City of Peterborough Property Tax: Due Dates, Payment, and Appeals

Property tax in the City of Peterborough runs to 1.8892540% of your assessed value for 2026, combining a municipal rate of 1.7362540% with a provincial education rate of 0.153%.¹² On a home assessed at $350,000, that works out to roughly $6,612 for the year. The city bills in four installments across spring and fall, and the assessed value behind your bill comes from the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC), still based on what your property was worth as of January 1, 2016.³

2026 Due Dates

The annual bill arrives in two notices. The interim notice goes out in February and is calculated at no more than 50% of the previous year’s total levy, because the current year’s rates haven’t been approved yet.¹ The final notice comes later in the year at the approved 2026 rates and credits what you already paid on the interim.⁴

Interim installments: March 31, 2026 and May 29, 2026
Final installments: July 31, 2026 and September 30, 2026

How to Pay

Whichever method you use, reference your 15-digit roll number (formatted XXX-XXX-XXXXX-0000) as the account number so the payment lands on the right file. The roll number appears near the top of both your interim and final bills.⁴

Online or telephone banking. Add the City of Peterborough as a payee at your financial institution and enter the roll number as the account.
In person at Service Peterborough, 500 George St. N., which accepts cash, cheque, and debit from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Credit cards are not accepted at the tax counter.
Drop box outside City Hall at 500 George St. N. for cheque payments, available around the clock.
Credit card through third-party processors such as PaySimply or Plastiq, with their service charges added.

Pre-Authorized Payment Plans

If four due dates feels like too many to track, the city runs two free withdrawal plans.⁴ The monthly plan debits on the last business day of each month, with the amount set to your total annual taxes divided by the number of months remaining when you enroll. The installment plan debits on the four regular due dates (last business day of March, May, July, and September). Applications and changes have to be in by the 21st of the month you want them to take effect; for a June change, call the Tax Office to confirm the deadline.

What Late Payment Costs

Miss an installment and the charges start on day one. Section 345 of the Municipal Act, 2001 lets a municipality add a penalty of up to 1.25% of the unpaid amount on the first day of default, plus interest of up to 1.25% on the first day of each month that follows until the balance clears.⁵ On a $3,000 missed installment, that’s about $37.50 the first day and roughly another $37.50 each month afterward. Over a year, the charges can approach 16% of what you missed. There is no grace period after the due date.

When Unpaid Taxes Lead to a Tax Sale

Section 373 of the Municipal Act allows the municipal treasurer to register a tax arrears certificate against your property’s title once any portion of taxes is still owing on January 1 of the second year after they became due.⁶ From the day the certificate is registered, you have one year to pay the cancellation price (all outstanding taxes, accumulated penalties and interest, and administrative costs). If it isn’t paid in time, the property is listed for public sale. In practice, that means roughly three years of ignored taxes before you lose the property, with penalty charges piling up well before that point.

Challenging Your Assessment

Your bill is the rate times MPAC’s assessed value, so if the value is wrong, the bill is wrong. Ontario uses a two-step process.

Request for Reconsideration

Start at aboutmyproperty.ca, using the roll number and access key from your Property Assessment Notice. The portal shows how your assessment was calculated, the property details MPAC has on file, and comparable assessments nearby.⁷ If something looks off, file a Request for Reconsideration through the portal at no cost. The deadline is March 31 of the taxation year in question, and for residential, farm, and managed forest properties this step is mandatory before any formal appeal.⁸

Appeal to the Assessment Review Board

If MPAC’s reconsideration doesn’t settle it, you can appeal to the Assessment Review Board, an independent provincial tribunal. Residential owners have 90 days from the date MPAC issues its reconsideration decision to file.⁸ The filing fee is $132.50 per roll number for residential, farm, and managed forest property.⁹ After you file, the Board sets a schedule that includes a mandatory meeting between you, MPAC, and the municipality, and many disputes settle there without a full hearing.

Relief Programs

Low-Income Property Tax Assistance

The city offers a $414 credit to eligible owners on low or fixed incomes. For 2026, you must have owned and occupied your property from January 1 to December 31 of the previous year, and fall into one of three groups:¹⁰

Seniors 65 and older receiving the Guaranteed Income Supplement or the Guaranteed Annual Income System benefit.
Seniors aged 55 to 64 with combined household taxable income under $30,000 per year.
Persons with a disability receiving Ontario Disability Support Program benefits.

The 2026 application deadline is February 6, 2026. Forms can be submitted in person at the Tax Office at 500 George St. N., or by mail or email. That deadline comes early, so apply before the first interim bill arrives rather than waiting on it.

Charity Tax Rebate

Registered charities occupying premises taxed at the commercial or industrial rate can apply for a rebate of 75% of the property tax paid for the year, up to $50,000.¹⁰ Ownership isn’t required; leased or rented space qualifies as long as the property itself is taxed at the commercial or industrial rate.

1
City of Peterborough. Taxes
2
Ontario.ca. Ontario Regulation 400/98 – Tax Matters – Rates for School Purposes
3
Municipal Property Assessment Corporation. The Assessment Cycle
4
City of Peterborough. Paying Your Taxes
5
Government of Ontario. Municipal Act, 2001 – Section 345
6
Government of Ontario. Municipal Act, 2001 – Section 373
7
About My Property. About My Property
8
Municipal Property Assessment Corporation. How to File an Appeal
9
Tribunals Ontario. Fee Chart
10
City of Peterborough. Tax Assistance and Rebates