Quebec City property tax for 2026 is charged at $0.7464 per $100 of assessed value on residential buildings with one to five units, so a home assessed at $350,000 owes about $2,612 in base tax before water, waste, and other service charges are added.1Ville de Québec. Taux de taxes The full bill depends on your property’s category, its assessed value on the current roll, and the specific services your lot receives.
2026 Tax Rates by Property Type
Quebec City sets a different rate for each category of property. For 2026, the rates per $100 of assessed value are:1Ville de Québec. Taux de taxes
- Residential, 1 to 5 units: $0.7464
- Residential, 6 or more units: $0.7697
- Non-residential: $3.0642
- Serviced vacant land: $2.9856
The gap between residential and commercial is large. A commercial building assessed at $500,000 owes about $15,321 in base tax; a house at the same value owes roughly $3,732. Serviced vacant land sits close to the commercial rate, which pushes owners to develop or sell idle lots rather than hold them.
How to Calculate What You Owe
Take the assessed value from the current roll, divide by 100, and multiply by the rate for your category. For a residential home assessed at $400,000 in 2026:
$400,000 ÷ 100 × $0.7464 = $2,985.601Ville de Québec. Taux de taxes
That figure is the base property tax only. The service charges on your bill come on top.
One common error: using the “standardized value” instead of the roll value. Municipal property tax is calculated on the roll value, the estimated market value at the reference date. The standardized value is a different figure that applies to school taxes and transfer duties, and it will give you the wrong answer here.
What Else Is On the Bill
Base tax is the biggest line, but not the only one. Your annual bill typically also includes:
- Water and sewer charges, covering drinking water treatment and wastewater collection
- Waste management, for garbage, recycling, and composting
- Snow removal, for streets and sidewalks
- Debt service, repaying borrowing for past infrastructure projects
Each charge can be a flat amount per dwelling, a rate on your assessed value, or a mix. The bill breaks them out separately, identified by your property’s account number, the matricule, which links your lot to city records.2Ville de Québec. Transmission électronique des factures de taxes
Payment Deadlines for 2026
If your bill is more than $300, Quebec City lets you pay in four equal interest-free installments:3Ville de Québec. Paiement de la facture de taxes
- First installment: March 3, 2026
- Second installment: May 4, 2026
- Third installment: July 3, 2026
- Fourth installment: September 3, 2026
If your total bill is $300 or less, the full amount is due March 3, 2026.3Ville de Québec. Paiement de la facture de taxes Most residents pay through online bill payment at their bank, but the city also accepts payments at bank branches, by mail, and in person at city service counters. Pre-authorized monthly withdrawals are available and spread the cost evenly across the year.
What Happens If You Pay Late
A missed deadline triggers a penalty of 0.5% per month on the unpaid balance, added under the Act respecting municipal taxation. Left for a full year, that compounds to 6% on top of the original amount.
If taxes stay unpaid for longer, the stakes rise sharply. Under the Cities and Towns Act, the municipality can pursue a sale of the property at public auction to recover the debt, without first obtaining a court judgment. The municipal treasurer files a statement, council orders the clerk to proceed, and the timeline can begin as early as six months after the notice of deposit of the collection roll. In Quebec, letting a property tax bill sit unpaid is one of the faster ways to lose real estate, and the process is more streamlined than a typical collection lawsuit.
How Your Assessed Value Is Set
Every property in the Quebec City agglomeration appears on the assessment roll (rôle d’évaluation foncière), which records its estimated market value. The current roll covers 2025, 2026, and 2027, and the values reflect market conditions as of July 1, 2023.4Ville de Québec. Rôle d’évaluation foncière That reference date matters. Your taxable value is what the property would have sold for on that day, not what it might sell for now.
Assessors look at physical characteristics such as building size and condition, along with location and comparable sales. Because the roll is locked for three years, a property can be worth more or less than its market price during that window, and the rate is calibrated with that gap in mind. You can look up any property through the city’s online portal using the civic address or lot number.2Ville de Québec. Transmission électronique des factures de taxes
If You Think the Value Is Wrong
The Act respecting municipal taxation gives you the right to request an administrative review of your assessment.5Légis Québec. F-2.1 – Act Respecting Municipal Taxation File the request before May 1 following the year the roll takes effect, on the prescribed form, with a short explanation of why you disagree. A filing fee applies, scaled to the property’s value. The assessor must issue a decision by September 1, either proposing an amendment or refusing with written reasons. If the outcome does not satisfy you, you can appeal to the Administrative Tribunal of Québec. The assessment carries a presumption of accuracy, so the burden is on you to show an error that causes real prejudice.
Transfer Duties When You Buy (the Welcome Tax)
Buying property in Quebec City triggers a one-time transfer duty, commonly called the welcome tax. It is calculated on whichever is higher: the purchase price or the municipal assessed value. The duty uses progressive brackets:
- Up to $62,900: 0.5%
- $62,901 to $315,000: 1.0%
- Over $315,000: 1.5%
On a home purchased at $450,000, the welcome tax works out to roughly $4,860: 0.5% on the first $62,900, 1.0% on the next $252,100, and 1.5% on the remaining $135,000. Municipalities can adopt by-laws setting higher rates on upper tiers (Montreal charges up to 4%), but Quebec City has not done so. The bracket thresholds are indexed periodically by the provincial government.
If the welcome tax bill is over $300, you can pay in three equal installments at 30, 90, and 150 days after receiving it. Bills of $300 or less are due within 30 days. Some transfers are exempt, including transfers between spouses or civil union partners, direct-line family transfers, and most transfers by succession.
Relief for Seniors Facing Assessment Jumps
Quebec offers a provincial grant that cushions seniors against sharp property tax increases caused by a new roll.6Revenu Québec. Grant for Seniors to Offset a Municipal Tax Increase To qualify for 2026, you must have been 65 or older and resident in Quebec on December 31, 2025, and you must have owned your principal residence for at least 15 consecutive years. The residence must be entirely residential and contain only one dwelling unit. Your family income for 2025 cannot exceed $64,200, and the property must have experienced a significant increase in assessed value on the new roll.
The grant does not erase your tax bill. It offsets the portion of the increase tied to the jump in valuation. Apply through Revenu Québec when filing your provincial income tax return.6Revenu Québec. Grant for Seniors to Offset a Municipal Tax Increase It is worth checking if you have owned your home for a long time in a neighborhood where values rose sharply between rolls.