Understanding Assessment

What Is an Assessment Notice?

Assessment notices are mailed in March each year to the property owner on record. The amount on your assessment notice should be within 5% of the current market value of your property. In other words, if you were to sell your property today, the assessed value should be comparable to what you would expect to receive.

Your Town of Hanna assessment notice shows the assessed value of your land and buildings as they existed on Dec 31 the prior year.  The assessment is based on the  July 31 market value of the prior year.

In Hanna, your property assessment has been calculated using mass appraisal techniques.  The assessment value of each property considers characteristics such as building and lot size, structure type, condition, and age. Typically, residential property values are determined through the direct sales comparison approach. Non-residential property values are determined using the income approach to value in conjunction with the direct sales comparison approach. Special properties, such as schools and churches, are valued using the cost approach. Similar properties in Hanna should have similar assessment values.

The purpose of the assessment is not to reflect single sale prices, but to assess all properties at typical market value on the same date, so taxation is fairly shared.  The Town of Hanna uses a qualified assessor who assesses property based on provincial legislation and regulations. This assessor acts on behalf of Hanna’s citizens and is dedicated to providing high quality assessments and excellent customer service to taxpayers.

What is Property Assessment?

Property assessment is the process of assigning a dollar value to a property for taxation purposes. In Alberta, property is taxed based on the ad valorem principle. Ad valorem means according to value. This means that the amount of tax paid is based on the market value of the property. The market value assessment placed on your property is determined by analyzing the real estate market to determine the market value as of July 1 of the year prior to taxation.

Why Do We Have Property Taxation?

Property taxes are a primary source of revenue for municipalities. They are used to finance local programs and services, such as:

• Street, roads, and airport maintenance,
• Recreation and parks programs and facilities,
• Library and leisure programs,
• Water and sewer services, and
• Fire protection and bylaw enforcement.

What is the Difference Between Assessment and Taxation?

Too often, the terms assessment and taxation are considered interchangeable. However, assessment and taxation are very different. Although one impacts the other, each is a distinct and independent process.

Assessment is the process of placing a dollar value on a property for taxation purposes. This value is used to calculate the amount of taxes that will be charged to the owner of the property. Taxation is the process of applying a tax rate to a property’s assessed value to determine the taxes payable by the owner of that property.

The Town of Hanna is responsible for ensuring that each property owner pays his or her share of taxes. Property assessment is the method used by municipalities to distribute the tax burden among property owners.

Tax Information Access

Under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, property owners have unlimited access to their own property information, including assessments and tax information. The assessment roll is public information and is available for viewing from the Property Search section of this website.  We do not give out personal or tax information over the phone.

Tax Certificates

The following information is found on a tax certificate:

• Roll number,
• Legal address,
• Civic address,
• Tax levy for the year, and
• Taxes owing, if any.

There is a fee for this service and tax certificate requests must be received in writing.

Hanna Tax Notice

The notice contains tax and assessment information.  Please note the due date for payment of taxes.  If your taxes are not paid by the due date a penalty is applied on September 1 and October 1.  If you have sold the property, please return the tax notice to the Town Office so that records can be amended.