City of Toronto writing off $4.3M in debts, fines

The general government committee will consider the matter on May 11 before it goes to City Council later this month

Published May 07, 2026  •  3 minute read

Toronto City Hall is seen on Wednesday January 14, 2026. Photo by Ernest Doroszuk /Toronto Sun

Toronto City Hall is set to write off roughly $4.3 million in uncollectable fines, property taxes and other amounts owing.

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A report, prepared for this month’s meeting of the city’s general government committee, says Toronto’s chief accountant has approved writing off 8,022 fines, issued under the Provincial Offences Act, worth a collective $3,019,028.

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Typical fines under the act include violations such as speeding, bylaw infractions and fines related to the TTC.

While most of those cases related to a deceased debtor or a defunct business, more than $670,000 in fines were written off because collection efforts had been “exhausted” or the debtor couldn’t be found, the report says.

“The city makes every effort to collect unpaid fines. Collection tools utilized by court services include collection agencies, tax roll, civil enforcement, licence suspension and plate denial,” states the report, signed by the city’s chief accountant Jason Li.

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Meanwhile, $1,008,896 owed to the city for billable services is also being written off. A little less than half of that – $402,108 – was owed to Toronto Water. Other city divisions with total write-offs exceeding $100,000 were seniors services and transportation services.

The city is also wiping away $299,458.16 owing on 79 property tax accounts from previous years, some dating back as long ago as 1994.

A big chunk of that comes from four accounts assigned to 399 The West Mall, the address of the Etobicoke Civic Centre. Collectively, those accounts owed more than $57,000, much of it in fees and interest, on debts from the 1995 tax year.

Another $87,000 or so comes from one address that has since been exempted from the property tax rolls: 3541 Finch Ave. E. While that address today appears to be a field next to Saint Aidan Catholic School, east of Warden Ave., it also had debts on the city’s books dating to 1995.

Those three categories add up to a little more than $4.3 million for the 2025 fiscal year. The report says that doesn’t represent a “financial impact” because the figures “are not recognized as revenue until paid or unless there is a reasonable expectation of collection.”

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Toronto City Hall during the holidays. Photo by Ernest Doroszuk/Toronto Sun

‘Financial hardship’

An attached breakdown shows the write-offs Li’s department has recommended are for services the city already delivered.

While many represent a lump total of non-payments owed to one division – such as the $35,043 in invoices related to things like dumping fees and bin sales that solid waste management services has given up on – some belong to an individual person or company.

Bylaw bosses are writing off $8,118 owed by one account after the debt was negotiated down to $3,200.

“The amount represents outstanding invoices related to election sign removals and late payment charges,” the report’s attachment says.

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Meanwhile, City Hall’s corporate real estate management division has given up on $30,186 and $12,664 owed by unnamed tenants. The former had steep invoices tied to repair, maintenance and insurance costs, while the latter is a non-profit that is “experiencing financial hardship.”

The division’s executive director has approved both write-offs given the “nature of the tenants’ work within the community” and their inability to pay.

While representing missed revenue for the city, the numbers are all improved from the 2024 fiscal year, when the write-off total eclipsed $6.2 million. They’re also far better than the 2023 fiscal year when $17 million was written off – an exceptionally high number inflated in part because the city had to shrug off $6 million in Provincial Offences Act fines against defunct companies.

The general government committee will consider the matter on May 11 before it goes to City Council later this month.

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