an appeal with the ARB. Your deadline to file with the ARB is 90 days from the mailing date of MPAC‘s Notice of Decision.
  3. If you file directly with the ARB, your deadline to file with the ARB is March 31 of the tax year for annual assessment appeals or 90 days from the notice date for other types of assessments.

For more information, see Filing an appeal and the Assessment Act.

What are the appeal filing fees?

For residential, farm, or managed forest properties the fee is $132.50 For commercial, industrial and other properties the fee is $318. There is a $10 discount if you e-File (Assessment Act appeals only) and pay online. Filing an RFR with MPAC is free. ARB fees are not determined by MPACs property classification. According to the Assessment Act, 8.1 the ARB has the authority to set the fees for the appeals.

What if I can’t afford to appeal?

The ARB encourages potential appellants to resolve their matter through the Request for Reconsideration (RFR) process with the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC). The RFR process with MPAC is free, and in many cases, can help to avoid the ARB process altogether.

Can I get a refund of the appeal filing fee?

The ARB will NOT waive or refund all or part of a filing fee, absent appropriate circumstances. A waiver or refund request should be directed to ARB.Registrar@ontario.ca.

What is a valuation date?

This is the date that the property’s current value assessment is determined. Current value means the amount a willing buyer would pay a willing seller for your property on the valuation date. The valuation date for the 2017-2020 tax years is January 1, 2016. The increases in your property value will be phased in over those four years.

What does the ARB do?

The ARB hears appeals on property assessments and some property tax appeals. In a court-like setting, the ARB hears evidence about the appeal and makes decisions based on the evidence and the law.

Why is my property assessment this amount?

Direct questions about your property assessment and/or your Property Assessment Notice to MPAC. The ARB does not prepare or send out property assessments. Contact MPAC at 1-866-296-6722.

Why is my property tax bill this amount?

Direct questions about your property tax bill to your municipality. The ARB does not send out property tax bills. Contact your municipality.

My assessment was adjusted long ago. Why did I not receive any refund from my property taxes?

Your municipality is responsible for collecting property taxes. If you have any questions about your property taxes, including any amount owing to you, contact your municipality.

I missed my farmland registration. What can I do now?

The ARB hears appeals about property assessments and some tax matters. Speak to the agency that is responsible for farmland registration. Contact the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs c/o Agricorp at 1-888-247-4999 or contact@agricorp.com for more information.

Do I have to hire a lawyer to appear before the ARB?

You can represent yourself at a hearing or you can have someone else represent you. If you choose a representative, then you must give him/her signed written authorization.

The Law Society Act requires that anyone providing legal services in Ontario requires a licence, unless the group or individual is not captured by the Law Society Act or is exempt by a Law Society by-law. There is an exemption that allows for persons who are not in the business of providing legal services to occasionally provide assistance to a friend or relative for no fee. For information on licensing, refer to the Law Society of Ontario’s website or call 416-947-3315 or 1-800-668-7380.

Do I bring my evidence to the hearing?

As per the assigned Schedule of Events for your property and appeals, you must file all required documents/evidence that you will be relying on at the hearing in advance with the ARB. You will not be able to submit for the first time your evidence at the hearing.

What kind of evidence should I file with the ARB for my hearing?

Evidence you should file with the ARB for your hearing includes:

  • detailed property information such as location, lot size, square footage, age of building, and the number of stories
  • detailed information, as above, on comparable properties in the same area as your property
  • sales information on your property and comparable properties
  • assessed values of your property and comparable properties
  • photographs of your property and comparable properties
  • any other evidence you think will help prove your case

I don’t want to proceed with my appeal. What do I do?

The ARB holds hearing events to give you an opportunity to prove why your assessment is wrong. If you do not want to proceed with your hearing, you can withdraw your appeal. For more information, see our “Withdrawing An Appeal” Information Sheet.

Why did I receive a notice of hearing from the ARB?

If you did not file an appeal but still received a notice from the ARB, contact the ARBβ€―and have the notice ready.

Can I speak with an assessor before my hearing?

The ARB and the MPAC are two separate organizations. If you have a question for an MPAC assessor or any other person at MPAC, contact them at 1-866-296-6722. You should speak to MPAC about your assessment before the hearing to understand how they determined your assessment.

MPAC did not provide any information for me, so I can’t present any evidence at the hearing. What should I do?

MPAC generally provides appellants access to www.aboutmyproperty.ca. If you are not prepared for your hearing, you may request that your hearing be postponed. To do this, you must send an Expedited Board Direction form to the ARB.

For information about your property, contact MPAC.

I sold my property, so why am I still getting notices of hearings and decisions?

The name that is on the assessment roll is the name that receives documentation from the ARB. If you are no longer the owner of the property, call MPAC at 1-866-296-6722 and ask them to update their records.

I missed the deadline to file my appeal. What can I do?

Under very rare and specific circumstances, the ARB may accept a late appeal. For more information, see Rule 26 of the ARB Rules of Practice and Procedure .

I received a Change Notice and/or an Amended Notice from MPAC after the March 31st deadline. Can I still appeal?

There are different types of assessments. There is the Annual Assessment Notice (under Section 40 of the Assessment Act) there is the Assessment Change Notice (Under section 33 and 34 of the Assessment Act) and there is the Amended Assessment Notice (under section 32 of the Assessment Act). Sometimes these notices are received at different times of the year. If your property is residential, farm, managed forest or conservation land you still need to file a Request for Reconsideration with MPAC and must do so within 120 days of receiving your Notice.

For all other properties, such as commercial or industrial, you must file either your appeal or RFR within 120 days of receiving your notice.

I have gone through the Request for Review process and it has been denied. What is my next available option?

There is nothing further the ARB can do at this time. However, you may file an application for judicial review with the Divisional Court.

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