Property Valuation Services Corporation (PVSC) is an independent, not-for-profit organization funded by Nova Scotia's 51 municipalities.
PVSC is responsible for valuing all real property in Nova Scotia, approximately 600,000 properties, on an annual basis. Each January, PVSC provides an assessment roll to municipalities, which is used to calculate property taxes, and delivers property assessment notices to every Nova Scotia property owner.
PVSC adheres to industry standards set by the International Association of Assessing Officers (IAAO), and is mandated by the Nova Scotia Assessment Act and governed by the PVSC Act.
To learn more about the assessment process or to discuss your property's assessment, please contact PVSC at 1-800-380-7775 or visit www.pvsc.ca.
ViewPoint is not provided with the actual tax expense for each property from the municipalities. ViewPoint estimates the current year tax expense by multiplying the assessment value by the residential and or commercial Nova Scotia Municipal Property Tax Rates. A property may be subject to more than one tax rate, for example, if it's of mixed use such as a building used both for commercial and residential purposes. Certain types of properties such as churches, cemeteries, colleges, charitable organizations and those owned by provincial and federal governments are exempt from taxation. For some federally and provincially owned properties, the applicable government makes a "payment in lieu of taxes" to the local municipality.
For residential properties, the tax expense estimate we display may be higher than the actual expense incurred by the current owner if the property is eligible for the Capped Assessment Program (CAP). We do not display the CAP value of a property because the provincial CAP legislation states that if a home is sold and the property does not stay within the family (a spouse, child, grandchild, great grandchild, parent, grandparent, brother or sister) the property is no longer eligible for the CAP. The CAP, if eligible, will be placed back on the property one year after it was purchased.
Also, some residential properties are subject to additional taxes called "area rates" which are designed to recover the cost of local improvements, such as road paving and recreational facilities, which benefit a specific community or neighbourhood. Area rates are not included in the tax expense estimates.
Deed Transfer Tax is a tax paid by the buyer at the time of closing. It's applicable to most sales in most municipalities across Nova Scotia. It's calculated as a percentage of the purchase price and varies from 0.5% to 1.5%. See the Nova Scotia Municipal Deed Transfer Tax Rates for more information.