The Ontario real estate correction has another ominous point—unpaid property taxes. Filings with the Government of Ontario show municipalities are still struggling to collect $2.43 billion in overdue property taxes at the end of 2025. The filings show the arrears rate of property taxes is now at the highest level since 2001.
About Today’s Data
Today, we’re looking at the 2025 property tax arrears rate for Ontario municipalities. This is the share of each year’s levy that was still unpaid at year’s end, according to each municipality’s filings. For the provincial rate, we’re using the 316 out of 414 municipalities that filed in 2025, and 392 that are up to date for 2024. While this covers the lion’s share of dollar value, Hamilton’s filings are notably unavailable. The city’s 2024 filing was also unavailable, so it appears someone is behind on their homework.
Ontario Property Tax Arrears Hit Highest Level Since 2001
Ontario property taxes in arrears: Delinquent property taxes as a share of total property tax levies, 2000 to 2025.
Source: Government of Ontario; Better Dwelling.
Ontario’s arrears rate hit 7.2% of 2025 property taxes, representing $2.4 billion of the $34.1 billion in levies. The rate is a sharp jump of 48 basis points (bps) from 2024 and 246 bps since 2019. It’s the highest arrears rate for the province since 2001, making it a generational high. A key difference here is that the rate was falling back then, whereas today it’s rising—and where it stops is anyone’s guess.
Ontario’s Major Cities See Property Tax Arrears Hit Up To 11.9%
Property taxes in arrears: Delinquent property taxes as a share of total property tax levies, 2025. Largest municipalities with up-to-date filings.
Source: Ontario municipality filings; Better Dwelling.
Out of Ontario’s largest cities with filings, Brampton’s 11.9% arrears rate is by far the highest in the province. It’s followed by Vaughan at 9.9%, and Kitchener at 8.9%. All three cities have been above average in recent years, and they’re unusually high.
Brampton’s rate is its highest since 2004, while Vaughan and Kitchener are at their highest since 2001. Brampton also went from below average in 2021 to the highest of the large cities in just four years.
In contrast, Toronto’s 2025 property tax arrears rate of 6.6% is somewhat outperforming. The City represents over 1 in 5 dollars of 2025 property taxes in arrears, but levies nearly a quarter of the province’s property tax. In the provincial context, it’s better than average. However, benchmarked against itself, this is the city’s highest rate since 2001. Once again, the difference here is that the rate was falling back then after property taxes in arrears quadrupled from 1988 to 1993 over the six cities that are now Toronto.
It’s probably not a coincidence that property taxes and special levies just made their largest jump since the early ’90s, either. Everyone loves a fast-growing city when the market is booming, but not so much once it’s time to pay those bills.
