{
  "id": "house-tax-by-municipality",
  "category": "City finances",
  "title": "Municipal tax on a representative house, City of Victoria and the Capital Region",
  "geography": "City of Victoria, with every Capital Region municipality in the Province’s Schedule 704",
  "scope": "city",
  "levels": [
    "Each municipal council (tax rates)"
  ],
  "plain_question": "How much general municipal tax does a typical house pay for each $1,000 of its assessed value?",
  "value": 3.72,
  "display_value": "$3.72",
  "unit": "general municipal tax per $1,000 of house value, 2026",
  "period": "Tax year 2026",
  "period_start": "2026-01-01",
  "period_end": "2026-12-31",
  "comparison": {
    "previous_period": "Tax year 2025",
    "previous_value": 3.37,
    "change_percent": 10.3
  },
  "trend": "context",
  "trend_basis": "Victoria, 2026: general municipal tax $4,557 on a representative house valued at $1,223,948 = $3.72 per $1,000. 2025: $4,065 on $1,204,449 = $3.37.",
  "direction_good": "down",
  "right_direction": "Shown for context. Tax pays for services, so a higher or lower rate is not labelled better or worse.",
  "since_text": "Whole bill on the Victoria house in 2026: $8,213, including school, regional, hospital and other levies, parcel taxes and user fees.",
  "caveats": [
    "The Province’s Schedule 704 shows the taxes and charges on a representative house in each municipality, with the house value it uses for that municipality. The file does not define the representative house; the Province’s statistics page explains it.",
    "Per $1,000 of house value is calculated here: general municipal tax ÷ house value × 1,000. It lets municipalities with very different house values be compared.",
    "House values differ a lot between municipalities, so the dollar amounts in the table are for different houses.",
    "Each council sets its own general municipal tax. School, regional district and hospital levies are set by other bodies."
  ],
  "charts": [],
  "by_municipality": {
    "title": "Taxes and charges on a representative house, Capital Region, 2026",
    "columns": [
      "Municipality",
      "House value",
      "General municipal tax",
      "Per $1,000",
      "Whole bill"
    ],
    "rows": [
      [
        "Central Saanich",
        1178286,
        3347,
        2.84,
        6990
      ],
      [
        "Colwood",
        1045718,
        2796,
        2.67,
        5457
      ],
      [
        "Esquimalt",
        1048326,
        4133,
        3.94,
        6575
      ],
      [
        "Highlands",
        1313498,
        2694,
        2.05,
        5672
      ],
      [
        "Langford",
        992336,
        2938,
        2.96,
        5295
      ],
      [
        "Metchosin",
        1259740,
        2276,
        1.81,
        4899
      ],
      [
        "North Saanich",
        1598220,
        2171,
        1.36,
        6261
      ],
      [
        "Oak Bay",
        1973082,
        6749,
        3.42,
        12931
      ],
      [
        "Saanich",
        1293249,
        4235,
        3.27,
        8454
      ],
      [
        "Sidney",
        1069109,
        2669,
        2.5,
        6020
      ],
      [
        "Sooke",
        807310,
        2210,
        2.74,
        4929
      ],
      [
        "Victoria",
        1223948,
        4557,
        3.72,
        8213
      ],
      [
        "View Royal",
        1151900,
        2699,
        2.34,
        5617
      ]
    ],
    "note": "Rows with RD = “CAP” in the Province’s Schedule 704. Dollars. Per $1,000 is calculated here."
  },
  "series": [
    {
      "period": "2025",
      "value": 3.37
    },
    {
      "period": "2026",
      "value": 3.72
    }
  ],
  "derived_figures": [
    {
      "what": "Central Saanich, per $1,000, 2026",
      "formula": "General Municipal ÷ House Value × 1,000",
      "inputs": {
        "General Municipal": 3347,
        "House Value": 1178286
      },
      "result": 2.84
    },
    {
      "what": "Colwood, per $1,000, 2026",
      "formula": "General Municipal ÷ House Value × 1,000",
      "inputs": {
        "General Municipal": 2796,
        "House Value": 1045718
      },
      "result": 2.67
    },
    {
      "what": "Esquimalt, per $1,000, 2026",
      "formula": "General Municipal ÷ House Value × 1,000",
      "inputs": {
        "General Municipal": 4133,
        "House Value": 1048326
      },
      "result": 3.94
    },
    {
      "what": "Highlands, per $1,000, 2026",
      "formula": "General Municipal ÷ House Value × 1,000",
      "inputs": {
        "General Municipal": 2694,
        "House Value": 1313498
      },
      "result": 2.05
    },
    {
      "what": "Langford, per $1,000, 2026",
      "formula": "General Municipal ÷ House Value × 1,000",
      "inputs": {
        "General Municipal": 2938,
        "House Value": 992336
      },
      "result": 2.96
    },
    {
      "what": "Metchosin, per $1,000, 2026",
      "formula": "General Municipal ÷ House Value × 1,000",
      "inputs": {
        "General Municipal": 2276,
        "House Value": 1259740
      },
      "result": 1.81
    },
    {
      "what": "North Saanich, per $1,000, 2026",
      "formula": "General Municipal ÷ House Value × 1,000",
      "inputs": {
        "General Municipal": 2171,
        "House Value": 1598220
      },
      "result": 1.36
    },
    {
      "what": "Oak Bay, per $1,000, 2026",
      "formula": "General Municipal ÷ House Value × 1,000",
      "inputs": {
        "General Municipal": 6749,
