Buying and Selling Property

If you are buying or selling property, remember to update us and change your tax account information as soon as possible.

Buying property

When you buy a property, to update the ownership the City will require a copy of the registered Land Transfer Tax Affidavit, or other registered document transferring title. Your lawyer can send these documents to the City on your behalf. We charge a $34.90 administration fee when property ownership changes. You will get an invoice the month after the ownership change is made in our system. Please note that sometimes we do not receive ownership changes until 2 to 3 months after the purchase. 

Selling property

If you were registered for our pre-authorized payment plan, please write us to request cancellation. If you use the telephone banking system to pay your taxes, please ensure you update your information, so future payments are directed to the correct account. If corrections to electronic payments are necessary, there is a fee of $23.90 to transfer the money. 

If you have sold your property and receive the property tax bill, please give the property tax bill to the new owner or send it back to us. If you send it back to us, please indicate the sale date and new owner’s name. 

When you sell property, you may still be responsible for a portion of the property taxes. To determine if you owe anything and if so, how much, check with your lawyer or refer to the “Statement of Adjustments” in the sale / purchase documents. 

Tax certificates

A tax certificate is a document that states the status of a property tax account. It includes information on the current property assessment, the current owner, the property location and description, the current tax levy, and the account balance on the date issued. When you sell or purchase property, your lawyer may request a tax certificate on your behalf. 

The 2024 fee for a tax certificate is $82.35. This fee is set annually through our Fees and Charges Bylaw. 

Request a tax certificate: 

• • By mail: Send a letter with the fee to Taxation Services at City Hall, 216 Ontario Street, Kingston, ON K7L 2Z3.  
  • By fax or email: This method saves time, postage, and may reduce banking fees. You must subscribe to our “fax-back service” and have a pre-paid account. After processing your request, the tax certificate fee is automatically deducted from your pre-paid account. We will send your tax certificate within 48 hours, excluding weekends and holidays. To set up your pre-paid account, send a cheque for the amount of your choice payable to the City of Kingston. For more information on our “fax-back service”, contact Taxation Services.

Statement of taxes 

Contact our Taxation Services department if you need past-year payment records or duplicate statements.

The 2024 fee for a statement of taxes is $17.60 per year, per property. This fee is set annually through our Fees and Charges Bylaw.

In your request, please include your name, the property address, the roll number, and the year or years required. You can pick-up your statement from our office with proper ID and pay the fee at that time, or you can pay by credit card and have it mailed to you.