PSA - The Deadline to Appeal your Property Tax Assessment is within 31 days after receiving your assessment notice

Everybody has been talking about how outrageous some of their property tax increases have been (not just in Truro but all over Nova Scotia), I just wanted to make a quick post to make sure that people know if you feel your increased Property Assessed Amount is unfair, you have the right to dispute the increase. This dispute must be filed within 31 days after receiving your Property Tax Assessment Notice.

Here's the link for instructions on how to file a dispute on your property taxes! https://www.pvsc.ca/assessment-appeals

A lot of properties in Truro have seen a significant increase in their property taxes, whether justified or not, keep in mind a lot of properties have extremely low assessment values compared to what 'market value' prices of real estate is in 2025 (even though, remember, market price does not equal what the assessment value should necessarily be, however market value does influence assessed value). Here's an example:

Someone has lived in the same home for 20 years and decided to sell their property in 2024 for $350,000. The property is only assessed at $170,000 because of the Cap program increasing the assessed value by a tiny margin each year. When the new owner takes possession, that $170,000 assessed value 'corrects' itself to the market value of the property. So, the new assessed value for 2025 increases to $300,000, causing a dramatic increase in taxes for the new owner.

Also keep in mind, there are guidelines to what properties can even be eligible for the cap program - see here for those https://www.pvsc.ca/understand-your-assessment/capped-assessment-program

Just an FYI, the cap rate increase for 2025 is 1.5%.

Good luck!