By Pepper Parr
November 19th, 2025
BURLINGTON, ON
The City of Burlington has launched a new, online Property Tax Portal that makes it easy for property owners to access their property tax information anytime, anywhere.
Located at burlington.ca/propertytax, the portal is designed to enhance user experience and streamline the process of managing property taxes. Residents can use the tool to view account balances, print tax statements and bills and change contact information.
Features of the portal
With the self-serve property tax tool, Burlington property owners can:
-
View property tax information, account balance, and payment history (from June 1, 2024 onwards)- Sign up, change or cancel pre-authorized payment plan(s)
- Print or download a statement of account or tax bill (2025 onwards)
- Go paperless and sign up for electronic billing to receive an email notification of tax bills
- Request changes to a mailing address and/or contact information
Nothing about lowering the property tax level. This is equivalent to “let them eat cake”.
- Registering for the online Property Tax Portal is optional.
- Residents will need their 2025 final property tax bill (or later) to sign up. The bill includes details needed to confirm their identity.
- Registering does not automatically sign up users for e-billing. Once registered, property owners can visit the portal to choose their preferred delivery method for receiving tax bills.
Mayor Marianne Meed Ward: “We know our residents want accessible, user-friendly options for managing their city business, including property taxes. The introduction of the Property Tax Portal is another example of how we’re leveraging technology to modernize city operations and create a better customer experience that makes everyday tasks easier for everyone.”
Craig Millar, Chief Financial Officer: “The new online Property Tax Portal makes it easier than ever for property owners to access their tax information, manage their account, and stay informed — all in one convenient place. The tool enables residents to manage their property taxes with greater ease and clarity.”
Links and Resources
Information about the Property Tax Portal, including how to sign up, is available at burlington.ca/propertytax.
For assistance navigating the property tax portal, residents can:
- Follow the steps on burlington.ca/propertytax
- Call Service Burlington at 905-335-7777 or the City’s Finance Department at 905-335-7750
- Visit one of the following Customer Service counters – City Hall (426 Brant St.) Monday to Friday, between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.; the Burlington Seniors Centre (2285 New St.) Monday to Friday, between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.; Tansley Woods Community Centre (1996 Itabashi Way) Monday to Friday, between 8:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., and Saturdays, between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.
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Joe, thank you for your excellent analysis.
I still have my 2025 paperwork, and was able to easily register myself, and am satisfied with the administrative bureaucracy for my current status, but the bloated nonsense is unconscionable.
As you very correctly commented, this is a focus on the optics of innovation, rather than substance. The bloated sluggos are just spending too much of our money.
The new online Tax Portal is certainly a step forward in terms of convenience, but let’s not pretend it represents meaningful transparency. The biggest flaw, is that the portal only includes tax information from June 1, 2024 onward. For homeowners trying to understand how Burlington has steadily increased property taxes year after year, this cutoff makes the tool almost useless.
Unless taxpayers have saved every past paper bill, they have no way to compare multi-year increases or track how much City Hall has grown its take. A “modernized” system that begins halfway through the last billing year simply doesn’t provide the historical picture taxpayers actually need.
And while the City will undoubtedly save money by reducing printing and mailing costs (a change I fully support in principle), this rollout feels more like an administrative cost-cutting exercise than a genuine effort to empower residents with information.
If the City wants true transparency, they would migrate all available historical tax data, not just the last year and a half.
A few other concerns:
• Why does registration require the 2025 final tax bill? That puts anyone who misplaced a document at an immediate disadvantage?
• Why no commitment to expand the historical data? The portal could be a “one-stop shop,” but right now it’s more like a snapshot?
• Why not a tool that allows homeowners to download or see pre-2025 bills? That’s the most basic function taxpayers need?
To this resident, this feels like another example of Burlington focusing on the optics of innovation rather than the substance. We get a polished digital interface, but not the information that actually matters when taxes continue to rise above inflation and well above what many households can manage.
A self-serve portal is welcome, but real modernization would include complete transparency, historical data, and tools that help residents understand, not just pay, their taxes.
Spot on!! And if it does actually function as a reliable self-serve portal, then where are the corresponding reductions in the COB budget for the S&W and ODOE dollars that were dedicated to those services that are now being performed by the taxpayers themselves – at least a representative percentage? Once again, form over substance combined with a liberal quantity of both smoke and mirror.