Your MPAC property assessment is the value MPAC puts on your home, and it feeds directly into your property tax bill. If you think it’s wrong, you can check it online in AboutMyProperty and ask MPAC to review it through a free Request for Reconsideration, filed by the deadline printed on your notice.
What a Property Assessment Notice is
The Property Assessment Notice is the letter (or online notice) from the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation, MPAC, that states the assessed value and the tax classification of your property. It also lists ownership details and explains why something changed, such as new construction, a renovation, a change of owner or a new address.
Not everyone gets one every year. MPAC sends notices when values or property details change, and when a province-wide update happens. If nothing about your property changed, you may not receive anything, and that’s normal.
Current value assessment and the valuation date
Ontario uses current value assessment. MPAC estimates what your property would have sold for on a fixed date, in its current state and condition. For the 2026 tax year that date is still January 1, 2016, because the planned reassessments were postponed.
That detail trips people up. MPAC isn’t valuing your home at today’s market price. It is asking what this home, as it stands now, would have fetched on that 2016 date. So a comparable sale from last month tells you little unless you can connect it to 2016 values.
How the assessment relates to your tax bill
Toronto explains the bill in one line: the phased-in assessed value from MPAC is multiplied by the City tax rate (with the City Building Fund levy) and the education tax rate set by the province. Assessed value times rates equals property tax.
The City’s 2026 budget release used an average assessed home of $692,140, with a combined residential increase of about 2.2%, roughly $91.53 a year. To estimate your own bill, try the property tax calculator.
A quick illustration with a made-up rate. If the combined rate were 0.8% (for the example only, not the real rate), each $10,000 of assessed value would cost $80 a year. Cutting an assessment by $50,000 would then save about $400 a year. Real savings depend on the actual rates and on how your value compares with the rest of your municipality.
The assessment matters beyond the regular bill. Toronto’s Vacant Home Tax, for example, is 3% of the assessed value, so an error there costs more. There is a separate Vacant Home Tax dispute guide, and the Vacant Home Tax calculator shows the amounts.
Checking your assessment in AboutMyProperty
AboutMyProperty is MPAC’s free online tool. You sign in with your roll number and a verification code from your notice, and you can see the details MPAC holds about your property. It also has a Browse My Neighbourhood section where you can look at nearby properties and save the ones you want to compare in a My Favourites Report.
Start with the facts, not the value. Check these first:
- Living area and lot size
- Number of bedrooms, bathrooms and storeys
- Age, construction type and basement finish
- Garage, pool or other features that may be listed but don’t exist
- Property class and ownership details
A wrong square footage or a garage you never built is the easiest kind of mistake to prove.
Request for Reconsideration
A Request for Reconsideration, or RfR, asks MPAC to look at your assessment again. It’s free, and the owner or the owner’s representative can file it. The deadline is printed on your notice. For the 2026 tax year MPAC gives it as March 31, but always trust the date on your own notice.
The fastest route is AboutMyProperty, where you can attach files and follow the status. You can also mail the RfR form, or a letter with your 19-digit roll number, your contact details and your supporting documents.
MPAC sends a receipt after you file. The result usually comes in writing within 180 days, and MPAC can take up to 60 more if it needs the time. If your assessment changes, you get a new notice.
What to include with your request
Say what you think is wrong and give evidence. MPAC lists these as useful:
- Photos showing the condition of the property
- Comparable sales information
- A recent appraisal
- Repair estimates for significant damage
- Zoning documents
Be specific. “My assessment is too high” gives MPAC nothing to check. “The record shows a finished basement, but the basement is unfinished, and here are photos” does.
Appealing to the Assessment Review Board
If you still disagree after the RfR decision, the next step is the Assessment Review Board, an independent tribunal. For residential, farm and managed forest properties you must file an RfR first. Other property types can go straight to the Board.
You have 90 days after MPAC notifies you of its RfR decision to appeal, and the exact date is in MPAC’s response letter. Forms and fee information are on the Board’s pages at Tribunals Ontario. We haven’t confirmed the current fee, so check it there before you file.
What usually helps
Errors in the facts about your property are the strongest ground, because they can be shown with photos, plans or measurements. Comparable sales can help too, but they need to be similar homes in your area, and they have to say something about value as of January 1, 2016. Sales from years after that need care.
Comparing your assessment with similar neighbouring homes in AboutMyProperty can also show if yours stands out. If a nearly identical house next door is assessed noticeably lower, that’s worth including.
What rarely helps is arguing that your tax bill is too high or that the market has dropped since 2016. The bill also reflects tax rates, which an assessment review can’t change. We don’t know how often reviews succeed, so treat any promise of a reduction with suspicion. See also the Land Transfer Tax calculator, and the full set of tax calculators.
Sources
- MPAC, Notices and Notifications
- MPAC, How to file a Request for Reconsideration
- MPAC, Request for Reconsideration and Appeals fact sheet
- City of Toronto, Property Assessment and Appeals
- Ontario, Property tax
Common questions
What is the valuation date for my MPAC assessment?
Last reviewed: . Figures come from the official sources listed above. How we check the numbers and our editorial policy.