News Release

FREDERICTON (GNB) – Service New Brunswick will provide extra time for appeals for property owners whose assessments are being recalculated. All other property owners still have until March 31 to appeal their assessments.

The 2,400 affected property owners identified by Service New Brunswick will be issued amended tax bills.

“Property assessors review more than 467,000 properties each year with the goal of assessing each property at market value,” said Service New Brunswick Minister Ed Doherty. “Within this large number of assessments, we have identified miscalculations for 2017 that will be corrected.”

Affected property owners will receive a letter of notice by April 1 and an amended tax bill by June 1. They will then have 30 days to request another review.

Doherty said it is important to note that the error rate is less than one per cent, and that this year’s is lower than what has been experienced in previous years. In 2015 and 2016, Service New Brunswick reissued 5,500 and 5,900 bills respectively.

When a property owner disagrees with an assessment, there are several options available:

• The property owner should first contact their regional assessment office and speak to the assessor who assessed their property. Contact information may be found online or on their Property Assessment and Tax Notice.

• If a property owner is still unsure about the fairness of their assessment, they may formally request a review. This must be done by March 31.

• To request a review, tear off the middle portion of the notice, called “Request for Review of Assessment” and fill in the requested information. Property owners requesting a review of their assessment are also asked to voluntarily fill out the yellow Single Family Home Insert that was included with this year’s property tax bill.

• The form allows the property owner to provide up-to-date information when requesting a review of their assessment. The form may be mailed to Service New Brunswick at the address given on the property tax bill, or submitted online.

• Service New Brunswick will mail a decision to the property owner. If a property owner disagrees with the decision, they may appeal to the Assessment and Planning Appeal Board. This must be done within 21 days of Service New Brunswick mailing the decision to the property owner. Information on how to appeal will be included with the decision Service New Brunswick sends to the property owner.

New bills may be issued as a result of:

• Residential Tax Credits for owner-occupied properties; adding or removing the residential tax credit.

• Calculation errors; calculating Gross Living Area incorrectly.

• Discrepancies in property record data; incorrect assumptions made on new construction estimates.

• Incorrect sub unit affecting the applicable tax rate.

• Incorrect classification of property; residential versus non-residential classification.

“New tax bills may be issued by Service New Brunswick throughout the year,” said Doherty. “If any discrepancy in property assessment is identified, it will be immediately corrected to ensure fairness for the taxpayer.”

Property tax bills in New Brunswick indicate both the value for assessment ‎and value for taxation. The difference can be a result of the cap on assessment and/or the 10 per cent spike protection. This is applied only to owner-occupied residential properties that have not increased as a result of new construction or major renovations. 

The property assessment online tool shows only the assessment value and the tax levy. Doherty said if an individual is using this as their source of information, they are not considering other factors that can influence the bill such as a tax rate increase, new construction or renovation, a recent inspection, or spike protection increase from the previous year. 

Property taxes are due by May 31. Owners may choose to pay the tax on their primary residence through 12 monthly installments.