Pre-Authorized Payments for Property Taxes Resuming

Hamilton, ON – The City of Hamilton is resuming property tax pre-authorized withdrawals for the majority of taxpayers who are enrolled in Pre-Authorized Payment Plans (PAP). Revisions have been made to the scheduled property tax withdrawal dates to provide time for property owners to adjust and plan for the upcoming withdrawals.

Due to the cybersecurity incident impacting the City of Hamilton since February 25 which disabled some of our IT systems, automatic property tax withdrawals were put on hold to ensure the security of financial information and the accuracy of billing. The decision to resume was made after careful consideration and to help minimize financial impacts to affected property owners.

The City is in the process of notifying those affected, sending letters to the 68,000 property owners who are on property tax pre-authorized payment plans. Information is available at hamilton.ca/cyberincident and will also be shared through other communications channels, such as social media.

The City is resuming withdrawals for the majority of taxpayers on pre-authorized payments. The revised schedules for the five payment plans are as follows:

• If you are enrolled in a 10-month (Feb-Nov) or 12-month (Jan-Dec) pre-authorized payment plan (PAPs withdrawn on the first day of the month):
  • March 1 deferred withdrawal will now be withdrawn on April 15
  • April 1 deferred withdrawal will now be withdrawn on May 1
  • May 1 withdrawal will now be withdrawn on May 15
  • June 1 and subsequent withdrawals will proceed as originally scheduled
     
• If you are on the 12-month plan (PAPs withdrawn on the 15th day of the month):
  • March 15 deferred withdrawal will now be withdrawn on April 15
  • April 15 withdrawal will now be withdrawn on May 1
  • May 15 and subsequent withdrawals will proceed as originally scheduled
     
• If you are on the Arrears plan (PAPs withdrawn on the last business day of the month):
  • February 29 deferred withdrawal will now be withdrawn on April 15
  • March 28 deferred withdrawal will now be withdrawn on May 1
  • April 30 withdrawal will now be withdrawn on May 15
  • May 31 and subsequent withdrawals will proceed as originally scheduled
     
• If you are on the Instalment plan (PAPs withdrawn on the instalment due dates):
  • February 29 deferred withdrawal will now be withdrawn on April 30
  • April 30 withdrawal will now be withdrawn on May 31
  • The remaining withdrawals will be identified on your 2024 final tax bill

Moving forward, subsequent withdrawals starting in June will follow the original withdrawal schedule until the 2024 final tax bill is issued. Once the final bill is issued, monthly payments will be adjusted based on the actual final billing information.

Property owners who are on property Tax Pre-Authorized Payment Plans and have questions can e-mail the City at [email protected] or call 905-546-2489 (CITY).

The City of Hamilton continues to respond to the ongoing cybersecurity attack, prioritizing recovery efforts and the rebuilding of our IT systems in a safe and secure manner. The City will continue to provide further updates about the cybersecurity incident response as new information becomes available.

For the latest information, a full list of service disruptions and answers to frequently asked questions, visit hamilton.ca/cyberincident