jimf

Property assessment seems to show a large (approx 20 %) increase. Anyone got experience of asking for information from the City on the basis of the assessment or filing a complaint?

Aviator

You file an appeal
Municipal Affairs: Assessment Complaints and Appeals

It is a lot of work and no guarantee of success. During the appeal, if they feel your property is undervalued, they can also put it up as well as reduce it.

neill

Assessments have no doubt gone up alot across the board. I know mine has. Should be interesting considering things are lining up for Calgary to be entering a "housing recession" this year.

Almost Canadian

If you wish to do this, bear in mind that you will have to do so each and every year.

Tinpusher63

If you wish to file a complaint with the city use this link. Calgary Assessment Review Board

Remember your tax assessment is based on the value of your property as of July 1st 2014, not today.

You must have valid reasons for claiming your assessment is too high. Not you just think it's too much. That would be based on the assessed value of homes around yours and if yours is significantly higher.
You could use this page to help determine whether or not your assessment is higher that comparable homes in your neighbouhood. The City of Calgary - Assessment Search tools

Aviator

I did one once, that was enough. The board I had to present to seemed to be detached from reality.

dishwashing

The Governments don't make it easy do they. I think that there is a culture of complacency here too perhaps.

gryphea

Ours showed a large increase too

99problems

Well, got ours and suffice to say very high. They reckon 707,500 as at July 1st 2014, trouble is we bought it 10 days before that for 628 and have full mortgage appraisal and homebuyers report to support this figure. Its $39 to appeal and I think you have till mid March. Sod them, I'm going for it - they'll no doubt bring up some argument about median of 1000 sales in our quarter of the city. All tax is theft. They basically want to take more tax at a time when we're not receiving the public services we pay for anyway. Might as well live on a reservation.

Novocastrian

I suspect you may have more problems than you think.

Steve_

It doesn't matter in Calgary if your assessed value goes up, provided they all go up. Property tax is based on the budget divided by the property values, so if they all go up, your proportion of the budget remains the same, thus your property tax would remain the same if the budget is static (which it's not, but it's not going to be some dramatic change). It's not like in the US where there is a millage value, i.e. the tax is based on a percentage of the value of your property.

The Canadian method is far more sensible, because it means the local government remains funded regardless of ups and downs in property values.

99problems

Not sure what this means. I have been advised by the city that its a percentage multiplied by your assessed value, but if your assessed value is too high, you'll pay too much. I've been told i can present evidence to the contrary and it will be heard at appeal.

Steve_

The budget is X amount and your percentage of it is based on your property value. So if all assessed values increase by the same proportion, your percentage of the budget remains static, ergo so does your property tax. It does explain this in the leaflet they send out with the assessment.

It would only be an issue if the assessed value of your property or your particular neighbourhood went up in isolation from everyone else.

Novocastrian

I'm sure you know what you're talking about, but that's very different from e.g. the GTA. The assessed value isn't adjusted to reflect the city budget needs, the mil rates are. The assessed value is based on what the property is actually worth based on comparable recent sales.

Steve_

Another reason to live in Calgary. It just seems like such a sensible way of doing it. Why on Earth would you tie your city budget to the oscillations of the real estate market? I wonder when Calgary started doing it. Probably in the 1980s when the last major property price crash happened.

And also it stops people complaining about hikes in the assessed value of their properties, in fact people start arguing the assessments are too low.