Toronto has no rain tax. The City says Council directed staff to stop work indefinitely on a stormwater charge and a water service charge, and water bills rose in 2026 by the ordinary 3.75% instead. For a household using 230 cubic metres a year, that adds about $40 and puts the estimated annual cost at $1,118.
What the stormwater charge was meant to be
Most homes pay for water through one metered rate. Rain that lands on your roof and driveway never passes the meter, yet it flows into storm sewers and on to Lake Ontario. A stormwater charge would bill for that runoff separately, most likely by the amount of hard surface a property has.
The City studied the idea for years. Council considered an implementation plan in 2017 and asked for consultation in July 2021. A public consultation ran in spring 2024 and was paused that April. Toronto never set a rate, so any dollar figure you saw attached to a rain tax was speculation.
What Council decided
A staff report dated January 14, 2025 recommended suspending both charges indefinitely. Staff cited feedback from earlier consultations and from talks about a commercial parking levy, plus a plan to offer incentives that cut runoff. The City’s project page now says Council directed exactly that.
Indefinitely does not mean never. Staff stop work until Council asks them to restart. We could not open the decision document, so we cannot give the meeting date or vote.
The rain barrel pilot instead
In September 2025, Council directed a pilot that subsidizes rain barrels and downspout diverters. A barrel costs $8.95 plus tax and a diverter $1.00 plus tax, one of each per eligible property, with free delivery. That comes to $11.24 with 13% HST.
The first allocation sold out in about nine hours, and the program page currently says it is sold out. Council added money to the 2026 operating budget to bring in more stock. Check the page for restocks.
The 2026 water rates and your bill
Council approved the interim increase on December 16, 2025, effective January 1, 2026. The first-block rate is $4.8629 per cubic metre if you pay on time and $5.1188 if late. A lower second block of $3.3219 applies only to industrial customers using more than 5,000 cubic metres, so a home never reaches it.
Multiply your cubic metres by the rate. The average household of 230 cubic metres pays $1,118.47. Other examples at the on-time rate:
- 150 cubic metres: $729.44
- 300 cubic metres: $1,458.87
Paying late on the average bill adds $58.85, for $1,177.32. Solid waste is billed separately by bin size, up 3.75% for 2026: small $317.85, medium $385.86, large $524.06 and extra-large $607.86. An average household with a medium bin pays roughly $1,504 a year for both. You can test your own numbers in the Toronto water bill calculator.
Basement flooding help that already exists
The Basement Flooding Protection Subsidy Program gives eligible owners of single-family to fourplex homes up to $3,400 once. It pays 80% of the invoice, capped at $1,250 for a backwater valve and $1,750 for a sump pump, plus up to $400 to cap a foundation drain. A $1,500 valve invoice, for example, returns $1,200.
Staff floated larger subsidies and a private-property incentive of up to $5,000 for rain gardens or permeable pavement. Those were proposals for a later report, so do not count on them.
What it means for your budget
With no stormwater charge, runoff costs stay inside water rates and the general budget. The 2026 property tax rise is about 2.2%, or roughly $91.53 on an average assessed home of $692,140. Use the property tax calculator for your own assessment.
Renters and condo owners often pay water through rent or fees, so a rate rise reaches them only as the building passes it on. The Toronto cost of living calculator shows how water fits with other monthly costs. Related tools: the Condo Ownership Cost calculator, plus all our Toronto calculators.
Sources
- City of Toronto, 2026 interim rates and fees
- City of Toronto, Water Rates and Fees
- City of Toronto, Rain Barrel Savings Program
- City of Toronto, staff report on stormwater runoff (January 2025)
Common questions
Is there a rain tax in Toronto?
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Can I still get a subsidized rain barrel?
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Last reviewed: . Figures come from the official sources listed above. How we check the numbers and our editorial policy.