Toronto’s property taxes will increase this year
Mayor Olivia Chow has kicked off an election year with a tax hike, but it’s much lower than those of past budgets
Mayor Olivia Chow appears to be keeping her promise of a light property tax hike for 2026.
As the city releases details of its new budget today, housing affordability remains an area of concern for Torontonians. At a budget launch event at a library branch in the Junction, Chow told reporters that the property tax would increase only minimally, as necessitated by inflation.
Related: After targeting luxury homes, Olivia Chow promises a lighter property tax hike in 2026
“My 2026 budget is focused on one thing—making your life more affordable,” said Chow, who revealed yesterday that the property tax increase will be just 2.2 per cent.
Last month, Chow announced an increase on the land transfer tax on luxury homes, which the city said will bring in an additional $14 million.
As the Toronto Star reported, this year’s 2.2 per cent tax increase is lower than many expected, and it’s certainly lower than Chow’s past tax hikes. Last year, the increase was 6.9 per cent, and in her first budget, in 2024, property taxes went up by 9.5 per cent. This year’s increase accounts for a 0.7 per cent rise in residential property tax and a 1.5 per cent increase to the city building levy.
Notably, this is Chow’s last budget before the next municipal election, though she hasn’t yet confirmed whether she’ll run.
Carly Lewis is a journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Times and the New York Times Magazine, Vanity Fair, Wired, Interview Magazine, Pitchfork, Elle, and Maclean’s, where she is a contributing editor. Her work has been recognized by the National Magazine Awards and the Digital Publishing Awards. She reports on city life, culture—including what people do online—politics, art and crime. She received the Dave Greber Freelance Writers Award for “The Murder of Ashley Wadsworth,” an investigative feature about a Canadian teenager who was killed by a man she met on social media, published by Maclean’s.
