The Town of High River bases the current year’s property assessment on the real estate market condition as of July 1 of the previous year.

For more information on housing market value in the High River area, read the Calgary Real Estate Board (CREB) Forecast Report (PDF).

Assessors evaluate properties based on several variables, including:

• Age
• Lot & home size
• Building features & finishes
• Construction quality
• Property Location

Assessors consider many of the same factors that a homeowner would when they choose to purchase a home.

The purpose of the assessment is not to reflect a single sale price but to assess all properties at typical market value on the same valuation date.

If you disagree with your assessment, the first step is to contact the Town of High River Assessment Department at assessment@highriver.ca or by calling 403-652-2110 and ask for the assessment department.

Educational video from City of Calgary

• February 29, 2024: assessment notices mailed (PDF)
• March 8 through May 7, 2024: 60-day customer review period. Inquiries must be made within the 60-day assessment review period.
• Wednesday, April 10, 2024: Open House By Telephone Only | 4:30 PM - 8:00 PM
• Saturday, April 13, 2024: Open House By Telephone Only |10:00 AM - 3:00 PM
• Wednesday, April 17, 2024: Open House By Telephone Only | 4:30 PM - 8:00 PM
• May 7, 2024, at 4 PM: Assessment Final Complaint Deadline

2024 Assessment Newsletter

The first step is to contact the Town of High River Assessment Department.

The Assessment Review Period is your opportunity to review your assessment, receive more information about your assessment, and, if necessary, discuss your assessment with us. View information and key dates for 2023.

If you have questions, think your assessment may be wrong, or the data is incorrect, please get in touch with the Town of High River Assessment Department to schedule an appointment by telephone or Zoom.

To make an appointment to speak with an Assessor:

• Email: assessment@highriver.ca
• Telephone: 403-652-2110
  

The assessor may then inspect the property and correct the assessment if necessary. A new notice will be issued if the assessor agrees that the original notice is inaccurate.

If you are not satisfied with the outcome of the assessor review, you may then appeal the assessment to the Assessment Review Board.

The matters that may be questioned are:

• Description of a property
• Name and mailing address of an assessed person or taxpayer
• An assessment amount
• An assessment class or subclass
• The type of property
• The declared school support
• Whether the property is assessable
• Whether the property is exempt from taxation

2024 Property Assessment Checklist (printable - physical copies available at Town reception)

To submit an appeal, the complainant must:

• First, have spoken with an assessor to attempt to resolve the issue.
• Complete the Assessment Review Complaint Form (pdf) in full, accompanied by the application fee as per the current Rate Bylaw.
• An agent may file a complaint on your behalf if an "Agent Authorization" (pdf) form is completed and included with your complaint.
• Submit the Assessment Review Complaint Form to the Assessment Review Board Clerk at;

Clerk of the Assessment Review Board 309B Macleod Trail S.W. High River, Alberta T1V 1Z5

You will then be advised in writing more than 35 days before the hearing date, on which the Local Assessment Review Board (LARB) or the Composite Assessment Review Board (CARB) will hear your assessment appeal.

Your right to file a complaint with the Assessment Review Board against your assessment notice is an added assurance that the entire process is fair, equitable, and impartial. The Assessment Review Board is a Quasi-Judicial Board that processes complaints from taxpayers who disagree with local improvements or the assessed property and business values.

The Assessment Review Board hears the formal complaints to maintain assessment equity throughout High River. It is an impartial board as set out in the Municipal Government Act.

Legislation governing the Assessment Review Board is contained in the revised Part 11 of the Municipal Government Act and the new Alberta Regulation AR 201/2017 – Matters Relating to Assessment Complaints Regulation, which legislates some of the procedures that complainants must adhere to after a complaint has been filed.

Failure to comply with the legislation and related Town bylaws may result in your complaint being invalid. Copies of the publications are available from:

Alberta Queen's Printer Online (link)
602 – 620 7th Ave. S.W., Calgary, AB T2P 0Y8
Telephone: (403) 297-6251

If you disagree with the decision of the Assessment Review Board, you are entitled to appeal the decision to the Court of Queens Bench.

The Assessment Review Board hears complaints regarding assessments received by the Clerk of the Assessment Review Board.

Board members are duly appointed by the Councils of municipalities, of which the Town of High River is one, participating in a joint regional assessment review board agreement.

Assessment Review Board Bylaw (pdf)

To submit an appeal, the complainant must:

• First, have spoken with an assessor to attempt to resolve the issue.
• Complete the Assessment Review Complaint Form (pdf) in full, accompanied by the application fee as per the current Rate Bylaw.
• Submit the Assessment Review Complaint Form (pdf) to the Assessment Review Board Clerk.