        "House Value": 1973082
      },
      "result": 3.42
    },
    {
      "what": "Saanich, per $1,000, 2026",
      "formula": "General Municipal ÷ House Value × 1,000",
      "inputs": {
        "General Municipal": 4235,
        "House Value": 1293249
      },
      "result": 3.27
    },
    {
      "what": "Sidney, per $1,000, 2026",
      "formula": "General Municipal ÷ House Value × 1,000",
      "inputs": {
        "General Municipal": 2669,
        "House Value": 1069109
      },
      "result": 2.5
    },
    {
      "what": "Sooke, per $1,000, 2026",
      "formula": "General Municipal ÷ House Value × 1,000",
      "inputs": {
        "General Municipal": 2210,
        "House Value": 807310
      },
      "result": 2.74
    },
    {
      "what": "Victoria, per $1,000, 2026",
      "formula": "General Municipal ÷ House Value × 1,000",
      "inputs": {
        "General Municipal": 4557,
        "House Value": 1223948
      },
      "result": 3.72
    },
    {
      "what": "View Royal, per $1,000, 2026",
      "formula": "General Municipal ÷ House Value × 1,000",
      "inputs": {
        "General Municipal": 2699,
        "House Value": 1151900
      },
      "result": 2.34
    }
  ],
  "refresh_frequency": "Yearly (Province of B.C., each summer)",
  "retrieved_at": "2026-11-12T03:35:33Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Province of B.C., Local Government Statistics, Schedule 704: Taxes and Charges on a Representative House",
    "url": "https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/governments/local-governments/facts-framework/statistics/tax-rates-tax-burden",
    "dataset_url": "https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/governments/local-governments/facts-framework/statistics/tax-rates-tax-burden",
    "download_url": "https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/british-columbians-our-governments/local-governments/finance/local-government-statistics/schedule704_2026.xlsx",
    "locator": "Schedule 704, 2026: rows with RD = CAP; row “Victoria”, columns House Value and General Municipal"
  },
  "licence": {
    "name": "Public data, not under an open licence. Used with attribution.",
    "url": "https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/home/copyright",
    "open": false
  },
  "verified_text": [
    "Schedule 704 2025, row 'Victoria': House Value 1,204,449, General Municipal 4,065",
    "Schedule 704 2026, row 'Victoria': House Value 1,223,948, General Municipal 4,557"
  ],
  "data_published": null,
  "attribution": "Source: Province of B.C., Local Government Statistics, Schedule 704: Taxes and Charges on a Representative House. Public document, used with attribution; not endorsed by the publisher.",
  "licence_type": "public",
  "source_tier": 1,
  "measure_kind": "context",
  "better_measure": null,
  "status_rule": {
    "rule": "One rule for every measure: a change smaller than 5% of the earlier value, or smaller than the agency's own margin of error, is “About the same”; no change is calculated across a marked break in a series; homelessness estimates, prices, staffing and comparison pages are shown for context without a label.",
    "reason": "Tax pays for services, so whether a higher or lower rate is better is a value judgement.",
    "threshold_percent": 5.0
  },
  "changes": {
    "year": {
      "period": "Tax year 2025",
      "value": 3.37,
      "text": "vs Tax year 2025: +10.3%"
    },
    "five_year": null
  },
  "direction": {
    "type": "context",
    "rule": "Outcome measures read Better, Worse or About the same; published government targets read Ahead of, On or Behind target; value-judgement measures read Rising, Falling or Steady in a neutral colour. A change smaller than the agency's own margin of error, or otherwise smaller than 5% of the earlier value, is About the same (or Steady). No change is calculated across a marked break in a series.",
    "key": "rising",
    "label": "Rising",
    "arrow": "▲",
    "rel": 10.3,
    "delta": null,
    "vs": "Tax year 2025",
    "cur": "Tax year 2026",
    "why": " The change is 10.3% of the earlier value, at or above the 5% threshold.",
    "change": "10%",
    "one_year": "+10.3%",
    "long_why": "The series starts in 2025, so there is no reading longer than one year yet."
  },
  "decided_by": [
    {
      "body": "COV",
      "name": "City of Victoria Council",
      "decides": "Adopts the financial plan by bylaw each year, then sets property tax rates by bylaw before May 15.",
      "laws": [
        {
          "key": "cc165",
          "label": "Community Charter, s. 165",
          "url": "https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/03026_06#section165"
        },
        {
          "key": "cc197",
          "label": "Community Charter, s. 197",
          "url": "https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/03026_07#section197"
        }
      ],
      "last": {
        "text": "Five Year Financial Plan Bylaw, 2026 (No. 26-040) and 2026 tax rates adopted May 7, 2026",
        "label": "Five Year Financial Plan Bylaw, 2026 (No. 26-040) and 2026 tax rates adopted May 7, 2026",
        "url": "https://engage.victoria.ca/2026budget"
      },
      "next": {
        "text": "2027 financial plan, then tax rate bylaw before May 15, 2027",
        "label": "Community Charter, s. 197",
        "url": "https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/03026_07#section197"
      }
    }
  ],
  "main_decision_maker": "City of Victoria Council"
}