Arrears Payment Plan

To apply for this plan, you must be the owner of a property and your property tax account must be in arrears. You must establish a payment arrangement with staff prior to application. The established monthly payment amount will be withdrawn on the 15th of each month, January – December.

Instalment Due Date Payment Plan

To apply for this plan, you must be the owner of a property and your property tax account must be up to date. Have the full amount of your tax instalments withdrawn from your bank account on the four due dates. 

Monthly Payment Plan

To apply for this plan, you must be the owner of a property and your property tax account must be up to date. Equalize your annual taxes over eleven months. Payment will be withdrawn on the 15^th of each month, January – November. 

Please complete the Pre-Authorized Payment application

As part of completing the application you will be able to upload a void cheque or a pre-authorized debit form. Please ensure that the name on the bank account matches the property ownership. If the name on the void cheque does not match that of the ownership name(s) on the tax account, both the payee and the owner must sign the application. The bank account must be a chequing account.

Application deadlines

There are four times during the year when you can start the Monthly Pre-Authorized payment plan:

• Before December 31 for a start date of January 15
• Before March 31 for a start date of April 15
• Before May 31 for a start date of June 15
• Before August 31 for a start date of September 15

Once your tax account is enrolled in the Monthly or Arrears Pre-Authorized payment plan, no Interim Tax bill will be sent, only the Final Tax bill in May will be sent.  Please keep this as your official receipt.

There are four times during the year when you can start the Instalment Due Date Pre-Authorized payment plan:

• Before January 31 for a start with the February Interim instalment No. 1
• Before March 31 for a start with the April Interim instalment No. 2
• Before May 31 for a start with the June Final instalment No. 1
• Before August 31 for a start with the September Final instalment No. 2

Once your tax account in enrolled in the Instalment Due Date plan your Interim and Final tax bills will show the withdrawal dates and amounts.

You can enroll in the Arrears Pre-Authorized payment plan once you have established a payment arrangement with Tax Department staff. You can start this plan anytime of the year as long as your application and void cheque are received before the end of the month prior to when you want to join the plan.

If you change banks or banking information, you'll need to update your Pre-Authorized payment plan. Please complete the Bank Change form and submit it along with your void cheque or a pre-authorized debit form:

We must receive banking changes by the end of the month before the month you want the changes to take effect.

If you sell your property, you'll need to complete a Pre-Authorized Plan cancellation request. Please complete the Pre-Authorized payment plan cancellation request form and submit it to:

For the Monthly Payment Plan and the Arrears Payment Plan we must receive all cancellations requests by the end of the month before the month you want the cancellation to take effect.

For the Instalment Due Date Payment Plan we require the cancellation request 14 days prior to the next withdrawal date.

Please remember that when you cancel, your tax account it will go back to the four regular instalment due dates and you may have an extra balance to pay off the remaining amount of an instalment. Please contact the Tax Department and verify your outstanding balance at the time of cancellation.

How much will my payment be? Will it change?

Monthly Payment Plan

Your monthly amount will be provided to you with a letter when you make application to join. The amount will vary depending on the time of year you join but the amount should equalize your annual taxes over the months January – November. You'll receive notice of your monthly payment for the upcoming year, (January – May) in late December. In May once the final tax levy is available, you'll receive an updated payment amount on your final tax bill for the months June – November.

Instalment Due Date Plan

Your payment amount will be the four regular instalment amounts supplied to you on your Interim and Final tax bills.

Arrears Payment Plan

Your monthly payment amount will be established with a payment arrangement with staff. This amount will pay the outstanding balance to zero within a maximum of 36 months. Accounts will be reviewed at the end of each year and any changes to the amount will be sent to you in writing.

How the Pre-Authorized Payment plans work

Monthly Payment Plan

Your monthly tax instalments will be withdrawn on the 15th of each month from January to November. There are no withdrawals in the month of December. You'll receive a notification in December letting you know what your monthly payments will be starting in January.

Once the final tax levy has been calculated for the year, your payments for the months June - November will be adjusted accordingly, and a revised payment schedule will appear on the back of your final tax bill in May.

Instalment Due Date Plan

You will continue to receive your tax bills at least 21 days in advance of the first instalment due date. The amount to be withdrawn and the due date will be shown on the tax bill.

