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Assessment & Taxation
Property Assessment
The assessment of your property is shown on the assessment notice which is sent out in March of each year. Property assessment is the estimated market value of your property, which is then used to calculate property taxes.
Certification of Mailing: 2023 Assessment Notices
This is a notification that, as per Section 311 (1) of the Municipal Government Act, property assessment notices were mailed to all property owners in Wetaskiwin as of February 16, 2023. The notice of assessment date is February 24, 2023, with the complaint deadline being April 25, 2023. If you do not receive your notice as of March 3, 2023, please contact the City of Wetaskiwin at 780.361.4400.
Alberta Land Titles is currently experiencing delays in the processing of land title transfers. This may result in property owners not receiving assessment notices for properties they purchased between October 24, 2022 and February 15, 2023, or receiving an assessment notice for a property they have sold during that same time frame. If you did not receive a 2023 assessment notice for your property, contact Tayler MacNeill at 780.361.4418 or tayler.macneill@wetaskiwin.ca.
Sue Howard, CLGM P.L. Eng, PMP
City Manager
City of Wetaskiwin
Assessment Disputes
If you disagree with the assessment of your property, you have the right to submit a complaint. Get more information about the steps you need to take to submit a complaint about your property assessment. Please contact Accurate Assessment Group Ltd. and speak with Kurt Hartman, Assessment Specialist, toll free at 1.877.438.2305.
If, after speaking with an assessor, you still do not agree with your assessment, please speak with the assessor about the assessment appeal process. The assessment appeal deadline will be indicated on the front of the assessment and tax notices. It is important to note Section 460(6) of the Municipal Government Act, Chapter M-26, RSA 2000 states "a complaint may be made about a designated officer’s refusal to grant an exemption or deferral under a bylaw under section 364.1".
For a complaint to be heard by an Assessment Review Board, the complaint form must be completed and filed with the Assessment Review Board clerk along with the appropriate fee established by Council. If an assessment complaint is to be handled by an Agent, the Assessment Complaints Agent Authorization form must also be filed.
Property Owner mailing address or change of name
Information | Note: Due to processing delay at The Province of Alberta Land Titles Office, recent ownership and mailing address changes may not be reflected on Assessment Notices and Tax Bills.
Land Titles: tax bills and assessment notices
It is the property owner's responsibility to keep the Land Titles record accurate. The City’s source of property ownership and mailing address information for assessment notices and tax bills is a property’s Certificate of Title as registered with the Province of Alberta Land Titles Office.
Under the Municipal Government Act Section 337, once mailed, a tax bill is considered to have been received after seven (7) days. Non-receipt of your property tax bill does not exempt you from late payment penalties.
Property owner mailing address changes
Mailing address changes must be made in writing with the Province of Alberta Land Titles Office using the Province’s Notice of Change of Address for Service form. Changes made to your land title are received electronically by The City of Wetaskiwin from the Province of Alberta Land Titles Office.
Note: Province of Alberta Land Titles Office will not take change requests over the phone.
Property owner name changes
All ownership changes to a title, including changes due to marriage, divorce, death, legal name change, spelling corrections, or adding/removing an owner must be made in writing using the appropriate forms with the Province of Alberta Land Titles Office. Changes made to your land title are received electronically by The City of Wetaskiwin from the Province of Alberta Land Titles Office.
More information:
Current Budget & Tax Rate Information
The 2022 Tax Rate Bylaw was approved by Wetaskiwin City Council at the regular May 24, 2022 meeting, resulting in a net municipal tax rate increase of 3.23 per cent for residential properties, and an increase of 3.35 per cent for non-residential properties.
The main tax rate types in Wetaskiwin are residential and non-residential. The City is the collecting body for the Wetaskiwin & Area Lodge Authority, education, and Designated Industrial Property requisitions and has no control over those levies.
Tax Payment Deadline
The property tax payment deadline was June 30, 2022.
Penalties for Late or Non-Payment of Property Taxes
Property Tax Notices were mailed out to all property owners at the end of May 2022, with payment due by June 30, 2022. Tax Penalty Bylaw 1958-20 outlines penalties applied on outstanding taxes as follows:
- July 1, 2022: A nine per cent (9%) penalty on any unpaid current tax levy will be levied.
- October 1, 2022: A six per cent (6%) penalty on any unpaid current tax levy will be levied.
- January 1, 2023: A 15 per cent (15%) penalty on any unpaid tax balance will be levied.
How can I pay?
Wetaskiwin City Hall is open to the public Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. You can come in to pay your property tax invoice in-person during regular business hours. Accepted payment methods for property taxes are: cash, debit, payment through online banking, cheque, or money order. Please note that credit cards are not currently accepted for payment of property taxes.
If you are unable to pay in person or choose to pay another way, the City accepts payments through the following methods:
- online (through your online banking)
- by cheque or money order (in-person, or delivered to the night drop-box on the north side of Wetaskiwin City Hall at 4705 - 50 Avenue). Please do not leave cash in the night drop-box.
Pre-Authorized Tax Payment Plan
The City of Wetaskiwin offers a monthly payment plan to pay your property taxes throughout the year. This plan allows property owners to pay their property taxes directly to the City in monthly installments from January to December, and avoid paying one large lump sum and incurring late payment penalties if there is still a balance remaining after the payment deadline. Payments are automatically withdrawn from your bank account on either the first (1st) or the fifteenth (15th) of each month.
If you are on the pre-authorized payment plan, you will receive a tax notice in May for your information, however, you do not need to pay the total tax bill. There is an area named "New Monthly Payment Amount" on the tax notice, which will contain the payment amount that will take effect for your July Pre-Authorized tax payment.
If you wish to sign up for or require further information about this plan, please contact the Finance Department at City Hall by calling 780.361.4400 or you can download the application (PDF).
Local Improvements
A local improvement charge may appear as an additional levy on your property tax notice. A local improvement is a project that City Council approves as more of a benefit to one area of the municipality than to the City as a whole.
Some examples of local improvements are concrete curb and gutter installation or lane and street paving. Changes are generally based on frontages, area, or a combination of the two. Local improvements are a charge against the property, not the owner, and are registered on the tax roll. If the land or home is subsequently sold to another buyer, the local improvement charge remains. Local improvements can be paid out at any time during the amortization period, but there may be an applicable penalty.
For more information, please contact the Assessment Department at 780.361.4400.
Non-Residential Property Tax Incentives
Wetaskiwin City Council passed Tax Incentive Bylaw 1970-20 at the regular September 28, 2020 meeting. This bylaw widens the scope of the non-residential property tax incentive to include large scale commercial developments and provides further clarification on the implementation of the Bylaw.
Bylaw 1970-20 gives provision for incentives for the municipal portion of non-residential property taxes for both industrial developments and expansions, as well as new commercial developments on a sliding scale over a three year period. The new bylaw is designed to attract growth, encourage development, and bring new investment to the City of Wetaskiwin.
Education Property Tax
The amount of education tax that each municipality must collect from property taxes is determined by the Provincial Government of Alberta. This amount is pooled and then distributed to all Alberta School Boards on an equal per-student basis. Education property taxes are not subject to control or evaluation by the City of Wetaskiwin and support both the public and separate school systems. All residential and non-residential property owners pay education property taxes.