Property assessment is the process of assigning a dollar value to a property for taxation purposes. In Alberta, property is taxed based on the “ad valorem” principle. Ad valorem means “according to value.” This means that the amount of tax paid is based on the value of the property. The municipality is responsible for ensuring that each property owner pays his or her fair share of taxes. Property assessment is the method used by municipalities to distribute the tax burden among property owners in a municipality.

Too often, the terms “assessment” and “taxation” are considered to be interchangeable. However, assessment and taxation are very different. Although one impacts the other, each is a distinct and independent process. “Assessment” is the process of placing a dollar value on a property for taxation purposes. This value is used to calculate the amount of taxes that will be charged to the owner of the property. “Taxation” is the process of applying a tax rate to a property’s assessed value to determine the taxes payable by the owner of that property.

The assessment and taxation system begins with government policies that are outlined in the Municipal Government Act. All activities that are associated with property assessment and taxation are governed by this legislation. The assessor interprets these rules to determine which valuation method must be used for each property. An assessor collects a variety of information to calculate a property assessment.

Once the assessment is complete, the assessed value is entered on the assessment roll, which lists all of the property assessments in a municipality. Assessment notices are created from the information on the assessment roll. A notice is mailed to every property owner in a municipality. If property owners do not agree with the assessed value of their property as listed on their assessment notice, they can appeal their assessment. The assessment roll is used to calculate the amount of municipal and education property tax payable on each property.

Assessments for all types of property are prepared by professional, certified assessors. Assessors receive training in a variety of areas including property valuation techniques, legislation, and quality assurance. Under provincial legislation, a municipality must list at least one designated assessor. A designated assessor is responsible for completing a number of tasks laid out by provincial legislation and regulations. An assessor is hired by a municipality in one of two ways: as an employee of the municipality, or as a contractor. Contracting often occurs in smaller municipalities where the duties associated with calculating assessments are not a fulltime activity. Regardless of the assessor’s employment situation, all assessors, whether they are contractors or municipal employees, must follow the same procedures and legislation.

Not all property is assessable for property tax purposes. The Municipal Government Act outlines what property is assessable for taxation. The Act defines property as:

• > A parcel of land
• > An improvement
• > A parcel of land and the improvements to it
• > It does not include things like furniture, jewellery, automobiles, or other personal possessions. If a property cannot be assessed, this means it cannot be taxed.

Properties that are not assessed or taxed include:

• > Publicly owned infrastructure or equivalent
• > Privately owned facilities
• > Minerals Property in Indian reserves
• > Property in Metis settlements
• > Growing crops

The market-value-based standard is used to determine the assessed values for the majority of properties in Alberta. Market value is the price a property might reasonably be expected to sell for if sold by a knowledgeable, willing seller to a willing buyer after appropriate time and exposure in an open market.

Key characteristics of market value are that it is the most probable price, not the highest, lowest, or average price. It is expressed in terms of a dollar value. It assumes a transaction between unrelated parties in the open market. It assumes a willing buyer and a willing seller, with no advantage being taken by either party. It recognizes the present use and potential use of the property. Sometimes the market-value-based assessment of a property is confused with the sale price of an individual property. It is important to note that the market-value-based assessment is not the sale price. The sale price is an historical fact. The sale price is the amount the purchaser agrees to pay and the seller agrees to accept under the circumstances surrounding the sale.

An assessment roll is a listing of all assessable properties in a municipality and their assessed values. The Municipal Government Act requires each municipality to annually produce an assessment roll. The roll must be completed by February 28 each year. The assessment roll must contain the following information for each assessed property:

• > Assessed person (owner of the property), including name and mailing address
• > Location Property type assessed (land, improvements, or land and improvements)
• > Description of the improvement being assessed (pipeline, structure, etc.)
• > Assessed value
• > Assessment class
• > School support declaration
• > Taxable status (total or partial exemption from taxation)

Assessment notices are created from the information on the assessment roll. The assessment notice is the document that municipalities send to property owners to tell them about the assessment of their property. An assessment notice must include the following information:

• > All of the same information as appears on the assessment roll
• > The mailing date
• > The date by which a complaint must be filed if a property owner is challenging an assessment
• > The name and address of the designated officer with whom a complaint must be filed

Each year every municipality is required to send an assessment notice to every assessed person listed on the assessment roll. Each municipality must publish a notification in one issue of a local newspaper to announce that the assessment notices have been mailed to property owners within the municipality. Sometimes an error is found on an assessment notice. The assessed person can contact the assessor to correct this information. Corrections can only be made to current-year assessment notices. This means that a person cannot change an error, omission, or wrong description on an assessment notice from a previous year.

