What will our June 2026 tax bill look like?

On December 10^th, 2025, our Halton Regional Council approved the 2026 budget. With both Burlington and Halton Region having approved budgets, we now know what our June 2026 tax bill will look like.

There are four components to our tax bill. This table shows the approved increases and the decision-makers.

Government	Decision Makers	% Increase
Education	Province of Ontario	0%
Region of Halton	Regional Chair, mayors and councillors from Burlington, Oakville, Milton and Halton Hills.	3.3%
Halton Police	The Halton Police Board recommends a budget that is approved by the Region of Halton	6.4%
City of Burlington	Mayor and councillors	5.8%

What does all this mean to our final tax bill?

We’ll see the total value of all the property taxes we pay, the total line on the tax bill, increase by 4.49%.

Burlington has the most significant increase, at 5.8%. Burlington’s taxes account for about half the bill. The low increase in regional taxes and the zero percent increase in education taxes reduce the total increase.

Halton Region is also responsible for our water bill, and we’ll see a 6% increase in our water and wastewater rates.

Here’s how the increases have looked since the 2022 municipal election

Inflation rates have been much lower than the City of Burlington tax increases. According to the Bank of Canada Inflation Calculator, $1,000 spent in 2022 would require $1,102.92 in 2026.

Next year is an election year. We won’t hear anything about the 2027 budget until after the elections. Burlington’s 2026 tax increase is the lowest increase we’ve had in the last four years.

Year-over-year increases compound. Burlington’s 10.21% increase in 2024 applied to the 15.59% increase in 2023.

This table shows the compounding/cumulative increases.

This table shows the compounding/cumulative effect of inflation from 2022 to 2026.

In words, over the four-year term of the current council, Burlington taxes are up 44.91%. In second place is Halton Police, with a 36.45% increase. Halton Region manages major projects such as the work on Dundas St., with an 11.64% cumulative increase. The province relies on other revenue sources to fund the rising cost of education.

What does this mean for Burlington businesses?

Costco on Brant St. paid $354,703 in total property taxes in 2025. The 4.49% increase will increase Costco’s property tax bill by $15,926. Everyone who shops at Costco will contribute a small amount toward the store’s 2026 property tax bill of $370,629.

The Bank of Canada just reiterated that inflation will stay close to 2% in 2026. Burlington taxes will increase by 5.8%. Our total bill will increase by 4.49%, and our water/wastewater bill will increase by 6%.

For Burlington residents with wages, pensions, or other forms of income closely linked to inflation, the city’s year-after-year, above-inflation increases will make life in Burlington unaffordable.

This is how our councillors voted on Burlington’s 5.8% 2026 Property Tax Increase:

Councillor	Vote
Mayor Meed Ward	Voted FOR the tax increase.
Councillor Galbraith (Ward 1)	Voted FOR the tax increase.
Councillor Kearns (Ward 2)	Voted AGAINST the tax increase.
Councillor Nisan (Ward 3)	Voted FOR the tax increase.
Councillor Stolte (Ward 4)	Voted FOR the tax increase.
Councillor Sharman(Ward 5)	Voted FOR the tax increase.
Councillor Bentivegna (Ward 6)	Voted FOR the tax increase.

Mark your calendars, our next chance to vote will be on October 26th, 2026.