Residential Taxation
Nova Scotia Assessment classifies property into one of four classes, as part of the assessment process. The classification is based on a property's use and whether it meets the requirements for the class as specified by the Assessment Act.
The four property classes are as follows:
- Residential
- Resource
- Commercial
- Business Occupancy
Residential
- includes single-family residences, multi-family residences, duplexes, apartments, condominiums, nursing homes, seasonal dwellings, manufactured homes, and some vacant land
- the Residential Rate for the Fiscal Year 2008-2009 is $0.59 per $100 of assessment
- the 2008 Taxable Residential Assessment for the Municipality is $153,227,500
Resource
- includes farm property (land and building used for agricultural purposes), forest property owned by a person who owns less than fifty thousand acres, land of a municipal water utility, excluding the structure, community fisherman's service building occupied and used by boat owners who are licensed commercial fishermen and the land used in connection
- the Resource Rate for the Fiscal Year 2008-2009 is $0.59 per $100 of assessment
- the 2008 Taxable Resource Assessment for the Municipality is $26,179,600
Split Classification
It is possible for a property with several distinct uses to fall into more than one class. For example, commercial and residential space might be combined in one building. A property may also be a combination of residential, farm and forest land.
In these cases, Property Valuation Services Corporation determines the share of the value of the property attributable to each class.
General Assessment Questions
Q. What is a property assessment?
A. A property assessment is an estimate of a property's market value as of a specific date.
Q. How are assessments calculated?
A. Unlike property appraisals which are done on individual properties, assessments are calculated using a mass appraisal approach. Assessment has a very large database in which a record is kept of the characteristics of every property in the province. This information gets updated through various means: building permits, property inspections and sales investigations. The Department analyzes sales of properties and runs a statistical analysis to determine what different types of properties are selling for in different areas. Then the information is applied to properties with similar characteristics to determine their market value as of a specific date in time.
Q. Is my property assessed every year?
A. Yes. Your property is assessed every year as of a certain date. Annual assessments enable the Department to update assessment values to reflect more current market trends and to more accurately account for changing real estate market conditions.
Q. Why are assessment values based on dates two years back? Why not base them on this year's market value?
A. Unlike property appraisals, which are done one at a time and based on the market on the exact date of the appraisal, property assessments are done on a mass appraisal basis. All property assessments are based on the same date to ensure fairness. It takes time to collect data on properties, investigate property sales and analyze and interpret that information for every property in Nova Scotia. Therefore, all property assessments are based on market value at the 1st of January two years before the current assessment year. 2007 property assessments are based on market value of January 1, 2005.
Q. What information can I have access to?
A. Property Valuation Services Corporation has a huge data base that contains detailed information on every property in the province. Typical information they have on a residential property would include the size of the land, the building's age and measurements, the number of rooms, bathrooms, quality of materials used, type of roof, and any unique qualities your property or house has that may affect its market value. All of this information is available to the owners of the property. 2007 assessment notices for residential properties include a Personal Identification Number (PIN) along with the Assessment Account Number (AAN). By entering this information at Property Assessment Online you can look up assessment information about your property.
Q. How is my property assessment different from an appraisal?
A. A property assessment is an estimate of a property's market value as of a specific date. The 2007 assessment is an estimate of your property's market value at January 1, 2005. If you were to get an appraisal for your property today, it would be an estimate of your property's market value as of today's date.
Q. How does the PVSC get its data?
A. Property Valuation Services Corporation has a very large database in which a record is kept of the characteristics of every property in the province. Typical information they have on a residential property includes the size of the land, the building's age and measurements, the number of rooms, bathrooms, quality of materials used, type of roof, and any unique qualities your property or house has that may affect its market value. PVSC gets this data through various means, including building permits, property inspections and sales investigations. For example, if your property is under construction, a physical inspection is done to ensure that they have the most up-to-date information.
Q. Why does PVSC assess properties at market value?
A. According to the Nova Scotia Assessment Act, all properties must be assessed at market value. The market value approach to assessment is the most equitable and widely accepted system in North America. Every province in Canada uses this approach, as do most assessment jurisdictions in the United States and most other countries. Market value is widely accepted for the following reasons:
- It is easily understood by most property owners
- It is a transparent process, allowing property owners to test fairness by comparing their assessment to sales of similar properties.
- Market value allows the same appraisal standards and principles to be applied to all residential properties across Nova Scotia.
Q. How do I find out more information about assessments?
A. Information is available online at Property Assessment Online. If you have other questions or wish to obtain more information about your property assessment, please contact your local PVSC office.