How to Use Municipal Property Tax — Setup & Configuration

The Municipal Property Tax module is a complete system for managing property assessments, tax billing, collections, and enforcement. Before you can bill taxpayers, you need to configure your municipality's province, GL accounts, mill rates, and classifications.

This guide walks through the Dashboard and all Configuration pages, step by step, in the order you should set them up.

---

Getting Here

1. Open the main sidebar and select a Bookkeeping Client.
2. In the client sidebar, expand Municipal Government, then expand Property Tax.
3. Click Dashboard to see the overview.

The sidebar groups all Property Tax features into five sections:

---

The Property Tax Dashboard

When you first open Property Tax, you land on the Dashboard. This page gives you a high-level snapshot of the entire tax system.

Tax Year Selector

At the top-right of the dashboard, a dropdown lets you switch between tax years. The default year comes from your fiscal year-end setting in Settings. All stats, notices, and arrears data update when you change the year.

Top Metrics

Four stat cards sit across the top of the page:

Property Classification Breakdown

Below the metrics, a card shows the distribution of properties by classification: Residential, Commercial, Industrial, and Farmland. Each tile shows the count and the percentage of the total.

Quick Access Tiles

Four clickable cards let you jump directly to the most-used pages:

• Assessment Roll — View and manage property assessments.
• Tax Notices — Generate and send tax bills.
• Collection — Record tax payments.
• Arrears — Manage outstanding balances.

Recent Activity Tabs

Two tabs at the bottom of the page show recent activity:

• Recent Notices — A table of the latest tax notices with notice number, property, amount, status, and due date. Click any notice number to open its detail page. An Export button downloads the list.
• Tax Arrears — A table of the most significant arrears accounts with property, tax year, balance owing, status, and tax sale eligibility. Click Manage to go to the Arrears page. An Export button downloads the list.

Additional Quick Actions

Below the tabs, two more cards give you shortcuts:

• Mill Rates — A card showing the current tax year and a button to Manage Mill Rates.
• Tax Exemptions — A card with a button to Manage Exemptions.

These cards mirror the Quick Access Tiles and give you an alternate way to reach key configuration pages without using the sidebar.

---

Recommended Setup Order

Follow this order when setting up a municipality for the first time:

1. Province Config — Select your province to load default rules.
2. Settings — Configure GL accounts, classifications, charge rules, fiscal year settings, and automation.
3. Mill Rates — Define tax rates for each property classification.
4. Properties & Owners — Add properties and property owners (see the Properties & Owners guide).
5. Assessment Roll — Import or enter assessed values (see the Assessments guide).

---

Province Configuration

Path: Configuration → Province Config

Property tax legislation varies by province. This page lets you select your municipality's province and apply standard assessment classifications, rate caps, and billing defaults.

Select Your Province

1. Open the Province Configuration page.
2. Use the Province / Territory dropdown to select your province (e.g., Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta).
3. Click Save Province.

A badge at the top of the page shows the currently selected province.

Apply Province Defaults

Once a province is selected, a Province Defaults card appears. It shows:

• Assessment Classifications — Standard property classes for the province (e.g., Residential, Commercial, Industrial, Farmland, Multi-Residential, Pipeline, etc.).
• Rate Caps / Limits — Any statutory limits on tax rate increases per class.
• Billing Timelines — Standard due dates, installment schedules, and notice periods required by provincial legislation.
• Regulatory Templates — Standard notice templates and compliance requirements.

Click Apply All Defaults to load these into your municipality's configuration. You can customize them later in Settings.

ℹ Info: Applying defaults does not overwrite existing data. It only sets options that have not been configured yet.

---

Settings

Path: Configuration → Settings

The Settings page is the central configuration hub. It is organized into five tabs. A Save Settings button at the top-right persists all changes. A banner at the top shows whether the module is configured (green) or needs setup (yellow).

Configuration Status Banner

At the top of the page, a banner tells you if the module is ready:

• Setup Required (yellow) — The GL Accounts tab has not been fully configured. The system cannot post journal entries yet.
• Configured (green) — GL accounts are mapped and the module is ready to post entries.

---

Tab 1: General

This tab covers province, payment, billing schedule, document numbering, and charge caps. It is organized into four cards:

Province & Payment Card

Tax Year & Billing Card

Document Numbering Card

Charge Rules Card

---

Tab 2: GL Accounts

This tab maps every tax transaction to the correct general ledger account. Each field has a searchable dropdown that shows account number and name from your chart of accounts. It is organized into two cards:

GL Accounts Card

AFDA & Deferred Revenue Accounts Card

⚠ Warning: The Tax Receivable Account, Tax Revenue Account, and Collection Bank Account are required. The system cannot post journal entries without them.

