Big spike coming on provincial education taxes

By Medicine Hat News on March 27, 2025.

@MedicineHatNews

Medicine Hat taxpayers will see a 12 per cent increase to education taxes this year, according to new information released by the province.

The Government of Alberta sets the education requisition, which is collected by municipalities on property tax bills and remitted for use in the province’s education budget.

This year it plans to collect $400 million more across the province after a rate freeze in 2023, or $3.1 billion in total, accounting for about 30 per cent of the ministry’s budget.

It is apportioned based on relative tax assessment base, and in 2024, Medicine Hat’s share will be $29.9 million, or $3.1 million more than the previous year. In Lethbridge, the new share will rise to $49.9 million, a 14 per cent spike.

That translates to an 11 per cent increase for residential and farm property classes to collect $22.5 million, and a 14 per cent rise for non-residential (business and industrial) to collect $7.4 million.

Medicine Hat city council approved a 5.6 per cent increase to the municipal portion that makes up the majority of a total property tax bill when it approved the 2025-26 city budget in December.

Cities have long complained that they only retain about two thirds of total tax collected but administer the program and deal with complaints about the total amount.

The City of Calgary recently discussed sending the province a $10-million bill to recover administration costs after its education requisition rose above $1 billion for the first time after an 18 per cent increase.

The Hat’s percentage increase is in the mid-range of cities in the province. Chestermere and Airdrie saw the largest increases at 29 and 24 per cent, respectively.

Edmonton and Brooks see the lowest increases at 9 per cent, each.

The education portions forms only one part of a total tax bill, along with a municipal portion and any special levies, like the much smaller CypressView Foundation levy charged in Medicine Hat, Redcliff and Cypress County.

The education requisition is set to rise by 11 per cent in Cypress County, to $14.74 million, and Redcliff’s will rise 11 per cent, to $2.6 million.

Other increases for municipalities in the southeast region were in Bow Island (10 per cent), County of Forty Mile (5 per cent), Taber (15 per cent), Oyen (15 per cent), and the M.D. of Acadia (10 per cent).

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