Taxes due before assessment appeal deadline this year

By COLLIN GALLANT on May 7, 2021.

cgallant@medicinehatnews.com@CollinGallant

A final deadline to appeal property tax assessments will fall after the day taxes are due – a strange set of circumstances caused by the province allowing municipalities to delay some tax procedures this year.

Asked for clarification about potential late fees, the News was told taxes are still due June 30 and would be charged, even though property owners have until mid-July to challenge their assessment.

The assessment department suggests property owners with questions about assessment values contact them as soon as possible about a potential appeal.

In Medicine Hat, assessment letters are typically sent out in late February, which usually allows a 60-day appeal period to expire at about the time council sets its tax rates in late April or May.

This year however, finance officials took advantage of a new grace period allowed by the province, meant to better gauge the effect of changing property values during 2020.

Final assessment values will be mailed out starting Friday, four days after council set its property tax rates, with an assessment date of May 17. That means July 17 is the final day to register an official appeal of assessment values.

Tax notices, including the amount owing, will be sent out starting May 17.

9
-8