Before the offer
The seller’s tax bill is not your tax bill.
In New Brunswick, two separate rules can move the property tax on a home the year after it changes hands. Buyers find out from the first notice. This page explains both, from the statute and the province, so you can find out before you write the offer.
Two rules, working separately
The assessment cap resets
The province limits how fast the value used for taxation can climb, which Service New Brunswick calls spike protection. That capped figure belongs to the property’s own history, and section 15.71(6) of the Assessment Act, RSNB 1973, c A-14 directs that a property transferred during a year is assessed the following year at its real and true value. In plain words on the province’s valuation page: properties sold in the previous year are excluded from spike protection.
The seller’s credit ends
The Residential Property Tax Credit is applied against the provincial part of an owner-occupied home’s bill. Service New Brunswick’s credit page says it remains on the property until a change in ownership or occupation occurs, and tells purchasers that they or their lawyer should apply for it. A qualifying buyer gets the same credit. Qualifying and having it applied are two different steps.
One thing that gets overstated
A buyer does not lose spike protection forever. The reset applies to the year following the transfer, and the capped growth rule then runs again from the new base. The only transfers that keep the previous cap are the non-market ones listed in Regulation 84-6, and an ordinary purchase is not among them:
- Deeds of confirmation, rectification or modification
- Transfers to yourself to consolidate or subdivide a parcel
- Registering an easement or a similar right
- Transfers from an executor or administrator to beneficiaries or heirs
- Changes between joint tenancy and tenancy in common
- Transfers of marital property between spouses
2026 specifically
A freeze year, and it ends
Section 15.72 of the Assessment Act, RSNB 1973, c A-14 deems a property’s 2026 amount of assessment to be its 2025 amount. The province’s freeze questions and answers say 90 per cent of property owners will see their 2026 value for taxation remain the same as their 2025 value. It is written for 2026 only. Property sold or transferred in 2025 is carved out, along with new construction and improvements to part of a property. Spike protection applies again for 2027.
2026 municipal rates where the team works
Per $100 of value for taxation, municipal portion only, each taken from the municipality’s own published figure or adopted council minutes.
| Municipality | Residential | How it was set | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saint John | 1.535 | Down from 1.550 in 2025 | Town page |
| Quispamsis | 1.2599 | Held at the 2025 rate, approved 18 November 2025 | Town page |
| Grand Bay-Westfield, Ward 1 | 1.275 | Approved 10 November 2025 | Town page |
| Grand Bay-Westfield, Ward 2 | 0.7932 | Approved 10 November 2025 | Town page |
| Rothesay | 1.1700 | Held at the 2025 rate by council motion, 10 November 2025 | Town page |
Hampton works differently. The 2023 reform merged the former town with parts of several local service districts, and it publishes several sub-units on different bases. Rather than restate a table that is easy to get wrong, read the town’s own rates page. Sussex, St. Stephen and Fundy-St. Martins are not tabulated here because their figures have not been through this page’s verification; each municipality publishes its own.
The provincial part
For 2026 the Real Property Tax Act, RSNB 1973, c R-2 sets 0.5617 per $100 for most residential property and 1.8560 for non-residential, both written in for a fixed span of years that ends with 2026. The residential credit is applied against that residential figure. It does not take the provincial part to zero without qualification: s. 5(2.02) adds 0.0194 in municipalities, and s. 5(4.101) adds 0.4115 where the province still maintains the roads. From 2027 the fixed rates are replaced by the rate stabilizer in s. 5.011, and no 2027 figure exists yet.
The calendar you are actually living in
Assessment notices are mailed in January. A free Request for Review can be filed online or by phone within 30 days after the notice is mailed, with the exact deadline printed on the notice; filing one does not defer payment. Tax bills follow in March for most owners, and the billing cycle page says some are billed later. Recent buyers are disproportionately in that group, so a quiet spring is not proof that nothing changed.
Look up the address you care about
The property records page shows the assessed value, the tax as levied on the current owner and the last registered sale for any address. Read the tax there as the seller’s number, then ask Service New Brunswick about your own position.
Questions people actually ask
Why is my property tax higher than what the seller was paying?
Two separate rules can do it. Under section 15.71(6) of the Assessment Act, a property transferred during a year is assessed the following year at its real and true value, outside the capped figure the previous owner had built up. Service New Brunswick says the same thing in plain words on its valuation page: properties sold in the previous year are excluded from spike protection. Separately, the Residential Property Tax Credit stays on a property only until ownership or occupation changes, and that credit is applied against the provincial portion of the bill.
