Property assessment and appeals in Nova Scotia

PVSC is "an award winning, independent, not-for-profit organization that is responsible for assessing all property in Nova Scotia." It is municipally funded and values property in all 49 municipalities. PVSC sets values; it does not set tax rates or send tax bills. Municipalities use the assessment roll to calculate property taxes.

Market value. The Assessment Act states that "All property shall be assessed at its market value": the amount that would be paid if it were sold on a date prescribed by the Director "in the open market by a willing seller to a willing buyer" (s. 42(1)). PVSC uses mass appraisal to value over 650,000 property accounts each year, based on sales data, financial information and property characteristics.

Two dates. Each roll uses two dates. For 2026, values reflect the market on January 1, 2025. They also reflect the property's characteristics and physical condition on December 1, 2025, including new construction, renovations, damage or demolition.

Classification. "All property is classified into one of three possible classes: Residential, Resource or Commercial." Classification depends on a property's use or intended use. Where a property has more than one use, a share of the value goes to each class (Assessment Act s. 26).

Assessed value and taxable value. The notice shows both. For property in the Capped Assessment Program, the taxable assessed value is the lower of the assessed value and the capped assessment. Municipal rates apply to the taxable value.

PVSC mails Property Assessment Notices every January. For 2026, it mailed over 650,000 notices on January 12, 2026. The notice states "This is not a tax bill"; tax bills are mailed separately by the municipality.

The 2026 notice shows: - property details (the physical location of the property); - the classification: residential, resource or commercial, or a share of each; - the assessed value, which "reflects the physical state of your property as of December 1, 2025, and is based on its market value as of January 1, 2025"; - the capped assessment, if the property is eligible for the CAP (the field is blank when it is not eligible, or when the assessed value is below the capped assessment); - the taxable assessment value, which is used to calculate property taxes (except for exempt farm and partially exempt forest property, which is based on acreage); - five years of assessment history, including total assessed value and total capped assessment value; - PVSC contact details and the appeal deadline.

The Assessment Act requires the notice to show the assessed amount and classification "with the same detail as appears on the roll" and the assessments for each of the preceding five years (s. 53(1), (1A)). The notice may be served by mail or, with the owner's consent, electronically (s. 53(2)).

Each notice carries an Assessment Account Number (AAN) and a PIN. With these, an owner can log in to "My Property Report" on pvsc.ca to view the 2026 assessment and confirm the property details PVSC holds. PVSC's site also has a property search by address, Assessment Account Number or advanced search. PVSC asks owners to keep the PIN private.

PVSC's guidance on receiving a notice is to read every section, confirm the property details in My Property Report, note the appeal deadline, and contact PVSC with questions. PVSC says assessors are available to discuss assessments at 1-800-380-7775 or [email protected]. Questions about tax bills go to the municipality.

Nova Scotia's limit on assessment increases is the Capped Assessment Program (CAP), which "places a 'cap' on the amount that the taxable assessment for eligible residential property can increase year over year." PVSC administers it for the Nova Scotia Government, under s. 45A of the Assessment Act.

Rate. "The 2026 CAP rate is 2.6%." The CAP rate is based on the Nova Scotia Consumer Price Index; PVSC uses "the CPI received from the Nova Scotia Department of Finance in November of each year." The Act defines the percentage by reference to the Consumer Price Index for Nova Scotia published by Statistics Canada (s. 45A(1)(d)).

Calculation. Capped assessments are calculated each year by adding the Nova Scotia CPI to the previous year's capped assessment. In the first year of eligibility, the previous year's assessed value is the base. The value of any new construction is then added. "The Taxable Assessed Value reflects the Assessed Value or the Capped Assessment, whichever is lower."

Eligibility. PVSC says the requirements are set by the Assessment Act and "cannot be amended by PVSC". Eligible properties are: - at least 50% owned by a Nova Scotia resident; - residential property with less than four dwelling units or vacant resource property (including manufactured homes, manufactured home parks, cooperative housing, and the residential or resource portions of a commercial farm); - occupied by the owner, if the property is a condominium; - owned for at least a year, or ownership remained within the family.

Not eligible: commercial properties, new construction, non-owner-occupied condominiums, properties bought from a non-family member within the last year, and properties majority-owned by out-of-province residents.

Reset on sale. "The CAP is removed for the year following the sale of a property, unless it was purchased from a family member (spouse, child, grandchild, great grandchild, parent, grandparent or sibling)." PVSC's example: a property bought from a non-family member in June 2023 is assessed without the CAP in January 2024, and with the CAP again in January 2025 if the other criteria are met.