Each property in a municipality receives an assessment notice whether it is exempt from assessment and/or property taxation or not. If an assessed party believes that his or her property should receive an exemption from assessment, property taxation, or both, then the property’s exemption status can be challenged through an assessment appeal.

Just as assessors abide by rules when collecting information for assessment purposes, taxpayers have a legislated right to know how their assessment is determined. A municipality is required to provide sufficient information showing how the assessment of a property was prepared. “Sufficient information” means that the municipality must provide enough information to explain to an assessed person how the assessment was prepared. In addition, the assessed person has the right to see the assessment roll, which lists the assessed values for all properties in the municipality. If requested to do so, a municipality must provide an assessed person with a summary of the assessment of any assessed property in the municipality, as long as the municipality is sure that confidentiality will not be breached.

A municipality may charge a fee for providing this information. The assessed person is also entitled to see the assessment record, a listing of property characteristics for his or her own property, and the assessment roll. The ability of an assessed person to see his or her assessment, check the facts, and compare his or her assessment with other property assessments makes the assessment system more accessible, fair, and understandable.

Yes, you can. The assessment roll is available for viewing at the County Administration Office. These fees are outlined in our current Fees for Service Bylaw, to view these Bylaws, please see our Fees for Service Bylaw section.

The County also utilizes web-based interactive mapping; where it allows for online viewing of the County maps and provides many details relating to the maps (such as a summary of assessment information). To view our web-based mapping, please see our Maps & Addressing section.

To ensure that property owners have a voice in the property assessment system, the Municipal Government Act has set out a complaint and appeal process for property owners who have concerns about their assessment. The process involves two levels of formal appeal. The first is at the municipal level with an assessment review board (ARB), and the second is at the provincial level, with the Municipal Government Board (MGB).

The first step an assessed person should take if he or she believes his or her property assessment is unfair or inaccurate is to contact the assessor. The assessor can be reached by calling the municipality’s office at the number listed on the assessment notice. The assessor may be able to inspect the property to determine if an error was made. The assessment can be corrected if necessary. If the assessor agrees that the original notice is not accurate, a new notice can be issued.

If the assessor and the property owner cannot come to an agreement, the property owner can begin the formal complaint process by filing a complaint with the local assessment review board. An assessment complaint must be filed using the Government of Alberta’s “Assessment Review Board Complaint Form” (form number LGS1402), or provided by your municipality upon request. You can also download it from the Municipal Affairs’s website at: www.municipalaffairs.alberta.ca

Once you have filed an assessment complaint with the assessment review board, the municipality is no longer required to fulfill a section 299 or 300 request for information until after the complaint has been heard and decided upon.

Additionally, Municipal Affairs has published and updated a number of guides:

• > Guide for the Exchange of Assessment Information: Market Value Properties
• > Guide to Property Assessment and Taxation in Alberta
• > Filing a Property Assessment Complaint and Preparing for Your Hearing

If you have any further questions about assessment and taxation legislation or processes, please contact the Assessment Services Branch at lgsmail@gov.ab.ca, or by calling Municipal Affairs at 780-422-1377.

Due to amendments to the Municipal Government Act, Council and Administration of the Vulcan County created a non-residential property tax class, which became effective in 2025. The goal of this property tax class is to provide property owners, who previously paid a non-residential property tax levy, an opportunity to qualify for a reduced property tax rate.

As per the Municipal Government Act, the tax rate on “Small Business Property” is required to be less or equal to the standard tax rate on Non-Residential Assessment (but not less than 75% of the tax rate).

This Small Business Property Assessment Sub-Class was established by Bylaw 2025-006 (Assessment Sub-Classes Bylaw).

Should you meet the eligibility requirements (Non-Residential Assessment and other criteria) and have under 50 Full-Time Employees across Canada, it is recommended that you fill in and submit the “Small Business Property Declaration Form (Form 2025-006A)“.

The Small Business Property Declaration Form is required to be submitted my March 31st for the year of taxation. This form should be completed and either:

• send it by email (lwehlage@benchmarkassessment.ca), or
• drop it off in person at the County Administration building located at 102 Centre St. Vulcan

If you have any questions regarding the form, please feel free to meet with our Property Assessors in person or call 403-381-0535.

Should you be classified as a “Small Business Property” you will only be required to provide ongoing annual declarations if you have 30 or more (but less than 50) Full-Time Employees. The declarations must be submitted annually by March 31st to maintain your classification as a Small Business Property. Late or non-submission may result in the loss of eligibility for that taxation year.