Government mail service may be affected by the Canada Post labour disruption. Learn about how critical government mail will be handled.
Updates
Alberta's government is moving into stage 3 of the assessment model review. Municipal Affairs will now engage technical working groups to begin updating the costs, practices and technologies in the assessment model for each property type.
For the latest information on the assessment model review, see Policy Updates – March 2026.
Overview
Based on a plan developed together with municipal and industry stakeholders, work has been ongoing on the Assessment Model Review (AMR) and developing a long-term approach to keeping the regulated property assessment system updated.
The review is expected to result in fairer valuation of regulated property for municipalities and regulated property owners.
Regulated property is difficult to assign a market value to because it has unique characteristics or rarely trades on an open market. Municipal Affairs prescribes rates and procedures to assess these types of properties. Regulated property types included in this review are:
- telecommunications
- pipeline
- railway
- wells
- electric power systems
- machinery and equipment
Stakeholder engagement
-
Stage 1: Steering Committee Engagement (2022-2023)
A stakeholder steering committee made up of industry, municipal and assessment representatives designed an engagement process for the broader review, which government has accepted.
-
Stage 2: Foundational Policy Review (2024 – 2025)
Before the assessment models for individual property types can be updated, regulated assessment policies needed to be revised.
The steering committee has worked with Municipal Affairs to:- confirm the AMR principles that guide Alberta’s property tax and assessment system to inform any property tax mitigation strategies
- recommend a new methodology for calculating the Assessment Year Modifiers (AYMs) that are used to annually adjust regulated property values
- review and update the rules for reporting and determining assessable costs, which are currently contained in the Construction Cost Reporting Guide (for further details, refer to the Latest updates section)
-
Stage 3: Assessment Model Reviews: Technical Updates (2026 – 2028)
Assessment models are used to calculate the assessed value of regulated properties.
Municipal Affairs will engage with technical working groups, comprised of subject-matter experts nominated by the steering committee, to update the costs, practices and technologies in the assessment model for each property type.
Property types will be reviewed in 2 groups.
Group 1
Property types included:
- telecommunication and cable
- railway
- electric power property types
Group 2
Property types included:
- machinery and equipment
- pipeline
- wells
-
Stage 4: Assessment Model Reviews: Engagement on Impacts (2028)
Municipalities and industrial property owners will have the opportunity to provide input on assessment and taxation impacts, including how to best implement any shifts in assessment.
The steering committee will review the engagement results and provide final recommendations to government.
Latest updates
Municipal Affairs has been working with municipal and industry partners to update the rules and procedures that govern the regulated assessment system in Alberta. To provide clarity and improve accuracy of assessments, Municipal Affairs is implementing policy changes, which will set the foundation for reviewing individual assessment models for regulated property.
The key updates include:
- greater use of standardized assessment rates, where feasible, to make assessments more predictable and efficient
- updating assessment models on a regular schedule to reflect changes in technology and construction practices
- setting more consistent rules for determining assessable construction costs by clarifying the “finish line” of construction for purposes of assessment, making sure actual construction costs are included with tightly-defined exclusions, and creating a provincial benchmark to fairly adjust labour related construction costs in remote areas
- introducing penalties for property owners who do not report required assessment information on time
The rules will be effective for the 2027 tax year and will initially apply to facilities built or expanded after that date, followed by the individual assessment models for each regulated property type as they are developed. There are not expected to be significant assessment changes in 2027 and 2028 resulting from these policy changes.
For additional details, please review the policy changes fact sheet.
Outcomes
The AMR process will update Alberta’s regulated property assessment system to reflect current construction costs and methods to promote transparency and stability for municipalities and regulated property owners.
Resources
Contact
If you have any questions or concerns, contact Municipal Affairs:
Email: [email protected]