Calgary Finalizes 8.1% Property Tax Increase as Province's 19.8% Education Levy Hike Drives Bulk of Burden for Homeowners

A Calgary property tax bill is determined by three inputs, and only one is fully controlled by city council.

The first is the council-approved municipal budget. During 2025 budget deliberations, council reduced the proposed increase on existing properties from 3.6% to 1.6%, and the final municipal rate increase for 2026 landed at 1.2% for both residential and non-residential properties.

The second is the property's assessed value. Assessment notices were mailed to Calgary homeowners on January 14, 2026. The assessed value determines how much of the total tax levy a given property carries — a higher assessment relative to the city average means a larger share of the tax burden.

The third is the provincial education property tax requisition. This is set by the Alberta government through its annual budget and collected by the city on the province's behalf. Homeowners see it as a line item on their tax bill, but the city has no authority to change it.

It is this third input — the provincial education levy — that drove the bulk of Calgary's 8.1% headline increase for 2026.

Alberta's education property tax is a province-wide levy that funds K–12 education. Every municipality in Alberta collects it on behalf of the provincial government and remits the proceeds directly. The rates are set per $1,000 of equalized assessment — for 2026–27, the province set these at $2.84 per $1,000 for residential and farmland properties and $4.17 per $1,000 for non-residential properties.

For Calgary specifically, the provincial education tax requisition increased by $212 million in 2026, pushing the total amount Calgary property owners send to the province past $1.2 billion. That represents a 19.8% increase in the provincial share for residential properties and 8.8% for non-residential.

The result, according to the City of Calgary's own tax change explainer, is that 42% of every residential property tax dollar collected in Calgary now flows to the provincial government. The remaining 58% funds municipal services — police, fire, transit, infrastructure, and capital contributions.

This is not a one-year spike. In 2025, the provincial portion for a typical Calgary home increased by 15.6% ($218), while the municipal share rose 5.3% ($134). In 2026, the provincial increase accelerated to 21% ($338 or $339, depending on rounding), while the municipal increase dropped to 1.8% ($49). Two consecutive years of double-digit provincial increases have compounded the shift.

For the median single-family home assessed at $706,000 in 2026, the City of Calgary estimates the following annual impact:

That works out to approximately $32.25 more per month for a typical homeowner. Condo owners fare somewhat better — a typical residential condo assessed at $347,000 faces a 4% increase, or about $7.41 more per month. Multi-residential properties see the steepest percentage jump at 16.2%, while non-residential properties see a 2.5% combined increase.

The critical takeaway is the ratio. In 2026, roughly 87% of the dollar increase on a typical single-family home comes from the provincial education levy. The city's contribution to the tax increase is less than one-seventh of the total.

Calgary's 8.1% combined increase is among the sharpest in Canada for 2026, but the comparison requires context about what is driving each city's number.

Edmonton approved a 6.9% property tax increase for 2026, up from a previously planned 6.4%. That adds roughly $245 per year for the average homeowner. Edmonton's increase is largely municipal — driven by budget pressures including infrastructure and services — rather than the province-heavy profile of Calgary's hike.

Toronto presents the opposite end of the spectrum. The city's 2026 budget includes a combined 2.2% residential property tax increase, split between a 0.7% operating levy and a 1.5% City Building Fund contribution. For the average home assessed at $692,140, that means about $92 more per year in municipal property taxes (excluding the provincial education tax, which Ontario handles differently from Alberta).

The comparison illustrates a structural point: headline property tax increases across Canadian cities are not directly comparable without understanding who is driving the increase — the city, the province, or both. Calgary's number is large in part because the province's education levy decision arrives on the same bill.

Mayor Jeromy Farkas has publicly attributed most of the 2026 increase to provincial budget decisions. He described the gap between the city's 1.2% increase and the province's 19.8% levy hike as jarring, and said the combined result amounts to the largest property tax hike in Calgary's history.

Farkas has called for the province to revise its budget in light of rising oil revenues, arguing that Calgary is the economic engine of southern Alberta and is being treated unfairly relative to other Alberta municipalities on a per-capita basis. He has also floated the idea of issuing separate property tax statements to make the city-versus-province split more visible to homeowners.

The province has pushed back. A spokesperson for Alberta's finance minister stated that recent oil price gains apply to the 2025–26 fiscal year, not the 2026–27 budget, and that short-term commodity swings do not justify mid-cycle budget changes. Alberta's education minister pointed to Calgary's own calls for increased education funding as justification for the higher levy.

Ward 13 Councillor Dan McLean noted that while council cannot control the provincial share, it can pursue savings on the city side. Council approved a proposed zero-based review pilot program, with a $4-million investment over three years to assess spending across three city business units — a process McLean said previously yielded $60 million in savings.

The provincial education levy is fixed. Homeowners cannot appeal it, negotiate it, or opt out of it. But there are practical steps that apply to the portions of the bill that are assessment-driven.

Verify your assessed value. Your 2026 property tax bill is calculated against the assessed value established in January. Log in to the City's myTax portal to review your property details, compare your assessment against similar properties in your area, and check the recent sales data that underpins your valuation. If your assessed value is higher than comparable properties, the assessment — not the tax rate — is the lever you can potentially adjust.

Understand what you're reading on the bill. The City's property tax breakdown tool (available at calgary.ca/taxbreakdown) lets you enter your bill amount to see a dollar-for-dollar split between provincial and municipal allocations. In 2025, over one-third of the total bill went to the province. For 2026, that share has grown to approximately 42%.

Consider TIPP for monthly payments. Property tax bills will be mailed in May, with a lump-sum payment deadline of June 30. Homeowners who prefer to spread the cost can enrol in the City's Tax Instalment Payment Plan (TIPP), which divides the annual bill into equal monthly automatic withdrawals. Details are available on the City's TIPP page.

Know the appeal window. If after reviewing your assessment you believe the value is inaccurate, Calgary homeowners can file a complaint with the Assessment Review Board. The deadline is typically 60 days after the assessment notice is mailed — for 2026 notices mailed January 14, that window has likely closed for most properties. However, reviewing the assessment now helps you prepare for next year's cycle if you believe the valuation trend is wrong.