How do property tax bills work after I buy?
Settle two things in your first month: what your municipality's own payment schedule is, and whether your lender is collecting property tax with your mortgage payment. Either you pay the municipality directly or your lender remits it, and assuming wrong creates arrears.
Caution: What we have not checked
Your account is with the municipality, and its schedule, its instalment dates and its rate for the year are published by the municipality rather than set here. Get them from its own tax page, or from its by-law for the year you are buying in. What this answer will not do is describe that schedule for you, and the note above the explanation says why.
The part that goes wrong: some lenders require or offer to collect property tax with your mortgage payment and remit it for you. If that is your arrangement, paying the municipality yourself as well means you have paid twice. If it is not your arrangement and you assumed it was, you have arrears accruing interest and you will find out roughly a year later.
So confirm it in writing with your lender in the first month, and register for the municipality's online account so you can see the balance yourself.
Also expect an adjustment at closing. Your lawyer reimburses the seller for the portion of the year they prepaid, and that is on your statement of adjustments.
Next questions
Are property taxes different between GTA cities?
Substantially. Each municipality sets its own rate against the same provincial assessment, and the spread across the GTA is wide enough to change your monthly carrying cost by hundreds of dollars on the same price.
Ontario
How do I challenge my property assessment?
File a request for reconsideration with the provincial assessment authority before the deadline on your notice. It is free. Your evidence is sold prices of comparable properties as of the legislated valuation date, not today's market.
Ontario