Property Taxes & Utilities
Property taxes are payable on or before the first business day after July 1 of each year. Your annual property tax notice will have this day printed as the due date.
Unpaid current year taxes will have an automatic 10 per cent penalty applied after the due date, which includes unclaimed homeowner grants.
*** Disclaimer: Bylaws are provided online for research and educational purposes only. The PDF documents are not official copies of our bylaws and these documents not admissible in a court of law. The District of Elkford will, in no event, be held liable or responsible for damages of any kind that arise from reference to, or use of, these bylaws online. Please contact info@elkford.ca to request official copies for usage in a court of law. ***
Tax Rates
How to Pay
Property tax notices and residential utility notices are mailed out in May each year.
For your convenience, we offer several ways to pay. You can pay by visiting the District Office at 744 Fording Drive and paying by debit, cash, cheque or post-dated cheque.
You can also pay through your financial institution’s online banking system. Simply search for “District of Elkford” (or "Elkford Taxes" or "Elkford Utilities") and register us as a payee in your online bill payments. To register your property taxes, you will require your property’s roll number (beginning with 517), and to register your utilities, you will require your utility account number (this number begins with 000 for quarterly business utilities or 001 for annual residential utilities).
Please note that we do not accept credit cards as a payment method at the District Office. We do accept online payments with select credit cards (Visa and MasterCard) through the secure OptionPay System (with applicable third party fees). Note that all processing fees are charged by OptionPay and are not received by the municipality. View the OptionPay Tiered Rate table here.
Payments made through OptionPay will take two to five business days to be received by the municipality, so please allow for this processing time while making your payment. Please keep in mind not to exceed your daily and/or transaction processing limit when making credit card payments. For optimal performance, please use Google Chrome or Firefox web browsers when accessing OptionPay.
Ready to make your payment by credit card? Click on the logo below or visit https://www.optionpay.ca/payment/district-of-elkford/index.php.
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Home Owner Grants
Note that eligible homeowners across British Columbia can no longer apply for their home owner grant through their local municipal office, but instead must apply directly to the Province of British Columbia. Eligibility requirements remain the same. To avoid penalties and interest, you must apply before the tax due date.
What is a home owner grant? The home owner grant reduces the amount of property tax you pay for your principal residence. The grant is available to homeowners who pay property taxes to a municipality, or to the province (if they live in a rural area). Most eligible property owners qualify for the regular grant; but if you meet certain other eligibility requirements, you may also qualify for an additional grant.
Visit www.gov.bc.ca/homeownergrant to claim your homeowner grant or call 1.888.355.2700 to speak with a live agent.
Property Assessments
Property assessments are conducted by BC Assessment. You should receive your assessment notice at the beginning of January each year and the deadline for appeal is January 31. Your assessment is what your property taxes will be based on. The assessment you receive for the current year is based on the market value of your property as of July 1 of the prior year.
Visit bcassessment.ca to look up your property or to find out more information.
The BC Assessment office completing Elkford’s assessments is located in Cranbrook, and they can be reached at 1.800.556.9229 or eastkootenay@bcassessment.ca.
Change of Address
Visit bcassessment.ca to update BC Assessment of any changes to your mailing address.
Before completing their change of address form, be sure to have your property assessment or assessment roll number with you. If you have any issues filling out this form, please contact your local assessment office.