Arrears Payment Plan

If your tax account has fallen into arrears, please contact the Tax Department to establish a payment arrangement. Once a payment amount has been agreed to, return the application to the Tax Department.  Fixed monthly payments will be withdrawn on the 15th of each month January – December. Arrears accounts will be reviewed at the end of each year to identify any requirement for a change to the monthly payment amount to reach a zero balance within the maximum of 36 months.

What are the benefits of a Pre-Authorized payment plan?

With a Monthly Pre-Authorized payment plan, you don't need to worry about missing a payment date or making a late payment. The amount will be automatically withdrawn on the 15th of each month.

Monthly payments also allow for easier budgeting. You can pay your taxes in 11 smaller monthly instalments instead of four larger instalments on the tax due dates.

With the Instalment Due Date Pre-Authorized payment plan you can continue to pay your 4 instalment amounts on their due dates but the amounts will be withdrawn from your account automatically so you will never miss a payment again.  This plan will allow you to pay only what is due when it is due, there are no payments required before they are due.

With the Arrears Pre-Authorized payment plan you can make monthly payments to pay the arrears on your account to a zero balance over the maximum term of 36 months. Your tax account will still be charged monthly past due fees which are regulated under the Municipal Act.  If your account has reached two years arrears or more plus the current, enrollment in this plan will halt any tax sale procedures as long as no payments are missed.

Is it confidential and safe?

Yes, the Town's bank handles all payment transactions. Access to your account is limited to the withdrawal of payments as authorized in your enrollment application. The Town doesn't have access to your account balances or other banking transactions.

What if I pay my taxes through a mortgage company?

You'll need to contact your mortgage company to see if you can change how you pay your property taxes in order to join the Pre-Authorized payment plan. Once you have signed your application to join a Pre-Authorized payment plan, this will be our authorization to remove any mortgage interest on the account.

What if there isn't enough money in my account for the withdrawal?

If a withdrawal amount is returned to the Town of Whitby, we will send written notification to the mailing address on record. You'll need to pay an administration fee and the replacement payment directly to our office on or before the date provided in the written notice.

If your account is enrolled in the Monthly payment plan and the replacement payment is not received within the current month, the account is automatically removed from the pre-authorized payment plan and it will change back to the regular instalment due dates and penalty/interest charges will apply on any past due balances.

If your account is enrolled in the Instalment Due Date payment plan, any payments dishonored by your bank will be charged past due and administration fees.  If two consecutive payments are dishonored and not replaced by the date in the written notice the account will be removed from the plan.

Each account enrolled in the Arrears payment plan will be reviewed if a payment is dishonored.  Administration and past due fees will be applied to the account.  Dishonored payments may warrant removal from the plan and tax sale procedures may have to be reinstated.

Many banks offer overdraft protection services to protect you from insufficient funds in your account and they will cover the monthly payment withdrawal. Talk with your bank to learn more about overdraft protection.

Can I set up the day when I want the Pre-Authorized payment to occur?

No, pre-authorized payments are set to one of 2 options;

1. The 15th of each month for the Monthly payment plan AND the Arrears payment plan

2. Instalment due dates matching each of the four tax due dates that will be listed on your Interim and Final tax bills.

I am moving. Do I have to notify you?

Yes! Cancellations for the Monthly payment plan and Arrears payment plan need to be received by the end of the month prior to the month you would like the cancellation to occur.

Cancellations for the Instalment Due Date payment plan must be received at least 14 days prior to the next withdrawal.

If notice is not given to cancel the plan when a sale occurs any payments withdrawn after the sale date will remain on the account and it will be the vendor’s responsibility to negotiate these payments with their lawyers.

 Does the name on the VOID cheque need to match the owner(s) on title?

If the name on the VOID cheque is different than the owner(s) on title, both the individual whose name is on the VOID cheque as well as the owners on title need to sign the forms when enrolling in a Pre-Authorized payment.

If the the VOID cheque is in a company name then we will require a copy of the articles of incorporation showing the directors and only the directors can sign the application as an owner or payee.

 How is the Arrears payment plan different from the Monthly payment plan?

To make application for this plan your account must be in arrears.

The plan will continue until the account reaches a zero balance within the 36 month maximum payment arrangement. At that time a notice will be sent to the owner to encourage enrollment in the regular Monthly payment plan which requires a zero balance.

If a lien or additional charge is added to your tax account, written notification will be given with a due date to be paid by separate from your monthly payments. If this payment is not made it will be included in the year end review and the monthly amount will change to include it. Past due fees will continue to be charged to any account balance until it reaches a zero balance.