Rural Property Tax Notices to be Mailed Soon by Province

Property tax notices will soon be arriving in mailboxes for rural property owners in the RDEK.

“The RDEK is not a taxing authority, so for all rural properties in the East Kootenay, your tax notices are sent from the Surveyor of Taxes in Victoria,” explains RDEK Chief Financial Officer Holly Ronnquist. “The Province collects the provincial-rural, school and regional district taxes and then sends the regional district its portion on behalf of the rural residents.” 

The RDEK’s portion of the tax notice for rural property owners is found in the local services section of the notice and accounts for only a portion of the overall tax bill.  The specific amount depends on how many local RDEK services the property owner receives, such as fire protection, water or sewer, which are only charged to the residents within the service area receiving that service.  Those individual services will be listed separately on the tax notice. All RDEK rural property owners will see one line item on their tax notice for the general services, which include everything from 9-1-1 service and libraries to building inspection, solid waste and recycling. This one is named slightly differently for each area but is generally something similar to “AREA B – East Kootenay.” 

“If people have questions about how much they are paying for a specific RDEK service, such as their water or recycling, we are happy to answer those questions; however, questions about the provincial services on their tax notice should be directed to the Province,” explains Ronnquist. Rural property owners who have questions about their property tax bill and homeowner grant should contact the Surveyor of Taxes at 1-888-355-2700. Questions about their property assessment should be directed to the BC Assessment Authority at 1-866-825-8322.

Unlike regional districts, municipalities within the East Kootenay are taxing authorities. Property owners within an incorporated municipality should contact their city hall, district or village office for property tax information, unless the question is regarding the RDEK Local Services section of their tax notice.

When it comes time to pay their property taxes, rural property owners pay the Province, not the RDEK.  This can be done through any Service BC location or online. Claiming the homeowner grant is also done online, and directions are included in each tax notice or on the Provincial government’s website by searching “property taxes in rural areas.”

The Province expects to have rural property tax notices mailed out by May 31st. The deadline to pay property taxes in BC is July 2, 2024.

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