Read more about Assessment Complaints and Appeals on the Alberta Municipal Affairs website (link).

Contact Legislative Services with completed forms. The Legislative Services team can also follow up with you if you are interested in becoming a board member.

Fees

Town of High River Current Rate Bylaw sets out the Assessment Review Complaint Fees as follows:

• Assessment Appeal for residential with three (3) or fewer dwellings and farmland: $50.00 per appeal
• Assessment Appeal for residential with four (4) or more dwellings: $650.00 per appeal
• Assessment Appeal Non-residential: $650.00 per appeal

Note: the fee is refundable if the appeal is successful

The following fees are set by ALBERTA REGULATION 310/2009

Assessment Appeal Linear Property-power generation Assessment Appeal Linear Property- other Assessment Appeal Equalized Assessment.

As a property owner, you are entitled to see or receive sufficient information about your property and a summary of any assessment in accordance with sections 299 and 300 of the Municipal Government Act.

As a service to our ratepayers, we provide several online features and services to assist you in learning about your assessment. Below are a few resources we recommend looking at before beginning with this request.

• Review Your Assessment Notice – Review to ensure:
  • Your name, address and school support are correct
  • The property classification (residential, farmland, non-residential) correctly describes your property

• Assessment Value Search
  • Accessing the Town of High River “Property Assessment Map” (link) allows you to view basic assessment information relating to any residential property within the Town of High River. It would be best to compare your assessment to other properties similar in size, age, quality, condition and location.

• Speak with an Assessor
  • If you require further clarification on your assessment value, please call the Town of High River at 403-652-2110 and ask to speak with an Assessor.

• Request for Additional Information
  • If, after completing the above steps, you still feel the information provided is not sufficient, a 299 or 300 request can be made in writing directly to the Town of High River Assessment Department. Use the form(s) below to make a formal request after you have spoken with an Assessor. Use the “assessment information request reference” to help fill out the form(s) below.

Request Forms

1. 2024 Town of High River – Section 299 Request for Information (pdf)
2. 2024 Town of High River – Section 300 Request for Information (pdf)
3. 2023 Agent Authorization Form (pdf)

The ARB will determine the validity of incomplete forms filed after the deadline or without the required fee.

This information must be requested in writing directly to the Assessment Department.

Requests can be emailed or mailed to the Assessors at the following address:

Assessment Department

Town of High River

309B Macleod Trail SW

High River, AB. T1V 1Z5

Email: assessment@highriver.ca

The annual assessment notice reflects the condition of your property as of Dec 31 of the year prior to the current tax year. If construction is completed after Dec 31, you will receive a supplementary assessment and tax notice to reflect the respective increase in the assessed value of your property.

The supplemental tax is determined by multiplying the supplemental assessment by the applicable tax rate, which is then prorated based on the number of months the new building has been completed or occupied during the current tax year.

Supplementary assessment and tax contribute to the cost of municipal services, providing for the equitable sharing of these costs among property owners.

Supplemental taxes are levied only in the year the newly constructed building is complete or occupied. Supplementary notices are mailed between June and December, with the supplementary tax being required to be paid by the due date on the notice.

Town of High River – Supplemental Assessment Example

Did you know there is a program for tax exemptions for community organizations?

• All properties in municipalities are subject to local assessment and taxation.
• Tax exemptions can apply to property owned or used by organizations providing services related to government, education, charity, religion, culture, and historic preservation.
• The Municipal Government Act (pdf) provides some tax exemptions to qualifying properties that reflect social values and accessibility and benefit the public with their use. Government, churches, hospitals, and schools may be eligible for property tax exemption.

Review the guidelines below to determine if your organization qualifies, and then fill out and submit the associated application forms to the Town before September 30, 2022.

• COPTER Guidelines (pdf)
• COPTER Application Forms (pdf)
• COPTER Application Guidelines (pdf)
• COPTER Renewal Form (pdf) for 2023, due September 30, 2022

You are also invited to contact our friendly and helpful Property Taxes and Assessment staff to speak or arrange a meeting:

• Email: assessment@highriver.ca
• Telephone: 403-652-2110 and ask to speak with our Assessment staff

• Residential (PDF)
• Multi-Residential (PDF)
• Farmland (PDF)
• Non-Residential (PDF)
• Hotel / Motel (PDF)

• Alberta Municipal Affairs – A Guide to Property Assessment in Alberta (PDF)
• Calgary Real Estate Board (CREB) Forecast Report (PDF)
• High River CREB Report Page (PDF)