Ontario property tax arrears reach highest level in a generation
Municipal filings show $2.43 billion in property taxes were unpaid at the end of 2025, with the arrears rate hitting 7.2 percent.
Ontario municipalities are struggling to collect $2.43 billion in overdue property taxes, according to provincial filings for the end of 2025. The arrears rate, which is the share of the year's levy that remains unpaid, reached 7.2 percent. That figure represents a sharp increase of 48 basis points from 2024 and is the highest rate recorded in the province since 2001. The data covers 316 out of 414 municipalities, though filings for the City of Hamilton were notably unavailable for both 2024 and 2025.
The $2.43 billion in unpaid taxes is part of a total property tax levy of $34.1 billion for the year. The current arrears rate has climbed 246 basis points since 2019. The current rising trend contrasts with the period around 2001, when the arrears rate was falling. "Where it stops is anyone's guess," the analysis from Better Dwelling noted.
Among Ontario's largest cities with up-to-date filings, Brampton has the highest arrears rate at 11.9 percent. It is followed by Vaughan at 9.9 percent and Kitchener at 8.9 percent. All three cities have consistently been above the provincial average in recent years. Brampton's rate is its highest since 2004, while Vaughan and Kitchener are at their highest levels since 2001. Brampton moved from below the provincial average in 2021 to the highest of the large cities in just four years.
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In contrast, the City of Toronto reported an arrears rate of 6.6 percent for 2025, which is below the provincial average. Toronto's levy represents nearly a quarter of the province's total property tax, and the city accounts for over one in five dollars of the arrears. However, Toronto's current rate is still its highest since 2001. The analysis noted that in Toronto, property taxes in arrears had quadrupled from 1988 to 1993 over the six cities that now form Toronto.
The analysis noted that property taxes and special levies recently made their largest jump since the early 1990s. The report suggested this may not be a coincidence with the rising arrears. "Everyone loves a fast-growing city when the market is booming, but not so much once it's time to pay those bills," it stated. The report described the situation as "another ominous point" for the Ontario real estate correction.
With files from Better Dwelling