The 2021 Property Tax Bylaw received first reading from Village Council, at the regularly scheduled meeting on March 17, 2021. The second and third readings were passed at the regularly schedule meeting on April 7, 2021.

Tax notices for 2021 are ready, and the Village has mailed out Notice of Assessments on April 22, 2021.  Anyone who has questions regarding their notice can call the Village Administration Office at 403-756-3379 or email office@stirling.ca.

If you have a complaint about your Notice of Assessment, you may request a review be done by filing a complaint in writing.  All complaints must be made in writing by the complaint date to the Clerk of the Assessment Review Board and delivered to the Village of Stirling Administration Office located at 229 – 4 Avenue.

Please review your tax notices carefully and compare to your previous year’s notice to fully understand any changes.

Options for Payments

The Village of Stirling accepts cash, cheques, Interac, Mastercard and Visa. We also accept EFT payments from your bank (you will need to use your tax roll number as your account number), as well as e-transfers (send payments to payments@stirling.ca). We also provide a Tax Installment Payment Plan (TIPPs) which is collected the 15 day of each month via direct withdrawal.  If interested in enrolling in this program, please contact the office.

Anyone who does not receive a 2021 Tax Notice by May 15, 2021, is encouraged to notify the Village Office at 403-756-3379.  Payments will be considered late after June 30, 2021 and will incur a 12% penalty.

All property owners will receive a property tax notice, which indicates the breakdown of the municipal, education and senior’s foundation property taxes, including the date for payment.

Municipal Tax – provides services such as bylaw enforcement and fire protection, parks, roads, and recreation services, including the outdoor pool.

Education Taxes – is a mandatory tax collected on behalf of the province and submitted directly to the Government of Alberta.

Senior’s Housing taxes – a flow through requisition tax, collected by the municipality and paid to the Government of Alberta to fund seniors housing.

What can I do if I disagree with the assessed value of my property?

Disagreements about assessed values are almost always solved with a simple phone call to the Village’s Assessor, Benchmark Assessment Consultants Inc. at 403-381-0535.  The Assessor will review your assessment with you.  If the assessor finds that an error has been made, your assessment will be revised.

What if I still disagree with the assessment of my property?

If you still disagree with your assessment, you may file a formal complaint with the Village’s Assessment Review Board. You will need to fill out an Assessment Review Board Complaint form and the Assessments Complaints Agent Authorization form.

Assessment Complaints

If you believe that your own assessment, or any other assessment is unfair or incorrect, you may file a written complaint to the Village of Stirling Assessment Review Board.  The Board has the authority to review most assessments and can direct the Assessor to make amendments if necessary.  Its function is to hear evidence and decide whether your property is assessed on a fair and equitable basis.

Pursuant to Section 460 of the Municipal Government Act (MGA):

A complaint must be in writing and accompanied by the fee set at Council

A complaint must explain why the complainant thinks that information shown on an assessment is incorrect.

A complaint must include the mailing address of the complainant.

Please note

Your complaint must be made by 4:00 p.m. (MST) on or before the final date for complaint shown on the front of this notice.  Your complaint must be accompanied by a fee as determined by Bylaw 506: Regional Assessment Review Board.  The fee is refundable if your complaint is successful in reducing your assessment.

A complaint against your assessed property value does not exempt you from paying taxes on time or from late payment penalties.  If a complaint a successful, the adjustment will be applied to the tax roll.  Refund requests must be made in writing.

Required forms

The required forms for an assessment complaint can be found below:
Assessment Review Board Complaint Form
Assessment Complaints Agent Authorization Form
Filing a Property Assessment Complaint and Preparing for Your Hearing

Copies of these forms are also available at the Village Office. An assessed property owner is entitled to see or receive sufficient information about the persons property in accordance with section 299 of the Act or a summary of an assessment in accordance with Section 300 of the Act or both.

Filing a Complaint About an Assessment

You have 60 days to complain following the mailing date of your assessment notice.

The appropriate form and agent authorization forms must be used and filled out completely.

When filing a complaint, ensure your complaint form includes all reasons for the complaint and the required complaint fee.

Additional publications and forms are available on the Government of Alberta Municipal Affairs website.

The Assessment Review board is established by Regional Assessment Review Board Bylaw.

Board decisions are final and binding. They can only be appealed in certain circumstances to the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench.

To view the 2021 Tax Rate Bylaw please click HERE.