2026 Property Tax Bill Information

The 2026 final property tax bill has several new elements that were not on your 2025 final property tax bill. The following is a brief summary of items that may contribute to increased total costs. If you have any questions about the charges on your account, please contact our Public Service Unit for assistance.

Lakeshore Property Tax Increase for 2026

Lakeshore continues to levy the lowest property tax rate throughout Essex County. The overall increase on assessed values for the 2026 calendar year is a 1.76% increase to the 2025 rates.

Property tax is computed by applying the Council approved tax rates for each MPAC assigned tax class to the assessed value of the property as determined by MPAC and provided to the municipality.

If your property was reassessed in 2026 to reflect changes in the property, that would also impact your total tax bill.

For more information about the 2026 Budget, visit our 2026 Budget page.

Green Bin Charges

New to this year's tax bill is the County of Essex Green Bin Program User Fee, which is collected by the Municipality on behalf of the County. This is a service-specific user fee and is not part of the municipal tax levy.

The 2026 charge of $187.91 represents approximately 15 months of service (covering the initial program rollout through December 2026), including the cost of the Green Bin. Beginning in 2027, the charge will reflect a standard 12-month service period.

The user fee applies to all eligible residential properties with access to the Green Bin service, regardless of whether the service is used. This approach is consistent with the County Council-approved funding model, which recovers the cost of providing the program from all eligible households receiving the service.

For more information about the Green Bin Program, including billing and frequently asked questions, please visit the County of Essex Green Bin Program - Billing Information page.

2025 and 2026 Drainage Charges

Property owners may also notice that this year’s property tax bill includes two years of drainage charges. Drainage charges were omitted from the 2025 property tax bills due to system limitations and resource constraints. Consequently, the 2026 billing includes both the outstanding 2025 drainage charges and the current 2026 charges.

Please note, these charges only affect residents whose properties are part of a municipal drainage system. Learn more about drainage charges on our Drainage page.