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Financial facts

Municipal property tax dollars make up about 50% of The City's annual operating budget. The other half is collected through user fees, permits and licensing, grants to name a few.

Your property tax dollars enable us to deliver the City services Calgarians rely on, such as Fire, Police, Transit and more.

We collected and used your input to develop The City’s 2023-2026 service plans and budgets to make additional investments in the services that matter most to you. Each year, adjustments are made to the plans and budgets to support Calgarians further.

Calgary continues to be recognized as one of the most livable cities in the world (The Economist in 2022), with the second lowest cost of living of any major city in Canada. 

Operating Revenues

Where do your residential property tax dollars go?

Learn more about the City services partially or fully funded by property tax.

Learn about our Finances

The key factors (and the timeline) that work to determine your annual property tax bill.

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How does The City manage its City finances to keep Calgary affordable? Learn how our Total City Operating Expenditures are maintained in line or below the combined rates of population growth and inflation.

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Learn more about the City service, capital, and one-time investments Council made as part of The City’s Service Plans and Budget 2024 Adjustments.

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Get an estimate, and complete breakdown of your tax bill before it arrives in May. Learn how your money is invested in City service.

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Do you pay your property tax monthly? Learn how the TIPP instalment changes in December and July ensure you pay no more or less than your annual tax bill.

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How does a change in your property’s assessed value (mailed in January) impact your tax bill?

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City finances are impacted by an estimated downloading of $311 million annually from other orders of government. Read the Municipal Fiscal Gap Report.

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Learn more about gas and electricity charges, Local Access Fees, and The City’s efforts to investigate changes for Calgarians.

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Learn more about why The City has reserves, what they are used for and how they are related to City surplus and how they relate to The City finances.

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Managing our finances carefully can result in a favourable operating variance that Council can use to further support Calgarians.

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Municipal property tax and fees are a small portion of the total taxes Calgarians pay each order of government. Since 2007, the estimated taxes and fees Calgarians paid to The City (municipality) was 11%, while the remaining 89% of taxes and fees were generally split between the Provincial and Federal governments. Source – Statistics Canada Table 36-10-0450-01

Full view on taxation

Approximately 65% of the property tax you pay is invested in City services. The remaining 35% goes to the province. In 2024, The City will collect $875.7 million in property tax on behalf of the Province an increase of $94.1 million from 2023. This year, The City’s provincial tax requisition increased by 12 per cent due to growth in residential/ram land (14.5 per cent) and non-residential (4.6 per cent) assessment value.

Get a complete breakdown of how we invest your money.

Residential property tax breakdown

Number of City of Calgary Full Time Equivalents per capita (1,000 citizens) as of 2022. Calgary employee count is below average when compared to other major municipalities in Canada - Victoria 12.88, Winnipeg 13.14, Edmonton 13.94, Toronto Vancouver (no TransLink) 12.55, Vancouver (with TransLink) 15.44, and Toronto 16.52. Source – City Manager Quarterly Report 2023.

City employees

Calgary has one of the lowest municipal property tax among Canadian municipalities compared to other cities for two-story homes and bungalows.

See how we compare to other cities.

Municipal property tax

In 2023, Council increased the tax responsibility of residential properties by 1% each year from 2024 to 2026 while decreasing the tax burden on businesses. Creating greater balance in Calgary's property tax distribution aligns with other big cities in Canada, while diversifying the local economy and stimulating economic growth.

Property tax distribution

Through careful decision making and responsible financial management, The City consistently earns positive credit ratings from globally recognized rating agencies S&P Global Ratings (S&P) and DBRS Limited. These ratings, as well as other independent third-party positive outlooks, save Calgarians money by helping to reduce borrowing costs for The City.

Credit ratings

Priority capital projects do not increase property tax or impact how we deliver City services.

We’re paving the way for Calgary's next milestone: becoming home to a population of two million.

Capital projects
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