Richmond Property Taxes and Utility Bills

The short answer

Richmond has two separate bills, two separate due dates, and one claim you must make yourself every year. Property taxes are due once a year, on the first business day in July. The annual flat-rate utility bill is due March 31. Metered utility bills follow a quarterly cycle instead. The Home Owner Grant does not arrive automatically: you claim it through the Province of BC, and if you miss it, the grant portion counts as unpaid tax and draws the same penalties as any other unpaid balance.

Amounts and dates below are the published 2026 figures. The calendar rules carry forward, but the exact July date changes year to year, so check the date on your own notice.

Property taxes: due date and penalties

Richmond property taxes are due once a year, on the first business day in July. In 2026, that date was Thursday, July 2, 2026. Taxes must be received by the City's Property Tax Department on or before the due date.

The penalty schedule for 2026 is fixed and two-step:

• A 5% penalty on the outstanding balance if taxes are not paid in full by July 2, 2026.
• A further 5% penalty on any balance still outstanding after September 1, 2026.

Utility bills: flat rate versus metered

Every Richmond property owner receives a utility bill, covering water, sewer, grease management, solid waste and recycling, environmental protection, and flood protection. How you are billed depends on whether your home has a water meter.

Flat-rate (annual) utilities are billed once a year, due March 31. The City's published 2026 date is March 31, 2026, and the PAWS material states the same bill as due March 31 or the first working day in April. Treat March 31 as the date to beat.

Metered utilities are billed quarterly, and each bill is due three months after the end of the quarter: the January to March quarter is due in June, April to June in September, July to September in December, and October to December in March of the next year.

The discount rule is the same for both types: only payments received on or before the due date receive the 10% discount. For scale, the City's published 2026 discounted cost for a typical single-family metered residence, with average water use and a standard garbage cart, is $2,251 per year ($6.17 per day): water $631, sewer $835, garbage, recycling and environmental programs $443, and flood protection $342. Metered rates for 2026, with the early-payment discount, are $1.81 per cubic metre for water and $2.57 per cubic metre for sewer, with sewer charges based on metered water use.

The Home Owner Grant: claim it through the Province, every year

The Home Owner Grant reduces the property taxes you pay on your principal residence. Richmond owners do not apply through the City: municipalities no longer accept applications, current or retroactive. Applications go to the Province of BC, online, and the City's grant page points owners to gov.bc.ca/homeownergrant.

Three rules catch people out. First, you must claim every year you are eligible; last year's claim does not carry over. Second, you must claim by the tax due date on your notice to avoid a penalty, and you can claim without making a payment. Third, your mortgage company cannot claim on your behalf.

For 2026, Richmond falls in Metro Vancouver, so these are the amounts that apply:

• Basic grant: up to $570. You must still pay at least $350 in property tax.
• Additional grant, for owners age 65 and over: up to $845. You must still pay at least $100 in property tax.
• Full grant threshold: an assessed value of $2,075,000 or less. Properties assessed above that may receive a partial grant.

The additional grant also covers seniors, veterans and people with disabilities, and people living with a relative who has a disability, under the provincial rules. If you are unsure which category fits, check the eligibility wording on the back of your tax notice under "To qualify for the Home Owner Grant" before applying.

Paying through MyRichmond

MyRichmond is the City's online account service. Register your tax account, your utility account, or both. Once registered, you can choose e-billing from within your account, and utility and property tax notices will then be delivered electronically instead of by mail.

Confirm the balance and due date on your own account rather than relying on last year's date. If a notice has not arrived, ask the Tax Department for a replacement before the due date.

PAWS: paying monthly instead of in a lump sum

The Property Pre-Authorized Withdrawal plan, PAWS, spreads next year's bills over ten monthly withdrawals. Withdrawals are taken from your bank account on the first of each month, from August 1 to May 1, and enrolment continues from year to year. The City recalculates the monthly amount each year, and the new amount appears on your property tax bill.

There are two main options:

• Option 1: property taxes and flat-rate annual utilities. Ten monthly prepayments go first to the annual flat-rate utility bill, due March 31 or the first working day in April, and the balance goes to property taxes, due the first working day in July. Any outstanding property tax balance is withdrawn on the tax due date, which keeps a PAWS account clear of the 5% penalties. If a final balance remains on the flat-rate utility account, you must pay it independently.
• Option 2: property taxes only. Ten monthly prepayments are taken, with a final balance withdrawal on the tax due date. The final balance amount is stated on your property tax bill. Metered customers can add metered quarterly utilities: four automatic withdrawals, one on each meter due date, for the amount on the bill.

