How rates are calculated
Your rates are your contribution towards services provided by Yarra City Council. How much you pay depends on the value of your property.
Two elements are contributing towards the rates you are being charged this year.
General rate increase
Firstly, Council has decided to increase its rate revenue by 5.9% to $79.6 million. This amount was determined after Council worked out how much money it needed to deliver all services, manage assets, improve local infrastructure and carry out local government functions.
The 5.9% increase includes income from new properties and interest. Once this is removed, the increase for an average ratepayer would be 4.2%.
Property revaluation
Your property revaluation is the second element that is contributing towards the amount you are charged in rates.
The values of all properties in Yarra were re-assessed as at 1 January 2012, in line with a State Government requirement that Victorian Councils carry out a revaluation every two years. Here is more information on how property is valued.
The revaluations, of themselves, do not increase the total amount of rate revenue collected by Council, However, the revaluations do reallocate each ratepayer’s contribution based on their property’s valuation.
Properties in Yarra increased by an average of 3.59% between 2010 to 2012. Owners of properties that have increased in value above the average will be required to make a higher contribution to the rates that Council collects to provide its services. Conversely, owners of properties with below average increases in value will receive below average increases in their rates or, in some cases, actual decreases.
How your rates are calculated:
The total amount that Council intends to raise in rate revenue ($79.6 million) is divided by the total value of all properties in Yarra to give the ‘rate in the dollar’. The rate in the dollar for the 2012–2013 year is 0.04369.
To calculate your rates, Council works out the Net Annual Value (NAV) of your property. The Net Annual Value is fixed by state legislation to be 5% of the CIV for residential properties. The amount for commercial or industrial properties is not set but must be a minimum of 5%. The NAV is then multiplied by the rate in the dollar.
Example
Ms Smith’s property was revalued by Council and the value of her property has increased from $550,000 to $560,000.
Therefore: 5% of $560,000 (CIV) = $28,000 (NAV)
$28,000 (NAV) x 0.04369 (rate in the dollar)
Rates Bill = $1223.32
(compared to $1194.60 in 2011–2012, when her property was valued at $550,000 and the rate in the dollar was 0.04344).
Ms Smith’s rates have therefore increased by 2.4%.
Ms Smith’s rates increased by less than the 4.2% average rate increase because her property increased in value below the average 3.59% valuation increase.
Further information
Philip Mason
Manager - Finance
9205 5449
Philip.Mason@yarracity.vic.gov.au
Back to top