On January 3rd, Property Assessment Notices were mailed out by The City of Calgary.

2023 was another strong year for property values, and almost all home and business owners will see an increase in the assessed value of their property. With revenue-neutral taxation, increases in property value won’t necessarily translate to an equal increase in property tax. Each year, the property tax mill rate (the percentage applied to the value of the property) is adjusted to ensure that the same revenue is collected from the totality of all properties in the city, before any changes to the overall budget are made. The City has a great video to help understand this concept: Assessment & Taxation - YouTube

Overall, as a city, more than 580,000 Assessment Notices were compiled and sent out, based on their value on July 1^st of last year. Your home’s 2024 property assessment reflects sales that happened between July 1, 2020, and July 1, 2023. The process to assess properties in the City of Calgary is provincially mandated and is designed to ensure equity and transparency.

Determining your share of property tax - YouTube

This year, the median price for a residential property increased by 10%. Properties that increased more than that amount will have a higher than average tax increase, while properties that had a smaller increase in value will see a lower than average tax increase. Overall, the median single-family home, assessed at $610,000, will see an expected jump of about $16 per month. A condo owner, with a median value of $295,000 would see a smaller change to this year’s tax bill.

What if I believe my assessment was incorrect?

You can contact Assessment during the Review Period to discuss your assessment and any concerns you might have. You have until March 11, 2024 to call and talk to the Assessment Team. Keep in mind that this is the first step. If you are not satisfied with the decision of the Assessment Team, you only have until March 11 to file a complaint with the Assessment Review Board (Calgary Assessment Review Board (calgaryarb.ca)). Time is of the essence.

Welcome to the Customer Review Period 2024 (calgary.ca)

What if I have not yet received my assessment?

You should receive your assessment notice within 10 days. If you have not received your assessment notice, contact Assessment. You can also ensure prompt correspondence by signing up for eNotice.

How do I compare my assessment with other properties or view historical data?

There is publicly available information for nearly every property in the City, and detailed information on your own property if you register and sign in. Use the Public Access search if you don’t have an account or require additional detail

Assessment Search Login: Assessment: The City of Calgary

If you have additional questions regarding Assessment, you can view the FAQ here: Assessment – frequently asked questions (calgary.ca)

How will my assessment affect my property taxes?

As I mentioned above, your assessment will affect your future property tax bill by the difference between your assessment and the average for the whole city, of your type of home/property. After that calculation, the increase to this year’s budget will be added on. This rate will be finalized in March of this year once the provincial portion of property taxes is also finalized. Your Property Tax Bill will be mailed to you in May.

There will be an increase to this year’s budget, and you can view more details on how it came to be and my accompanying thoughts here: 2023 Adjustments - Evan Spencer for Ward 12

Ward 12 Impact

Ward 12 trended closer to the rest of the city than in past years, in terms of assessment change vs the mean. While in 2022 over 98% of residential properties in Ward 12 saw larger-than-average increases to assessed value, last year 58% of properties in the ward saw smaller-than-average increases to their value. As mentioned above, the mean increase for residential properties across the city was approximately 10% over 2022 values. Also reversing previous trends is the disparity between single residential and condominium properties. While in past years, single residential and semi-detached homes saw much larger increases in their assessed value than multi-family condos, this year was a different story. Condos, on average, saw greater gains in value and will also experience larger increases in their property tax bills.

As communities like Auburn Bay and Copperfield wind down their development, much of the growth will shift to communities like Seton, Rangeview, and Hotchkiss. We will also see greater assessment growth in those areas as they welcome new amenities and connections to the rest of the ward as they become more attractive to home buyers.

Understandably, the challenge with assessed value is that it is grown in your walls and foundation, and is not always realized until a future sale of your home. Calgary continues to be a very attractive city and we anticipate tens of thousands of new residents every year, putting even more pressure on housing values. With new communities breaking ground in 2024, as well as efforts the city is making through its Housing Strategy, we hope to see a softening of these pressures in the coming years in the deep southeast.

If you need clarification on your assessment, I would encourage you to reach out to the Assessment Office. Still, I and my office are also willing to help fill in any gaps and happy to receive general feedback that this conversation sparks for you.

Email my office at: [email protected] or contact Assessment

Evan Spencer,

Cllr. Ward 12