What is the Spike Protection Mechanism?
It is the province's limit on how fast the value used for taxation can climb. Service New Brunswick says any increase greater than 10 per cent is phased in over time. It has applied since the 2013 tax year for owner-occupied homes and was extended to all property types from 2025. It is set aside for the 2026 freeze year and applies again for 2027.
Does spike protection transfer to me when I buy?
No. The Assessment Act directs that a transferred property be assessed the following year at its real and true value, and only a short list of transfers in Regulation 84-6 avoids that. They are things like an estate distribution to beneficiaries, a transfer of marital property between spouses, a correcting deed, or a change between joint tenancy and tenancy in common. An ordinary purchase is not on the list.
Do I lose spike protection forever once I buy?
No, and this gets overstated. The reset applies to the year following the transfer. After that the capped growth rule runs again, measured from the new base.
What was the 2026 assessment freeze?
Section 15.72 of the Assessment Act deems a property's 2026 amount of assessment to be its 2025 amount. Service New Brunswick said 90 per cent of property owners will see their 2026 value for taxation remain the same as their 2025 value. It is written for 2026 only. Property sold or transferred in 2025 is carved out, as is new construction and improvements to part of a property.
Does the seller's tax credit come with the house?
No. Service New Brunswick states that the credit remains on the property until a change in ownership or occupation occurs. It also tells purchasers directly that when buying a property that is to be your principal residence, you or your lawyer should apply for the credit. Qualifying for it and having it applied are two different things.
I bought part way through the year. What happens to the credit?
Service New Brunswick says a buyer may be eligible for a partial credit for the portion of the year they both own and live on the property. The Residential Property Tax Relief Act prorates it by day count, and the count runs from the later of establishing the new principal residence and ceasing to maintain a previously credited home. That second date catches move-up buyers who kept a credited home for a while. Service New Brunswick can tell you where you stand.
Does the credit cover my whole property?
It does not extend to more than half a hectare of the land the residence sits on, which matters on the larger lots common in Hampton, Grand Bay-Westfield and the rural edges of Rothesay and Quispamsis. On a duplex, a triplex or a house with a second unit, it covers only the portion the owner occupies.
Are rented homes taxed at a different provincial rate?
A rented single-family house, duplex, triplex, cottage or apartment building sits in the same statutory rate group as an owner-occupied home and takes the same provincial residential rate. What separates the two bills is the credit, not the rate class. A higher provincial figure circulates online as a non-owner-occupied residential rate, and that is a misreading: it applies to a different set of categories entirely.
Can I challenge an assessment?
Service New Brunswick runs a free Request for Review that can be filed online or by phone, but it has to be made within 30 days after the assessment notice is mailed. The specific deadline is printed on the notice. Filing one does not defer payment, and under the Real Property Tax Act taxes are due and payable on the day the tax notice is mailed.
When do notices and bills arrive?
Assessment notices are mailed in January. Tax bills follow in March for most owners. Some are billed later, including people whose property changed in a way that needs additional billing, and recent buyers are disproportionately in that group.
How much will my bill actually go up?
This page cannot tell you, and anyone who gives you a number without looking at the property is guessing. It depends on the gap between that property's value for taxation and what it would sell for, which is specific to the address. Look it up on the property records page to see the assessed value and the tax as levied on the current owner, then speak to Service New Brunswick about your own position.
Sources
- Assessment Act, RSNB 1973, c A-14Government of New Brunswick
- Real Property Tax Act, RSNB 1973, c R-2Government of New Brunswick
- Residential Property Tax Relief Act, RSNB 1973, c R-10Government of New Brunswick
- New Brunswick Regulation 84-6Government of New Brunswick
- How your property is valuedService New Brunswick
- Understanding your assessment noticeService New Brunswick
- Value for taxation freeze: frequently asked questionsService New Brunswick
- Residential Property Tax CreditService New Brunswick
- Request a review of your assessmentService New Brunswick
- How property tax worksGovernment of New Brunswick
- Property tax billing cycleGovernment of New Brunswick
Check the tax before you write the offer.
The team looks this up as a matter of course and will tell you what the seller pays, what changes, and who to ask about the rest.