How to question your property assessment in Calgary
The steps, the dates and what helps, in plain words. Always follow the dates printed on your own notice.
Quick answers
- When do assessment notices arrive in Calgary?
- Assessment notices are mailed in early January.
- What is the deadline to question my assessment in Calgary?
- The City's Customer Review Period runs about 67 days from early January to mid-March; the final date to file a complaint with the Assessment Review Board is printed on your notice.
- How much does a complaint cost in Calgary?
- Asking City of Calgary's assessment office to review your assessment is free. A formal complaint to the Assessment Review Board has a fee: $50 for a residential property.
- What evidence helps?
- Corrections to the property's details with proof; similar homes nearby with lower assessments or smaller changes, each identified by address and roll number; and recent sales of similar homes close to the valuation date.
1. Read your notice
Assessment notices are mailed in early January. The notice shows your assessed value, the property’s details as City of Calgary has them, and the last date to file a complaint. The City's Customer Review Period runs about 67 days from early January to mid-March; the final date to file a complaint with the Assessment Review Board is printed on your notice.
2. Check the facts first
Most errors are in the details: floor area, year built, a garage or basement that isn’t there, a lot size. Compare what the notice says with your home. Then compare your value and its change with similar homes nearby; the free check does that from City of Calgary’s own data.
3. Talk to the assessment office
During the review period you can call or write to City of Calgary’s assessment office and ask how your assessment was prepared. Many questions are settled at this step, and there is no fee.
4. File a complaint, if you still disagree
A formal complaint goes to the Assessment Review Board on the form City of Calgary provides, by the deadline on your notice, with the fee: $50 for a residential property. A complaint is about the assessed value or the property’s details, not the tax rate. Late complaints are generally not accepted.
What evidence helps
- Corrections to the property’s details, with proof (plans, photos, a building permit).
- Similar homes nearby with lower assessments, or with smaller changes, each identified by address and roll number so the Board can check them.
- Recent sales of similar homes close to the valuation date (1 July of the year before the notice).
The evidence pack lists similar homes with the municipality’s own figures. It does not fill in forms or speak for you at a hearing.
Calgary’s own pages
General information, not legal advice. Dates and fees change; the notice and City of Calgary’s pages control.