Property tax is an annual municipal tax that funds your city or township, the Region of Waterloo and education, based on the value the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) assigns your property. In 2026, Kitchener's residential property tax rate is 1.405998% of your MPAC assessed value, so a home assessed at $400,000 pays about $5,624 for the year. Across Waterloo Region's seven municipalities, the 2026 residential rate runs from 1.185848% in North Dumfries to 1.51218% in Cambridge.
Your bill is your assessment times the total rate. Your assessment is MPAC's estimate of your property's value on a set valuation date, which for 2026 is still January 1, 2016, not what it would sell for today.
2026 residential tax rates by municipality
Every municipality in Waterloo Region has set its 2026 rates. Each total is three rates added together: the city or township's, the Region of Waterloo's and the province's education rate.
| Municipality | City or township | Region of Waterloo | Education | Total 2026 rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kitchener | 0.411164% | 0.841834% | 0.153% | 1.405998% |
| Waterloo | 0.437426% | 0.841834% | 0.153% | 1.432260% |
| Cambridge | 0.51735% | 0.84183% | 0.153% | 1.51218% |
| Woolwich | 0.322187% | 0.738314% | 0.153% | 1.213501% |
| Wilmot | 0.411256% | 0.726659% | 0.153% | 1.290915% |
| Wellesley | 0.392080% | 0.717545% | 0.153% | 1.262625% |
| North Dumfries | 0.315303% | 0.717545% | 0.153% | 1.185848% |
These are the rates for the residential property class, which covers houses, condos, and buildings with up to six units, from each municipality's published 2026 rates. Wilmot lists its rates as current rates without a year label; they differ from its published 2025 rates. In North Dumfries, properties in Ayr pay a small extra charge for sidewalks and sidewalk snow clearing, for a total of 1.201419%.
The Region's rate is the same in the three cities and lower in the four townships, because some regional services, such as transit, are charged by area. The education rate, 0.153%, is set by the province and is the same across Ontario's residential class.
Rates change every year, after each council and the Region pass their budgets, usually in the spring. Check your city or township's tax page for the current year.
Track what your home is worth →
How your bill is calculated
Your annual property tax is your MPAC assessed value multiplied by the total tax rate for your property class. The city or township collects the whole amount and passes the Region's and the school boards' shares on to them.
Here's a Kitchener home assessed at $400,000, in 2026:
| Part of the bill | Rate | Tax |
|---|---|---|
| City of Kitchener | 0.411164% | $1,644.66 |
| Region of Waterloo | 0.841834% | $3,367.34 |
| Education | 0.153% | $612.00 |
| Total | 1.405998% | $5,624.00 |
The Region's share is the biggest part of the bill in every city and township in Waterloo Region.
When you pay
Most municipalities send two bills a year. The interim bill, early in the year, is based on part of the previous year's taxes, because the new rates aren't set yet. The final bill, later in the year, uses the new rates and subtracts what you paid on the interim.
Each property tax bill is usually split into instalments. Many municipalities also offer pre-authorized monthly payments, and some mortgage lenders collect property tax with your mortgage payment and pay it for you.
Buying a home
Property tax is one of the adjustments on closing. If the seller has already paid taxes that cover days after you take possession, you pay them back for those days through your lawyer. See closing costs in Ontario for how adjustments work.
Income properties with seven or more units are in the multi-residential class, which has a higher rate than the residential class. In Kitchener, the 2026 multi-residential rate is 2.596346%.
How MPAC assessment works
MPAC assigns every property in Ontario an assessed value, and for the 2026 tax year that value is still based on January 1, 2016. According to MPAC, Ontario postponed the province-wide reassessment planned for 2020 because of the pandemic, and has extended the postponement since. Until the province announces a new reassessment, MPAC keeps using the 2016 date.
What that means for you:
- Your assessment isn't what your home would sell for today. It's MPAC's estimate of its value as of January 1, 2016. Don't compare it to recent sale prices.
- It doesn't change just because the market moved. If nothing about your property changed, your assessment is the same as last year's.
- It can change when the property changes. An addition, a new unit, a finished basement, a new garage or a demolition can lead MPAC to update it. New homes are assessed as of the same 2016 date.
- Your tax still changes every year, because the rates change.
Because every home is valued at the same date, what matters for your bill is your assessment compared with the rates your council sets, not how your home's market value has moved since 2016.
Assessment of a newly built home
When you move into a new build, MPAC adds it to the assessment roll after it's occupied. Owners of new homes may get a separate property tax bill for the part of the year between moving in and the new assessment reaching the city's tax roll, sometimes months later. Set money aside for it.
How to check and appeal your assessment
If you think your assessment is wrong, file a free Request for Reconsideration (RfR) with MPAC by March 31 of the tax year. For the 2026 tax year, that deadline was March 31, 2026. If MPAC sent you a notice later in the year, for example because your property changed, the deadline is printed on that notice, usually 120 days from its issue date.
Check it first
Log in to AboutMyProperty on mpac.ca with the details on your assessment notice. You can see how MPAC valued your home, what it has on file (size, age, lot, features) and how it compares with similar homes nearby. Common reasons to ask for a reconsideration are wrong facts, such as the wrong square footage or a feature the house doesn't have, or similar homes nearby being assessed lower.
Request for Reconsideration
- File the RfR online through AboutMyProperty or on MPAC's form, by the deadline. It's free.
- Explain why. Point to facts MPAC has wrong, or to similar homes nearby with lower assessments, as of the 2016 valuation date.
- MPAC reviews it. According to MPAC, it generally aims to respond within 180 days, and may take up to 60 more days if it tells you it needs them.
- You get a decision letter, which either changes your assessment or confirms it.
Appealing to the Assessment Review Board
If you disagree with MPAC's decision, you can appeal to the Assessment Review Board (ARB), the provincial tribunal that hears assessment disputes, within 90 days of the date on MPAC's decision letter. For a residential property, you must file a Request for Reconsideration first; you can't go straight to the ARB. The ARB charges a filing fee and hears the appeal; check its website for current forms and fees.
An appeal is about your assessment, not your tax rate. Rates are set by council and the Region and can't be appealed to MPAC or the ARB. If the issue is paying the bill, ask your city or township about its tax relief or deferral programs for low-income seniors and people with disabilities.
Property tax on a home assessed at $400,000 in each city
On the same $400,000 assessment, the 2026 property tax ranges from about $4,743 in North Dumfries to about $6,049 in Cambridge. This uses one made-up assessed value for every municipality so you can compare the rates; it isn't the typical assessment in any city.
| Municipality | Total 2026 rate | Tax on a $400,000 assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Kitchener | 1.405998% | $5,624 |
| Waterloo | 1.432260% | $5,729 |
| Cambridge | 1.51218% | $6,049 |
| Woolwich | 1.213501% | $4,854 |
| Wilmot | 1.290915% | $5,164 |
| Wellesley | 1.262625% | $5,051 |
| North Dumfries | 1.185848% | $4,743 |
| North Dumfries (Ayr) | 1.201419% | $4,806 |
To work out your own, multiply your assessed value (on your tax bill or MPAC notice) by your municipality's total rate. A home assessed at $300,000 in Waterloo, for example, pays $300,000 × 1.432260% = $4,296.78.
The lowest rate doesn't always mean the lowest bill. Assessments differ from city to city and from home to home, so compare the tax on the specific homes you're looking at, from the listing or the seller's tax bill. To see how homes are selling in each city, see the Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge, Woolwich, Wilmot, Wellesley and North Dumfries market pages.
If you're buying for the first time, the first-time home buyer guide covers the other costs of owning.