Rates
Each year Gore District residents make a financial contribution to the Council in the form of rates.
These pay for a variety of services and activities, such as the Gore Aquatic Centre and acclaimed Main Street garden plots. Rates also allow the Council to maintain our extensive infrastructural assets, such as the road you drive on each day to get to work.
Rates payment dates
We encourage people to set up their rates payment by direct debit. For those who prefer to pay in instalments, there are four due dates for each instalment.
The due dates for the 2017/18 year are:
- 25 August 2017
- 24 November 2017
- 23 February 2018
- 25 May 2018
Non-payment of rates
Unfortunately, bills get overlooked sometimes. If you do not pay your rates by the date each instalment is due, there will be a 10% penalty. A further 10% penalty is added to any unpaid rates on 1 July, following the due date. An additional 10% will be incurred every six months thereafter.
Paying your rates online
Our rating system
Rates are the Council’s main source of revenue and its rating system is capital value-based. This means that the value of your property is used to calculate the percentage you pay for certain activities. It is not used to calculated your total rates.
There are two types of rates - a general rate and a targeted rate. Your rates account is made up of the following:
| • Uniform Annual General Charge and other uniform target rates |
25% |
| • Fixed Targeted ward rates |
41% |
| • Valuation-based targeted rates |
27% |
| • Valuation-based general rates |
7% |
Merging properties for rating purposes
Merging Properties for Rating Purposes Application Form [PDF, 57 KB]
If you have bought a property in the Gore District that is beside a property you already own, you may be able to merge these properties for rating purposes.
The properties must meet the following criteria:
- They must have common ownership
- They must be contiguous (or separated only by a road, railway, drain or river)
- They must be used jointly as a single unit
Getting a refund from us
Refund Request Application Form [PDF, 67 KB]
If you have overpaid a rates account, a dog registration, a debtors or a water account, you can apply for a refund.
Applying for a rates refund on behalf of a client
Solicitors' Rates Refund Application Form [PDF, 61 KB]
If you have a client that is ratepayer in the Gore District and they have overpaid their rates, you are able to request a refund of the overpaid rates on behalf of your client.
Please contact us by email rates@goredc.govt.nz or phone 03 209 0330 if you require more information.
Property search
To search for rates on your property click on 'Search It' in the Do It Online section, or click here.
2015 Remission of Rates policy [PDF, 73 KB]
Environment Southland rates information
