2021 Municipal Non-Residential Phased Tax Program (PTP)

In March 2021, City Council approved $13 million in tax relief for Calgary businesses who have experienced the most significant municipal property tax increases for 2021. The approved 2021 Non-Residential Phased Tax Program (PTP) will cap eligible property owners’ non-residential municipal tax increases to 10% of their 2021 amount. It will be calculated by using the property’s 2020 property taxes excluding any applied 2020 PTP credit. The program does not cap provincial tax changes, Business Improvement Area taxes or any other levies or penalties.

Approximately 2,000 non-residential property owners will benefit from this program with the expectation that the benefits will be passed on to individual businesses/tenants (in the form of less money in rent, lease payments, operational cost payments, etc). Business owners who lease space may wonder how PTP credits apply specifically to them. Start the conversation with your landlord. Ask them if a PTP credit applies to the property you’re leasing and how your landlord may in turn apply any available credits to tenants like you. PTP credit amounts, if applicable, are also now available on Property Summary Reports through Assessment Search secure access. If you have questions, please contact us at 403-268-2888.

Program highlights

• No application is required. The 2021 PTP will be applied to the 2021 non-residential property tax bill mailed at the end of May.
• To estimate what a non-residential property would save under the 2021 PTP, if it is eligible, use The City’s property tax calculator
• Non-residential property owners that have filed a complaint with the Assessment Review Board (ARB) will not see the 2021 PTP credit on their tax bill mailed at the end of May. Eligibility for PTP will be determined after the ARB renders their decision. To avoid a late payment penalty, the tax amount will need to be paid in full by the due date. If the property qualifies for the PTP after the ARB decision and all appeals and reviews have been concluded, the tax account will be adjusted appropriately. For more information, see Taxes and Assessment Complaints.

To qualify

A property must:

• Be non-residential.
• Have a 2020 and 2021​ non-residential assessment class of 50% or higher.
• Have a non-residential municipal tax increase of greater than 10% from 2020 exclusive of 2020 PTP reductions.
• Must have existed in 2020.
• Must have a tax status of “taxable.”
• For properties assessed under more than one assessment class, only those properties where the non-residential component is 50% or higher will be included.
• Must have 2021 municipal non-residential property taxes greater than $50.
• The amount to be credited exceeds $25.

Please note:

• Residential property owners and business are not eligible for this program.
• Regulated rate properties are not included in the 2021 PTP (e.g. Farm land and linear properties).
• Annexed properties that are taxed as “Foothills” or “Rocky View” qualify for 2021 PTP under the same rules as Calgary properties. 

Exclusions

•  The 2021 PTP does NOT apply if a property's value increased due to:
  • Physical changes
  • External non-market impacts (zoning changes, servicing, remediation, change in tax status, factual corrections, a change in assessment class) 
  • A supplementary assessment
  • A partial development assessment for 2020

Previously approved municipal non-residential Phased Tax Program (PTP)

2020 Municipal Non-Residential Phased Tax Program (PTP)

On Feb. 3, 2020, City Council approved $30 million in tax relief for Calgary businesses who have experienced the most significant municipal property tax increases over the past four years. The approved 2020 Non-Residential Phased Tax Program (PTP) will cap eligible property owners’ non-residential municipal tax increases to 10% of their 2019 amount. It will be calculated by using the property’s 2019 taxes, after that year’s PTP reductions are applied. The program does not cap provincial tax changes, Business Improvement Area taxes or any other levies or penalties.

Approximately 5,000 non-residential property owners will benefit from this program with the expectation that the benefits will be passed on to individual businesses/tenants (in the form of less money in rent, lease payments, operational cost payments, etc).

Three other Municipal Non-Residential Phased Tax Programs were approved by City Council for Tax Year 2019, Tax Year 2018 and Tax Year 2017.

2019 Tax Year

The 2019 Municipal Non-Residential Phased Tax Program (2019 PTP) assists non-residential properties impacted by large shifts in the market value of downtown non-residential properties.

Under the 2019 PTP, there will be a minimum 10%t reduction in non-residential municipal property taxes from 2018 to 2019. The PTP credit is calculated using the approved 2018 municipal non-residential property tax rate, compared to the 2019 municipal non-residential property tax rate excluding business tax consolidation. This means that a property that qualifies for the 2019 PTP will see a credit to their taxes which will result in a minimum 10% reduction from the 2018 municipal non-residential property taxes, excluding the increases due to the effects of business tax consolidation and 2018 PTP credit.

Approximately 11,900 non-residential property owners will benefit from this program with the expectation that the benefits will be passed on to individual businesses/tenants (in the form of less money in rent, lease payments, operational cost payments, etc).

2018 Tax Year

The 2018 PTP is a separate, one-time program and not an extension of the 2017 Municipal Non-Residential Phased Tax Program (PTP). No application was required, and the tax effect of the phase-in was applied through the 2018 non-residential property tax billing process.

For 2018, the Municipal Phased Tax Program was approved by Council to limit the increase in municipal non-residential property taxes to 5% in 2018 for eligible non-residential properties (not including the effect of Business Tax Consolidation, the 2017 Council Approved Rebates, 2017 PTP credits, or the provincial tax requisition). This program used the same eligibility parameters as the 2017 PTP.

2017 Tax Year

The 2017 PTP is a separate, one-time program. No application was required, and the tax effect of the phase-in was applied through the 2017-non-residential property tax billing process.

For 2017, the Municipal Phased Tax Program was approved by Council to limit the increase in municipal non-residential property taxes to 5% in 2017 for eligible non-residential properties (not including the effect of Business Tax Consolidation or the provincial tax requisition). Residential properties and businesses were not eligible for the program and exclusions applied.