Where your property taxes actually go.
Property taxes are one of the most talked-about, and least explained, parts of municipal life. Here's a plain-language look at how the bill is split, what the Town actually controls, and how Stouffville compares.
Your tax dollar, split three ways
Your property-tax bill isn't one tax. It's three, collected together by the Town. For every dollar of residential property tax in Whitchurch-Stouffville, roughly:
The most important thing to notice: most of your bill doesn't fund the Town. Nearly half goes to York Region, and the education share is set by the Province. Neither is decided at the Stouffville council table. The roughly one-third that is the Town's portion is where local council has a direct say, and where the value-for-money conversation really belongs.
The 2026 residential rates
| Portion | 2026 residential rate |
|---|---|
| Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville | 0.309822% |
| York Region | 0.392412% |
| Education (Province) | 0.153000% |
| Total | 0.855234% |
Your actual bill is this rate applied to your property's MPAC assessment, so two homes pay different amounts. Rates as published on the Town's tax-rates page for 2026.
How Stouffville compares
By the numbers, Stouffville is a relatively low-tax town. The Town's own budget book ranks its residential tax rate the sixth-lowest of 27 municipalities across the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (2023), and the 2025 budget landed a blended increase of 3.86%, described by the Town as among the lowest blended increases in the GTA that year.
That's worth protecting, but a low rate isn't the whole story. The real test is value for money: are residents getting services that keep pace with a town that has roughly doubled in size? Holding the line on the Town's portion and making sure growth pays its fair share of the infrastructure it needs are two sides of the same coin.
Where David stands
David's approach to the budget is the same as his approach to everything else: read the file, follow the evidence, and explain the trade-offs honestly. That means being straight with residents about what council actually controls, about a third of the bill, and treating every dollar of it as something to be justified, not assumed.
It also means asking the growth question seriously: as new subdivisions arrive, the services and infrastructure they need shouldn't quietly land on existing residents' tax bills. Smart, evidence-based planning is how you keep taxes fair and services strong at the same time.
Read the Evidence-Based Governance pillar →
Sources
- Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville, Tax Rates, townofws.ca/live/property-taxes/tax-rates.
- Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville, 2024–2026 Operating & Capital Budget, p. 30 (GTHA property-tax-rate comparison), townofws.ca (PDF).
- Bullet Point News Stouffville, “Stouffville's Tabled 2025 Budget…,” stouffville.bulletpointnews.ca (5.69% levy; 3.86% blended; 7th-lowest GTHA rate).
- York Region, Regional Property Taxes, york.ca.