---

Tab 3: Tax Year Rules

This tab configures year-specific tax rules. Use the Tax Year dropdown at the top to select which year you are configuring. The tab has three cards:

Minimum Tax Rules Card

Sets a floor amount per classification or per mill rate. Even if the calculated tax is lower, the property is billed at least this amount.

1. Click Add Rule.
2. Select a Classification and optionally a specific Mill Rate (leave Mill Rate blank to apply the minimum to the total notice).
3. Enter the Minimum Amount in dollars.
4. Add a Description (optional).
5. Click Save.

The table shows: Classification, Scope (Total Notice or a specific rate), Minimum amount, and Description. Click the trash icon to delete a rule.

Percent-of-Value Rules Card

Converts assessed value to taxable value per classification. For example, some provinces tax farmland at 55% of assessed value and residential at 80%.

The card shows an input field for each active parent classification. Enter a percentage (0–100) for each. Leave blank for 100% (fully taxable). Click Save Percent-of-Value Rules to persist.

Penalty & Interest Rules Card

This card shows a read-only summary of all charge rules for the selected tax year: Type (penalty/interest badge), Name, Method, Rate, Days After Due, and Cap.

Click Manage Penalty & Interest Rules to jump to the dedicated Interest & Penalties page, where you can create, edit, and test charge rules in detail. (See the Collections, Arrears & Enforcement guide for full charge rule documentation.)

---

Tab 4: Classifications

This tab manages property tax classifications — the categories that determine which mill rate applies to a property.

The page shows a hierarchical list. Parent classifications (e.g., "Residential") can have child sub-classifications (e.g., "Improved" and "Vacant"). Each shows its slug, name, and whether it is a System or Custom classification.

To add a classification:

1. Click the Add Classification button.
2. Enter a Name (e.g., "Commercial").
3. Optionally enter a Description.
4. If this is a sub-classification, select a Parent from the dropdown.
5. Click Save.

To delete a classification: Click the trash icon on the row. System classifications that are in use cannot be deleted. Custom classifications can be removed if no assessments reference them.

Classifications appear in dropdowns throughout the system — Assessment Roll, Mill Rates, Exemptions, and more.

ℹ Info: Classifications auto-seed when first accessed if the list is empty.

---

Tab 5: Automation

This tab has manual trigger buttons for background jobs:

⚠ Warning: These actions post real financial transactions. Always run a dry run first and review the results before posting.

---

Mill Rates

Path: Configuration → Mill Rates

Mill rates determine how much tax each property pays. A mill rate is the amount of tax per $1,000 of taxable assessed value.

Tax Formula:

$$ \text{Tax} = \frac{\text{Taxable Assessed Value}}{1{,}000} \times \text{Mill Rate} $$

For example, a property with a taxable value of $250,000 and a mill rate of 3.423 would pay:

$$ \frac{250{,}000}{1{,}000} \times 3.423 = $855.75 $$

The Mill Rates Table

The page shows a table of all mill rates for the selected tax year. Use the year dropdown at the top to switch between years.

Summary metrics above the table show: number of unique classifications, total rates configured, and the average mill rate.

Creating a Mill Rate

1. Click the Create Mill Rate button.
2. The create dialog opens. Fill in the fields:

3. Click Save.

Editing a Mill Rate

1. Click the pencil icon on any row.
2. The same form appears pre-filled with the current values.
3. Make changes and click Update.

Deleting a Mill Rate

Click the trash icon on any row. The rate is deleted immediately after confirmation.

⚠ Warning: Deleting a mill rate that has already been used to calculate tax notices may affect historical reporting. Consider setting a rate to zero instead.

How Multiple Mill Rates Work

A property can be subject to multiple mill rates. For example, a residential property might have:

• Municipal rate: 2.500 mills
• Education rate: 1.200 mills
• Library rate: 0.150 mills

The total tax is the sum of all applicable rates. Each rate can post to a different GL revenue account for proper fund accounting.

Mill rates are applied per classification. If you have "Residential," "Commercial," and "Industrial" classifications, you typically create at least one rate for each.

---

Next Steps

Once you have completed the setup:

• Province selected
• GL Accounts mapped
• Classifications defined
• Tax Year Settings configured
• Charge Rules created
• Mill Rates entered

You are ready to move on to adding properties, owners, and assessments. See the Properties, Owners & Assessments guide.