2025 Taxation Notice and Property Assessments

The first reading of the 2025 Tax Bylaw was passed at the regular Council meeting on March 19, 2025. The second and third (final) readings were passed at the regular Council meeting on April 16, 2025. Council has been reviewing information and budget numbers from previous Council meetings held in January, February and March.

The Village mailed out the 2025 Tax Notice and Property Assessments Monday, May 5, 2025.  Anyone who has questions regarding their notice can call the Village Administration Office at 403-756-3379 or email office@stirling.ca.

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

If you have a complaint about your Tax Notice and Property 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 237 – 4 Avenue.

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 (email payments to payments@stirling.ca – please remember to put your roll number or the property address in the message area, then we know where to apply payment). We also provide a Tax Installment Payment Plan (TIPP) which is collected the 15 day of each month via direct withdrawal.  If you’re interested in enrolling in this program, please contact the office.

Payments are made payable to:
Village of Stirling:
P.O. Box 360
237 – 4 Avenue
Stirling, Alberta
T0K 2E0

Receipts can be picked up in person from the same address, or can be emailed from office@stirling.ca.

Anyone who does not receive a 2025 Tax Notice by Monday, May 19, 2025 is encouraged to notify the Village Office at 403-756-3379.  Payments made after June 30, 2025 are considered late and will incur a 14% 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.

Provincial Policing – a flow through bill, collected by the municipality and paid to the Government of Alberta to fund provincial policing.

Ridge Regional Public Safety Services Commission (RRPSSC), Oldman River Regional Services Commission (ORRSC), Family and Community Support Services (FCSS), and Chinook Arch Regional Library System are requisition-based programs that are offered to the community that is included in the overall municipal mill rate.

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 have a complaint about your Tax Notice and Property Assessment, you may request a review be done by filing a complaint in writing. 

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):

Complaints 460
(1) A person wishing to make a complaint about any assessment or tax must do so in accordance with this section.
(2) A complaint must be in the form prescribed in the regulations and must be accompanied with the fee set by the council under section 481(1), if any.
(3) A complaint may be made only by an assessed person or a taxpayer.
(4) A complaint may relate to any assessed property or business.
(5) A complaint may be about any of the following matters, as shown on an assessment or tax notice:

• (a) the description of a property or business;
  (b) the name and mailing address of an assessed person or taxpayer;
  (c) an assessment;
  (d) an assessment class;
  (e) an assessment sub-class;
  (f) the type of property;
  (g) the type of improvement;
  (h) school support;
  (i) whether the property is assessable;
  (j) whether the property or business is exempt from taxation under Part 10;
  (k) any extent to which the property is exempt from taxation under a bylaw under section 364.1;
  (l) whether the collection of tax on the property is deferred under a bylaw under section 364.

(6) A complaint may be made about a designated officer’s refusal to grant an exemption or deferral under a bylaw under section 364.1.
(7) Despite subsection (5)(j),

• (a) there is no right to make a complaint about an exemption or deferral given by agreement under section 364.1(11) unless the agreement expressly provides for that right, and
  (b) there is no right to make a complaint about a decision made under a bylaw under section 364.2 in respect of an exemption or deferral. (8) There is no right to make a complaint about any tax rate.

(9) A complaint under subsection (5) must

• (a) indicate what information shown on an assessment notice or tax notice is incorrect,
  (b) explain in what respect that information is incorrect,
  (c) indicate what the correct information is, and
  (d) identify the requested assessed value, if the complaint relates to an assessment.

(9.1) A complaint about a tax imposed in accordance with a clean energy improvement tax bylaw must be made within one year after the tax is first imposed
(10) A complaint about a local improvement tax must be made within one year after it is first imposed.
(11) Despite subsection (10), where a local improvement tax rate has been revised under section 403(3), a complaint may be made about the revised local improvement tax whether or not a complaint was made about the tax within the year after it was first imposed.
(12) A complaint under subsection (11) must be made within one year after the local improvement tax rate is revised.
(13) A complaint must include the mailing address of the complainant except where, in the case of a complaint under subsection (5), the correct mailing address of the complainant is shown on the assessment notice or tax notice.
(14) An assessment review board has no jurisdiction to deal with a complaint about designated industrial property or an amount prepared by the Minister under Part 9 as the equalized assessment for a municipality.
(15) An assessment review board has no jurisdiction to deal with a complaint about any matter relating to an exemption or deferral under section 364.2, including a refusal to grant an exemption or deferral or a cancellation of an exemption or deferral under that section.

 

A complaint must be in writing and accompanied by a $50.00 fee (set by 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 assessment complaint must be made by 4:00 p.m. (MST) on or before June 30, 2025 (the final date for complaint shown on the front of the notice).  Your complaint must be accompanied by a fee of $50.00 as determined by Bylaw 517: 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 file a complaint following the mailing date of your assessment notice.

The appropriate form and agent authorization forms must be 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 at Government of Alberta Municipal Affairs.

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 King's Bench.

You can view the 2025 Tax Rate Bylaw HERE.