Coquitlam residents who choose to pay their property taxes in advance — instead of a lump sum every July — will have another option for their monthly withdrawals starting this year.
Rather than a fixed pre-payment each month, home and business owners will be able to use the city’s calculation for how much will be owing on next year’s property tax bill.
The new pre-payment calculation aims to give a closer match to next year’s tax invoice and stops residents from guessing each year how much they have to put down on a monthly basis, wrote Michelle Hunt, Coquitlam’s general manager of finance, lands and police, in a report to go before council tonight (Monday) for three bylaw readings; it also aims to cut the number of refunds and simplify administration.
The topic of property tax refunds came up before council last week when Hunt said the city paid back $1.8 million in 2020, and $820,000 in 2019, due to BC Assessment appeals.
Coquitlam, which has had allowed pre-payments since 1994, will roll out the details of its new calculation option in its 2021 Property Tax Notice; the plan, if approved tonight, is due to start in August.
Property taxes for 2021 in Coquitlam are 2.94% more for homeowners and an additional 2.19% for business owners.
Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam don’t accept credit cards for tax payments.
