Taxation & Assessments

If you purchase property in the Town of Thorsby between March 1st and June 30th, you may not receive your tax notice before the June 30 payment deadline due to Land Titles processing times. If this is the case, please contact our finance team at finance@thorsby.ca.

More Information

Property Assessment

Property assessment is the process of applying market value to all properties within the municipality on an annual basis for taxation purposes. Properties are re-assessed annually by assessors who review properties throughout the year. This process is regulated by the provincial government, and uses the market value approach for residential and most commercial property.

Market value assessments are based on market value as of July 1 of the year prior to the taxation year and is defined as the price a property might reasonably sell for after adequate time in an open market. Assessors calculate your assessment by looking at the property characteristics like size, type, location, style, condition, property age, lot size and the selling price of similar neighborhood properties.

Your property assessment is affected by market changes caused by supply and demand. Your assessment will also be influenced by improvements or modifications made to your property.

Assessment notices are mailed out before the tax notices each year, and appear again on your tax notice in May. The assessment notice shows the assessed value of your property, which will be used, in conjunction with the municipal and school tax rates, to calculate your property taxes.

Challenging your Assessment

Property Taxes

Each year, Town Council approves the budget needed to support Town services. Municipal property taxes are a main source of revenue that municipalities use to pay for those services.

To determine the amount of revenue required from property taxes, the Town takes the overall expenses and subtracts all other sources of revenue such as license fees, permits, user fees and provincial grants. The amount that’s left is what needs to be raised through municipal property taxes.

The Municipal Tax Rate

To help make sure each property owner contributes a fair and equitable share, the Town sets a municipal tax rate each year. To calculate this, the Town uses the total amount needed in municipal property taxes and the total assessment value of all properties in Thorsby.

Here’s how the math works: Amount needed in municipal property taxes ÷ assessment value of all properties in Leduc x 1,000 = municipal tax rate

For example:

Let’s say the Town needs to raise $30 million in municipal property taxes in order to provide all the services that have been approved in the annual budget, and the total assessment value of all the properties in Thorsby is $4 billion. Using the math above, we know: $30 million ÷ $4 billion x 1,000 = 7.500. Therefore, 7.500 is the municipal tax rate that will be used to help calculate what each property owner is required to contribute in property tax.

This means that the if the amount needed to be raised in municipal property taxes changes, or the total assessment value of all properties in Thorsby goes up or down, the municipal tax rate will also change.

Calculating Your Property Taxes

The municipal tax rate is a big factor in calculating property taxes, but it’s not the only one. It’s important to understand that your individual property assessment also plays an important role. That’s because the Town uses the municipal tax rate and your individual property assessment to calculate what you are required to contribute in municipal property taxes.

Here’s how the math works: Your individual property assessment x the municipal tax rate ÷ 1,000 = your property tax total

For example:

Meet Matt. Matt owns a home in Thorsby and this year his home is assessed at $345,000. The municipal tax rate is 12.000. Using the math above, we know: $345,000 x 12.000 ÷ 1,000 = $4,140. Therefore, Matt will contribute $4,140 in property tax this year.

Matt’s neighbour Rachel owns a home in Thorsby and this year her home is assessed at $350,000. That’s more than Matt’s house. The municipal tax rate is still 12.000. Using the math above, we know: $350,000 x 12.000 ÷ 1,000 = $4,200. Therefore, Rachel will contribute $4,200 in property tax this year. That’s more than Matt because her property assessment is higher.

The municipal tax rate gets a lot of attention, whether it increases, decreases or stays the same each year. But, no matter what happens with the tax rate, your property tax bill could fluctuate – because your property assessment most likely has changed due to market value changes from year to year. That’s why the impact of the municipal tax rate on your bill may be different from your neighbours; your property assessment is likely different from theirs.

The following main factors can change from year-to-year and each one impacts what you are required to contribute in property taxes:

The total amount needed in municipal property taxes to pay for Town services;
The total assessment value of properties in Thorsby;
The municipal tax rate;
Your individual property assessment value;
Provincial education taxes; and
Police funding

Your property tax bill will also include a line item for education taxes and the cost of police. These are collected by the Town on behalf of the province, and are not managed by the Town.

To calculate your property taxes, use our built-in property tax calculator tool.

Paying Your Taxes

Property taxes cover the period of Jan. 1 to Dec. 31 of the current year and are mailed in May of each calendar year. Payments are due on June 30. Your entire tax bill can be paid at any time, but there is no discount for early payment. If you haven’t received your tax bill by the second full week of June, please contact us by phone at 780-789-3935 ext. 104 or by emailing finance@thorsby.ca.

Payment Options

Property owners can choose from one of the following payment options:

Monthly Tax Installment Payment Plan (TIPP)
- TIPP allows property owners to pay taxes by automatic monthly debit from their bank account as opposed to annual payment. For information on the tax installment plan, click here.
Online
- Log into your online bank account and go to “pay bills and transfer funds”. Select “add payee” and type in “Thorsby”. Select “Thorsby – Taxes” from the list that appears. Use your six-digit tax roll number as your account number. Ensure you allow enough time for bank processing, which is a recommended 2-3 business days prior to the due date. If we receive your payment after the due date because of bank processing, it will be considered late and incur penalties.
At the Municipal Office
- You may pay your bill by cheque, bank draft, debit or cash at the Thorsby Town Office from Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Post-dated payments are accepted. Check with your financial institution to confirm your single transaction limit. Cheques are to be made payable to ‘Town of Thorsby’ and please include the property address or roll number you are paying. Credit card is not available for taxes.
After hours drop-box available at front entrance
- Payment is accepted in the drop box on the right side of the main entrance door at the Thorsby Town Office. Please put your payment in an envelope.
Over the Phone
- You can call and arrange card-not-present payments via telephone from 8:30am - 4:30pm Mon-Fri. Please call 780-789-3935 ext. 104.
By Mail
- Please send your cheque to P.O. Box 297, Thorsby AB, T0C 2P0. Cheques are to be made payable to 'Town of Thorsby' and please include the property address or roll number you are paying.

Penalties

Taxes are mailed in mid-May. Failure to receive a tax notice is not reason for non-payment of taxes. You must ensure we have your correct mailing address if you move. Current year taxes that are unpaid after June 30 if not on the TIPP program are subject to the following penalties as outlined in the Town's Penalty on Unpaid Taxes Bylaw.

Penalties applied January 1st of each year on all outstanding amounts on the tax roll, remains unchanged.