City of Calgary 2019 property assessment review period currently open

Calgary business property owners have until March 12 to review their 2019 assessment values with the City after assessments were sent out last week to both residential and non-residential property owners.

A property assessment value can be calculated in a number of ways, as determined by the Municipal Government Act. The 2019 assessment value should be an accurate reflection of what your property would have sold for on July 1, 2018. The assessment value is then used by both municipal and provincial governments to calculate the amount of tax owed by the property owner each year. You can check your assessment value online.

It is important that business owners understand that even if their property has gone down in assessed value, their tax bills could increase due to both general tax rate increases as well as the city’s “revenue neutral” property tax collection system that could require businesses in parts of the city to pay a larger share of the tax burden, when values drop more sharply in other areas of the city. These impacts are expected to be pronounced for some suburban businesses due to sharp declines in the value of downtown office space.

The Calgary Chamber will be advocating during discussions for the city to limit increases on businesses and find a long-term solution to what has become a growing tax burden on businesses outside the core.

Review period now open

To ensure business owners are not surprised by hefty increases, property owners are encouraged to review their assessment values with the City of Calgary’s assessment department. This Customer Review Period is open from now until March 12, 2019. Reviewing your assessment can include checking the factual information the City has on file about your property and looking at whether your assessment is an accurate comparison to what similar properties in your neighbourhood sold for last year or are currently valued at.

Once the review period has closed, the finalized property assessments will be used to calculate property taxes for the 2019 budget period. The tax assessment invoices will be sent out in May, and no retrospective property assessments are possible at this time.

To ask any questions about your assessment or to challenge the valuation, contact the City of Calgary’s Assessment Department.