Two conditions apply before you enrol. All current or overdue taxes and utilities must be paid in full; PAWS cannot be used to pay overdue taxes. If you enrol after August, you must either increase the monthly prepayments, pay the remaining balance on the property tax due date, or remit the missed payments from August to the date of application. To apply, complete the PAWS form and send it with a void cheque by mail or in person to the Tax Department at the City Hall address above, by email to TaxDept@richmond.ca, or by fax to 604-276-4128.

If you cannot pay by the due date

Do not simply let the penalties run if a provincial program may cover the balance. The Province of BC offers property tax deferment to families with children and to people aged 55 and over, surviving spouses, and people with disabilities. It is a low-interest loan program, not a grant, and the deferred amount remains owing.

Deferment applications and renewals must reach the Province by the tax due date to avoid a penalty. Before submitting one, pay any arrears and penalties and complete the Home Owner Grant step; PAWS members must first ask the City to cancel their monthly payments. For taxes deferred for 2026 and subsequent years, compound interest is charged at prime plus two per cent, from the tax due date or the deferment application date, whichever is later. That replaced simple interest at prime minus two per cent for taxes deferred for 2025 and earlier years.

Common mistakes

• Assuming the grant is automatic. It is not, and it must be claimed through the Province every year, by the due date.
• Paying the tax but forgetting the utility bill. The March 31 flat-rate utility date comes months before the July tax date, and missing it loses the 10% discount.
• Judging payment by the send date. Richmond applies penalties and the utility discount by the received date, so pay early enough for the payment to arrive.
• Enrolling in PAWS with arrears outstanding. PAWS requires current and overdue balances to be paid in full first; it prepays next year, it does not clear an old balance.
• Using the wrong region's grant amount. Richmond is in Metro Vancouver, so the 2026 basic grant is up to $570 and the additional grant up to $845, not the $770 and $1,045 figures for properties outside Metro Vancouver, the Capital Regional District and the Fraser Valley Regional District.

Related guides: how to be an owner-builder in BC, furnace replacement cost in British Columbia.

Sources

• City of Richmond, Property Tax Due Dates — property taxes due the first business day in July; July 2, 2026 due date; 5% penalty on the outstanding balance after the due date and a further 5% after September 1, 2026; replacement tax notices; deferment applications must reach the Province by July 2, 2026.
• City of Richmond, Paying Your Property Taxes — PAWS 10-month pre-payment August 1 to May 1, Options 1 and 2, enrolment conditions, MyRichmond account service, Tax Department contact 604-276-4145 and TaxDept@richmond.ca, City Hall 6911 No. 3 Road, fax 604-276-4128.
• City of Richmond, Home Owner Grant — municipalities no longer accept grant applications; claim through the Province every year; basic grant up to $570, additional grant up to $845; minimum tax $350 basic / $100 additional; an unclaimed grant counts as unpaid tax.
• City of Richmond, Utility Rates — 10% discount for payment received by the due date; typical single-family metered home 2026 $2,251 per year (water $631, sewer $835, garbage, recycling and environmental programs $443, flood protection $342); metered rates water $1.81 and sewer $2.57 per cubic metre.
• City of Richmond, Utilities — Due Dates and Discounts — flat-rate utility bill due March 31, 2026; metered quarterly due dates (Q1 due June, Q2 September, Q3 December, Q4 March of the next year); 10% discount only if payment is received by the due date; MyRichmond e-billing.
• Province of British Columbia, Homeowner grant provides tax relief for British Columbians — 2026 full-grant threshold $2,075,000 (down from $2,175,000); basic grant up to $570 and additional grant up to $845 in Metro Vancouver, the Capital Regional District and the Fraser Valley Regional District; grant reduced $5 per $1,000 of assessed value above the threshold. Note: the release prints the provincial apply URL, which returned the Province's own 404 page in the live browser on November 6, 2026 — the release is cited here for the figures, not the apply link.
• Province of British Columbia, Property tax deferment program — deferment is a loans program; simple interest for taxes deferred for 2025 and earlier years, compound interest for 2026 and later years; eligibility is the regular program (55 and over, surviving spouse, person with disabilities) or the Families with Children program.