montreal budget 2025: residential property taxes to rise an average of 2.2%
the average single-family home in the city, now valued at roughly $720,000, would see a tax rise of about $135.
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montreal received $40 million more from the so-called welcome tax — the amount charged on real-estate transactions.
pierre obendrauf
/
montreal gazette
after two years of steep increases, montreal residential property owners will see their tax bills rise by an average of 2.2 per cent next year — a tax hike the city described as a “good deal” on wednesday. the increase was confirmed as the city unveiled its $7.28-billion operating budget for 2025. in comparison, residential taxes climbed by 4.9 per cent last year and 4.1 per cent the previous year.
“we’re limiting the increase to 2.2 per cent, while toronto and vancouver are between eight and 10 per cent,” mayor valérie plante said as she presented the budget.
“we’re meeting the needs of montrealers now and into the future … while staying in line with inflation,” she added. “i think that’s a good deal.”
the plante administration announced last month it intended to keep the portion of taxes determined by city council to an increase of 1.8 per cent, matching the inflation rate seen in the city between august 2023 and august 2024.
the city’s portion of the property tax bill only makes up 87 per cent of the total, however. added to that are borough tax rates, which are the rates that the boroughs charge to maintain local services.
for residential property owners, the tax hike reflects a 1.6 per cent increase linked to decisions made by city council and 0.6 per cent by the boroughs.
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the 2.2 per cent average increase in residential property taxes translates into an additional cost of $108 a year for the average montreal residence, which is valued at just under $760,000.
the average single-family home in the city, now valued at roughly $720,000, would see a tax rise of about $135. that compares with average increases of $38 for condos and $132 for plexes of two to five dwellings.
the actual tax adjustments may be larger depending on which borough people live in.
homeowners in pierrefonds-roxboro will be the hardest hit: they face a 4.1-per-cent jump in their 2025 property tax bill. other notable increases include 3.4 per cent for l’île-bizard—ste-geneviève and 3.1 per cent for mercier—hochelaga—maisonneuve.
people living downtown, in the ville-marie borough, will see the lowest increase next year, at only 0.2 per cent. ville-marie is the only borough with a residential tax increase of under one per cent. the next lowest are the plateau-mont-royal and st-laurent boroughs, both at 1.7 per cent.
the city stressed wednesday it was able to keep the tax increase to 2.2 per cent for residential homeowners without cutting services and still investing in other challenges it faces.
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“it’s been tough, but we were dedicated to making it happen,” plante said. “we tried to keep all the expenses as low as possible while hearing that montrealers want us to find solutions for the bigger crises were going through as a society.”
speaking to reporters after the budget was unveiled, however, ensemble montréal opposition leader aref salem criticized the city for imposing a tax increase above the inflation level.
“all in all, it’s a very bad present that montrealers are receiving today,” salem said. “their bill will exceed inflation with a total increase of 2.2 per cent.”
“this is happening when people really cannot afford to absorb any more costs,” added alan desousa, ensemble montréal’s critic for finance matters and the st-laurent borough mayor.
owners of non-residential buildings on the island, for their part, will see an average increase of 1.9 per cent.
the boroughs of lachine and st-laurent will see the biggest increases, at 9.6 and 7.7 per cent respectively. non-residential taxes will climb by 5.9 per cent in anjou and 5.8 per cent in both lasalle and st-léonard.
by contrast, non-residential taxes in ville-marie will drop 3.1 per cent.
city hall is maintaining its differentiated tax rate for non-residential properties, which ensures that buildings valued at less than $900,000 pay a lower rate.
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for 70 per cent of non-residential properties, those with a value of $900,000 or less, the differentiated tax rate has the cumulative effect of reducing the total tax burden of property owners by 16 per cent, the city said.
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