How a property owner could see a 30-per-cent tax hike

When the City of Edmonton mailed out property tax notices last month, some residents saw bills jump much higher than expected.

City council passed a budget with a 2.8 per cent citywide increase — 3.3 per cent for individual homeowners when combined with the provincial education tax — but some residents were reporting tax increases of up to 30 per cent when they opened the bill. Now the deadline to pay is coming up June 30.

Rod Risling, branch manager for taxation and assessment, said it comes down to the fact average property values across the city dropped this year.

Commercial property values dropped the most, but private homes and privately-owned condos went down by an average 2.8 per cent. That means if a home dropped in value by 2.8 per cent (the average drop), it would see the average tax increase of 3.3 per cent.

But in Central McDougall, for example, the average value went up by 12 per

People can always call us. If there is an issue with the assessment, we still want to make it right.

cent. That’s 14.8 percentage points more than the average.

“If you then add the 3.3 per cent, which is the base (tax increase), you get to just over 18 per cent,” said Risling.

That’s the approximate jump homeowners see when they open the annual tax bill. But homeowners who pay month-to-month can get an even bigger surprise.

Since homeowners pay the old rate until the new taxes are set, the increase doubles. Homeowners make up the difference in the last half of the year. The Central McDougall homeowner with an 18 per cent tax increase would see the monthly bill jump by 36 per cent in July.

Risling said the window to appeal a property assessment is January through March, but homeowners can call 311 any time and ask to speak with a “property assessor” if they have questions, said Risling.

Each tax bill also has a password for homeowners to go online and check the data the city has on their house because provincial law says property tax must be based on how much the house is worth the previous July. This year 1,500 people appealed.

“People can always call us,” said Risling, adding his staff are there for questions even if the legal appeal period is over. “If there is an issue with the assessment, we still want to make it right.”