Burlington's 2026 tax bill rose 4.5 per cent. The 2027 budget waits for the new Council

The 2026 numbers

Burlington City Council concluded the 2026 budget at a Special Meeting of Council on December 2, 2025. According to the City's property tax page, the completed budget increases the City's own budget by 5.81 per cent. Combined with Halton Region's approved budget and the education portion, the overall increase on a residential tax bill is 4.50 per cent, or an extra $43.71 for every $100,000 of current value assessment.

The City's share of the 4.50 per cent increase is 2.98 percentage points and the Region's is 1.51, according to the City. Of the 2026 bill, City services account for 52 per cent, Halton Region services for 33 per cent and the school boards for 15 per cent. The City's published 2026 final tax rates put the total urban residential rate at 0.01015281, which is about $1,015 per $100,000 of assessment.

The 2027 budget

The City says the process to review and approve the 2027 budget will begin in December 2026, after the municipal election and after the new Council is sworn in on November 16. A preliminary look at the pressures facing 2027 was presented to Council in June 2026 in the Financial Forecast report, FIN-11-26.

Public input has started. The City's Get Involved Burlington page says the annual online budget survey is underway now, that engagement began in September alongside the annual Food for Feedback event on September 12, and that more engagement events are planned to begin in late November once the new Council has been sworn in.

Reading your bill

Burlington sends two bills a year with four payments. The interim bill early in the year covers February and April and is based on the previous year's levy. The final bill, sent in the spring, covers June and September and reflects budget and assessment changes. The City advises comparing your 2025 final bill with your 2026 final bill, not the interim bill, to see the real year-over-year change.