The City of Oshawa has reached out to Durham Post and said it has proposed a 1.97 per cent increase in its portion of the 2026 tax bill.
It said the earlier quoted 4.68 per cent increase relates to the increase in the overall budget levy, not the city’s portion of the 2026 tax bill.
Whitby mayor has proposed a 3.49 per cent increase while Uxbridge claims a 1.28% per cent rise in its own portion of the 2026 tax bill.
The Oshawa draft budget document released earlier projected “5.36% tax levy increase on the Oshawa portion of the tax bill” and continues on in the same paragraph to say for 2026 the “..tax levy impact decreasing from the forecasted 5.36% to 4.68%”.
Oshawa clarified that in 2024, the city prepared a multi-year forecast for 2026 projecting a 5.36 per cent tax levy increase on the Oshawa portion of the tax bill. It means:
- Oshawa anticipated needing to collect 5.36% more in total tax revenue in 2026 to fund its programs and services.
- However, due to updated strategies, that forecast has since been revised downward. The city now expects to require a 4.68% increase in tax revenue for 2026.
It said lower-tier municipalities collect property taxes not only for themselves, but also on behalf of the Region of Durham and the Province of Ontario (for local school boards). So, your property tax bill is split among these three levels of government.
Here’s a general breakdown:
- Roughly 40% goes to the city
- Roughly 15% goes to the province for education
- Roughly 45% goes to the region
“When all contributions are factored in, Oshawa’s portion of the total tax bill is expected to increase by 1.97% in 2026,” the city explained.
The city’s website has some additional information about the budget process, including videos.
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