Property Assessment
A brief history of property assessment and taxation
The purpose of assessment and taxation legislation in Alberta is to establish and maintain a property assessment system that fairly and equitably distributes taxes, and promotes transparency, predictability and stability for municipalities and taxpayers
What is property assessment?
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 the amount of tax paid is based on the value of the property.
How is the value determined?
There are two valuation standards that are used to value property for assessment and property taxation purposes in Alberta – the market value standard and the regulated standard.
The market value 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 willing seller to a willing buyer after appropriate time and exposure in an open market.
The regulated standard is used for the following property types; farmland, machinery and equipment and designated industrial property (DIP). Municipal Affairs prescribes rates and procedures to assess these types of properties, which are referred to as “regulated property”. Rates and procedures are determined by what the property is used for, its activity, or its production capability.
Who prepares assessments in Alberta?
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. The provincial assessor is responsible for all designated industrial property, while assessors employed or contracted by municipalities assess all other types of property. Under provincial legislation, a municipality must appoint, by bylaw, a designated assessor. A designated assessor is responsible for the completion of a number of tasks laid out by provincial legislation and regulations. To be the designated assessor for a municipality, an assessor must hold a recognized professional designation.
Big Lakes County has appointed Compass Assessment Consultants Inc. as designated assessors for the County.
How assessments are prepared
The majority of assessments prepared by the municipal assessor are done based on market value using a technique called mass appraisal.
Mass appraisal is the process of valuing a group of properties as of a given date, using common data, mathematical models, and statistical tests. Mass appraisal techniques allow assessors to accurately value a large number of properties in a short period of time.
Before an assessment can be prepared, property data must be collected. Accurate and complete property records lead to more accurate assessed values. The more accurate the assessed values, the more equitable the entire assessment system is.
Detailed information about each property is gathered by making on-site visits or by corresponding with the owner of the property. Correspondence with a property owner usually occurs when the assessor is requesting information about commercial, industrial, or rental properties (such as apartment buildings or hotels). Information collected by the assessor in the assessment process is also available from other sources including Alberta Land Titles, real estate Multiple Listing Services, and financial institutions.
Valuation and condition dates
In Alberta, there are two key legislated dates by which certain assessment processes must be completed, the valuation date and the physical condition date.
The valuation date is a fixed point in time at which assessment values are based. The valuation date ensures that all properties in a municipality are valued as of the same date. The valuation date established by legislation is July 1. For example, for the 2025 tax year, the valuation date for property assessment is July 1, 2024. This means that a 2025 property assessment must reflect the value of the property as of July 1, 2024.
The second legislated date in the valuation process is the “characteristics and physical condition” date. This is the date on which the condition of the property is recorded for property assessment purposes. Under Alberta legislation, the condition date for property other than designated industrial property is December 31. For example, for the 2025 tax year, the condition date would be December 31, 2024. This means that although the value of the property reflects the market conditions as of July 1, it must reflect the physical condition of the property as of December 31.
Inspections
Sometimes, an assessor may decide that he or she needs to inspect a property in order for a fair and accurate assessment to be determined. An inspection is conducted so that all characteristics of the property that affect the value are considered when the assessor determines the property’s assessment. All newly constructed properties require an inspection. Likewise, existing properties need to be reviewed from time to time to ensure the information that is used to create the property’s assessment remains accurate.
Under the Municipal Government Act (MGA), an assessor may enter and inspect property and request any document to be produced to assist in preparing the assessment. The legislation states:
- The assessor is required to give reasonable notice to the owner or occupier before an inspection.
- The inspection must be at a reasonable time.
- The assessor is required to make copies of anything necessary to the inspection.
- The assessor must be able to produce identification.
During an on-site inspection, the assessor will first explain the purpose of the visit, and request permission to carry out the inspection. The assessor will observe, record, and verify relevant physical details of the property. This may include both an interior and exterior inspection of the property. Where an assessor has requested information or documents about the property in order to prepare the assessment, and the person failed to provide the information within 60 days, the person cannot file a complaint on that property’s assessment in the following year.
Assessment notices
NOTICE is hereby given that the Assessment Roll of Big Lakes County made under the provisions of the Municipal Government Act has been prepared for the year 2025, and is open to inspection in the County Office, in High Prairie, Alberta from 8:15am to 4:00pm, during business hours.
Any person who desires to object to the entry of his/her name or that of any person upon the said roll(s) or the assessed value placed upon any property must, lodge their complaint(s) on approved form with Big Lakes County. Standard complaint forms are available at the Big Lakes County Office or online on the Big Lakes County website. Complaint forms must be completed and accompanied by the fee, as listed below, by no later than JULY 14, 2025, before 4:00 pm.
Appeal Fees:
- Single Family residential and farmland $50.00 per roll account
- Multi-family residential (more than 4 units) $350.00 per roll account,
- Non-residential (commercial/industrial) $350.00 per roll account,
Complaints with an incomplete complaint form, submitted after the filing deadline or without the required fee, are invalid.
Tax assessments notices were mailed out May 7, 2025. Any person that doesn’t receive an assessment notice but wishes to appeal their assessment must do so by July 14, 2025, before 4:00 pm.
Clerk, Assessment Review Board
BIG LAKES COUNTY
Box 239, High Prairie, AB T0G 1E0
DATED this 7th day of May 2025
David Reynolds
CAO
Assessment complaint system
To ensure that property owners have a voice in the property assessment system, the MGA provides property owners with the ability to ask for an independent review of their property assessment. Currently, there are three bodies that hear complaints, depending on the type of property being assessed: Local Assessment Review Boards (LARBs), Composite Assessment Review Boards (CARBs), and the Municipal Government Board (MGB).
LARBs hear assessment complaints about residential properties with 3 or fewer dwelling units and farmland, as well as complaints about tax notices other than those for property tax, business tax, or improvement area tax. CARBs hear assessment complaints about all other property types such as multi-family residential buildings, commercial and business properties, light industrial properties, etc., but not including any property that falls under designated industrial property. CARBs also hear complaints on tax notices for business tax or improvement areas. The MGB hears complaints on all designated industrial property, as well as equalized assessments.
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 request to inspect the property to determine if an error was made. If the assessor agrees that the original notice is not accurate, a corrected notice may be issued.
If the assessor and the property owner cannot come to an agreement, the property owner may begin the formal complaint process by filing a complaint with the municipality’s assessment review board. The deadline for filing a complaint with the assessment review board is noted on the assessment notice.
For more information about Property Assessment in Alberta, please review the Guide to Property Assessment and Taxation in Alberta
