Taxes

The Municipality of the District of Guysborough has the lowest residential tax rates in the province and commercial tax rates that are competitive with other areas.

Residential Tax

Responsibility for property assessment (value) in Nova Scotia rests with the Property Valuation Services Corporation (PVSC), a provincial authority. The municipality sets the tax rate. Currently in the Municipality of the District of Guysborough the residential property tax rate is:
$0.77 (77 cents) per $100 of assessed value.

Residential taxes apply to single-family residences, multi-family residences, duplexes, apartments, condominiums, nursing homes, seasonal dwellings, manufactured homes, and some vacant land.

Any residents with a total household income of less than $40,000 (found on Line 150 of your 2023 CRA Notice of Assessment) can apply for a $200 Tax Exemption off their current year's property taxes. The form as well as directions can be found by clicking the following links and submitted to the Municipal Office.

Application Directions

2024/25 Tax Exemption Application

Commercial Tax

The current commercial property tax rate is $2.74 per $100 of assessed property value. Commercial property includes all property except residential property and resource property, including forest land owned by a person who owns 50,000 acres or more.

The assessed business occupancy owner is required to notify their local PVSC office within 7 days of any opening and within 30 days of a closing or change in space occupied. If you make changes to your business such as name, address, change in space occupied or ownership, your local PVSC will require notification within 30 days.

Resource Tax

Resource tax rates apply to farm property (land and buildings used for agricultural purposes), forest property owned by a person who owns less than fifty thousand acres, community fishermen's service buildings occupied and used by boat owners who are licensed commercial fishermen and the land used in connection with a municipal water utility. The current Resource Rate for MODG is $0.77 per $100 of assessment.

Multiple Use

It is possible for a property with several distinct uses to fall into more than one class. For example, commercial and residential space might be combined in one building. A property may also be a combination of residential, farm and forest land. In these cases, Property Valuation Services Corporation determines the share of the value of the property attributable to each class.

Land Transfer Tax

The Municipality of the District of Guysborough has a Deed Transfer Tax of 1.0 per cent of the value of the property transferred. The Deed Transfer Tax is collected on the Municipality’s behalf by the Province of Nova Scotia at the Registry of Deeds located at the Sydney Land Office at 380 King Road, Sydney, Nova Scotia. You can contact the Registry by calling 902-563-2280.

Property Tax Billing and Interest Rates

The Municipality’s tax bills are normally issued in early April and are due on or before July 31. All taxes not paid by the due date accrue interest at a rate of 18 per cent per annum (1.5% per month). The annual tax bill is for the period from April 1 through to March 31 (government fiscal year). The Municipality sends out approximately 9,000 tax bills. Reminder notices are mailed in September and November. If you have any questions about your tax bill, please contact the Tax Office at 902-533-3705 ext. 229.

Tax Payments Methods

Tax payments may be made at the Municipal Tax Office, 33 Pleasant Street, Guysborough, NS B0H 1N0 by presenting your tax bill to the Tax Clerk, Monday through Friday between 8:00 AM and 5:00 PM. The Municipality offers an Interac Machine and accepts Debit Card Payment and Credit Card Payments (Visa, Mastercard, and American Express.). Your payment can also be made by mail. Send cheque or money order to the Tax Office at PO Box 79, Guysborough, N.S., B0H 1N0. Please remember to enclose the remittance stub of your tax bill with your payment and indicate your property number(s) on your cheque or money order.

Online and telephone banking are also alternatives for paying property tax bills through most financial institutions.

STEPS FOR PAYING TAXES/WATER/SEWER ONLINE

1. Sign into your Online Banking Institution and create a new 'Payee'.

2. Once you click 'ADD PAYEE', depending on your bank, MODG's account name is listed as follows:

RBC- GUYSBOROUGH DIST. TAXES NS
BMO- GUYSBOROUGH DIST. TAXES NS
SCOTIA BANK – GUYSBOROUGH(DISTRICT)TAXES<3257>
CREDIT UNION- TAXES GUYSBOROUGH
TD- GUYSBOROUGH DISTRICT OF WATER SEWER

3. The next step will be to add the account number that you wish to pay.

A Municipal Tax Account will consist of 8 digits on your bill and will be entered as follows 12345678.

A Water Account will consist of 8 digits but with a decimal (123456.78). Please leave the decimal out and group all numbers together. The account would be entered as follows 12345678.

A Sewer Account will consist of 2 Letters and 6 numbers but with a decimal. Please enter only the account number and not the letters or the decimal. An sample account number would be GU1234.56, you would simply enter only 123456.

Area Rates

A number of properties in the Municipality of the District of Guysborough attract various area rates, or charges that include fire service, street lighting and sewer operating charges. If you have any questions about your tax bill, tax rate or area rates please contact the Tax Office at 902-533-3705 ext. 229.

Staff Contact

Jennifer Wittmann

Finance & Tax Clerk
Tel: 902-533-3705 ext. 229
Fax: 902-533-2749
jwittmann@modg.ca

Please access the following links to obtain more information on the following topics: