Assessed Property Value
Property values determine share of taxes
The City first sets the budget to pay for services and programs. Then, it uses property values to determine each homeowner’s share of the total taxes needed to pay for the budget.
Each property owner pays taxes based on how their property’s value compares to all other Edmonton properties.
All properties are assessed using similar factors as used by real estate agents when pricing a home. The Alberta government requires all municipalities to update property values annually to reflect the market value as of July 1.
Because property taxes are based on each property’s value compared to the rest on July 1, overall market value changes do not affect the total taxes the City collects. The City only collects enough taxes to pay for the budget.
Municipal property taxes are affected by 2 factors:
- The City Budget for all services and programs. If the budget increases, property taxes likely increase. For 2009 the average increase for residential property taxes is about 3.6%.
- If your property’s assessed value changed differently than the average change in Edmonton, your tax increase will be more or less than the average 3.6% tax increase required for the budget.
2009 Average change in residential property values
For the 2009 tax year, the value for all residential properties dropped by an average of about 10%. This does not mean taxes will decrease by 10%. The tax increase is mainly affected by the requirement for the new budget.
Compare the change in value of your home with the average change to determine if you will pay a tax increase more or less than the budget required 3.6% increase.
