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1. How do I get a copy of my property tax bill?

Property tax notices are mailed in May each year. If you have not received your property tax bill by the first week of June, please call 780-865-6017. Non-receipt of your property tax bill does not exempt you from late payment penalties. All charges on a tax account are the responsibility of the registered owner of the property. When you purchase a property, adjustments for taxes are made between the vendor and purchaser.

2. What is the penalty for late payments?

On July 1, a 5% penalty is applied to the outstanding balance of the current taxes. On August 1, a 10% penalty is applied to the outstanding balance of the current taxes. In addition, on January 1, a 15% penalty is subject to the entire amount outstanding on the tax account.

3. How do I appeal my assessment if I believe that my property assessment is unfair or inaccurate?

Contact your assessor to review your assessment. If the assessor agrees that the original notice is not accurate, a corrected notice may be issued. If the assessor and the property owner cannot come to an agreement, the property owner may begin the formal complaint process. The complaint must be filed in writing to the Municipal Clerk on or before the deadline shown on the assessment notice. Assessment Appeals

4. What does my tax bill cover?

Your tax bill is broken into three components being a Municipal Levy, Education Levy & the Evergreen Foundation Levy. The Education taxes are collected by the municipality on behalf of the provincial government.

5. What are Education taxes?

The Town of Hinton is required by legislation to bill and collect school taxes on behalf of the provincial government. The Town bills and collects school taxes, however, the municipality has no jurisdiction or control over school board budgets or operations. According to the Municipal Government Act, the Town is required to include the requisition amounts for education and seniors’ housing.

Each year the province calculates the amount that each municipality must contribute towards the public education system. The calculation is based on a formula that includes the amount of assessment in each municipality.

Municipalities are notified of the amount they must collect in education property taxes. They then set an appropriate local education property tax rate. The education tax rate is then applied to the assessed value of your property to determine your education property taxes for the year. Municipalities collect education property taxes from their ratepayers and submit the funds to the province.

Visit http://education.alberta.ca/admin/funding/tax.aspx for more information.

6. Why do I pay for school taxes when I don't have children going to school?

The prosperity and general well-being of society, or the community we live in, is directly related to the education of its people. For that reason, the costs of education are deemed to be the responsibility of all of society. Your education, for example, if received in Canada, was largely paid for by the previous generation of taxpayers.

Provincial legislation specifies that the funds for schools are to be collected by municipalities. The public and separate school boards' determine the requisition revenues required to be paid by the Town, and the total levy is distributed among taxpayers through their property tax bills.

7. What is meant by Assessment and Taxation?

Property assessment is the process of estimating the market value of your property for taxation purposes. The property taxes that you pay are calculated in proportion to the value of the real estate you own. Assessments are used to distribute the tax burden in a fair and equitable manner. The Town of Hinton contracts Powers & Associates Appraisal Services from Beaumont, Alberta to prepare the property assessments.

Taxation is the process of applying a tax rate to a property’s assessed value to determine the taxes payable by the owner of the property.

8. How was my assessment value determined?

An assessment is the process of placing a dollar value on a property for taxation purposes and is governed by provincial legislation. The market value is the price a property might reasonably be expected to sell for. The assessment is based on the previous years’ July market value over a three year average.

9. What is a Tax Rate?

The tax rate is the amount of tax payable per dollar of the assessed value of a property. Property tax in dollar terms is calculated by multiplying the assessed property value and the tax rate and dividing by 1,000. As a property may be subject to tax by a number of different authorities, tax rates are set by each taxing authority so as to meet the revenue projections in their budgets.

10. How are my property taxes determined?

In order to calculate your property taxes we do the following:

Assessed Value x Tax Rate / 1000 = Property Taxes

11. What is the supplementary assessment?

The Town of Hinton has passed a bylaw that allows it to assess improvements added to land after the December 31st condition date, and collect property taxes on them for a portion of the current year. To do this, the assessor must determine the value of the new improvements added since December 31st of the previous year. Property taxes based on the supplementary assessment are pro-rated to reflect only the portion of the year the new improvement is completed, occupied, or in operation in the municipality.

12. Why does my assessed value differ from my bank mortgage appraisal or real estate appraisal?

Private appraisers, acting on behalf of financial institutions or agencies, evaluate property according to market conditions on the day they complete the appraisal. Municipal assessors determine the property values and conditions at set dates to ensure that all municipal assessments and subsequent taxation have a fair and equal base.

13. How Does the Town Determine My Municipal Property Taxes?

Property taxes are a primary source of revenue for municipalities and are used to finance local programs and services. Each year, municipalities determine the amount of money they need to operate and from this amount, known revenues such as licenses, grants, permits, and user fees are subtracted. The remainder (revenue requirement) is the amount of money the municipality needs to raise through property taxes to provide services for the year. The primary goal is fair and equitable distribution of tax.

The property tax payable is calculated by multiplying your taxable property assessment by the tax rate. The tax rate is determined by dividing the total revenue by the total assessment base of the municipality.

14. What is Market Value?

Market value is the valuation standard set by provincial legislation and is the basis for property valuation across Alberta. Market value is the probable price your property could sell for in a competitive and open market, as of the given date. The market value on your 2018 Assessment and Tax Notice is based on a legislated valuation date of July 1, 2017 and reflects the physical condition of your property as of December 31, 2017.

15. How is Market Value Determined?

Market value assessments are prepared using mass appraisal. For residential property, assessors compile, review, and analyze information from all legislative real estate sale transactions that have occurred in Hinton over a 12-month period. This process results in the estimated value of your property as of July 1, 2017.