Assessment

The assessment value of your property, calculated annually, is used to distribute property taxes fairly and equitably. 

Two factors contribute to increases or decreases in annual property taxes:

  1.  Change in assessed value of a property relative to the average change in the assessment base
  2. Change in the total amount of property taxes the municipality needs to collect 

This year Cochrane needs to collect 3.7% more than we did in 2022. 

Assessment values that increased by the same amount as the average value change should anticipate a 3.7% increase in municipal property taxes. For properties whose values changed less than the average but by more than 3.7%, your portion of property taxes will decrease. For properties whose value changed more than the average, their portion of tax allocated will increase by this difference plus 3.7%. 

Changes in the amount of education taxes set by the Province of Alberta and the requisition to support seniors’ housing set by the Rocky View Foundation will also impact the total taxes payable.

The Cochrane Property Tax Calculator compares three example property assessments and how their portion of property taxes are calculated. Thank you to The City of Red Deer for providing use of this video for Cochrane.

Alberta Land Titles Delays

 

Due to processing delays at the Province of Alberta Land Titles Office, if your property was purchased in 2022 or 2023, ownership and mailing address changes may not be reflected on the Assessment Notices mailed in January. Property Owners that have not received your Assessment Notice, your assessment is available online after January 20, 2023. 

Annual process

Annual assessment notices are mailed to property owners in January each year. The assessed value reflects the value of your property based on market value as of July 1 and physical condition of December 31 of the previous year. 

Property assessments are sent to property owners in advance of the property tax bills to allow owners 60 days to review and ensure the accuracy of property details and discuss any concerns prior to property taxes being calculated. 

Access your information 

Information regarding your assessment and property details is available online by clicking on the link below and searching for your property by the roll number or address located on your assessment notice.

Supplementary Assessment 

If you recently bought a new home, you may receive a supplementary assessment/tax bill in November.

Supplementary tax bills will be mailed on October 20, 2023. The final complaint date is December 29, 2023 and the due date for your tax payment is December 31, 2023. You can check details of your account anytime at eServices.

Residential property inspections 

If we require more information about your property during the re-inspection period (May-Aug), you can provide it here: Residential Property Verification Form

Wondering what the Assessment team does? 
Check our update to Council (Oct 13, 2020)