MHHS · Municipal Government Act
Part 9 — Assessment of Property
297 Assigning assessment classes to property
must assign one or more of the following assessment classes to the
property:
(a) class 1 - residential;
(b) class 2 - non-residential;
(c) class 3 - farm land;
(d) class 4 - machinery and equipment.
(2) Subject to subsection (2.01) and the regulations, a council may
by bylaw divide class 1 into sub-classes on any basis it considers
appropriate, and if the council does so, the assessor may assign one
or more sub-classes to property in class 1.
(2.01) If a council establishes a class 1 sub-class that applies to
residential property that is not a primary residence and does not
meet the requirements of any other class 1 sub-class, the assessor
shall not assign that sub-class to a residential property that is
wholly or partially owned by one or more individuals that reside in
Alberta.
RSA 2000
Section 297 MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT ACT Chapter M-26
206
(2.02) For the purposes of this section, an individual resides in
Alberta if the person
(a) has lived in Alberta for at least 183 days in the current or
previous calendar year, and
(b) does not have an intention of taking up residence outside
Alberta.
(2.1) A council may by bylaw divide class 2 into the sub-classes
prescribed by subsection (3.1), and if the council does so, the
assessor must assign one or more of the prescribed sub-classes to a
property in class 2.
(3) If more than one assessment class or sub-class is assigned to a
property, the assessor must provide a breakdown of the assessment,
showing each assessment class or sub-class assigned and the
portion of the assessment attributable to each assessment class or
sub-class.
(3.1) For the purposes of subsection (2.1), the following
sub-classes are prescribed for property in class 2:
(a) vacant non-resi dential property;
(b) small business property;
(c) other non-residential property.
(3.2) The sub-classes referred to in subsection (3.1)(a), (b) and (c)
may be applied to both the Urban and Rural Service Areas for Lac
La Biche County and the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo
as if the service areas were separate entities.
(3.3) For the purposes of subsection (3.1)(b), property in a
municipality is small business property of a business if
(a) the property
(i) is owned or leased by the business, and
(ii) is not designated industrial property,
(b) the business is operating under a business licence or a
municipal bylaw that identifies the business, and
(c) the business has, on December 31 of the relevant assessment
year or on an alternative date specified in a municipal
bylaw, a number of full-time employees across Canada that
RSA 2000
(i) is less than 50, or
(ii) is less than any number le ss than 50 that is specified in a
municipal bylaw,
whichever is lower.
(3.4) Despite subsection (3.3)(a)(i), a property that is leased by a
business is not a small business property of a business if the
business has subleased the property to someone else.
(3.5) A municipality may by bylaw prescribe procedures to allow
for the effective administration of the small business property
sub-class tax rate, including, without limitations, a method for
determining and counting full-time employees and the frequency of
that count.
(4) In this section,
(a) "farm land" means land used for farming operations as
defined in the regulations;
(a.1) "machinery and equipment" does not include
(i) any thing that falls within the definition of linear
property as set out in section 284(1)(k), or
(ii) any component of a manuf acturing or processing facility
that is used for the cogeneration of power;
(b) "non-residential", in respect of property, means linear
property, components of manufacturing or processing
facilities that are used for the cogeneration of power or other
property on which industry, commerce or another use takes
place or is permitted to take place under a land use bylaw
passed by a council, but does not include farm land or land
that is used or intended to be used for permanent living
accommodation;
(c) "residential", in respect of property, means property that is
not classed by the assessor as farm land, machinery and
equipment or non-residential.
RSA 2000 cM-26 s297;2002 c19 s6; 2016 c24 s29;
2017 c13 s2(7);2022 c16 s9(63);2026 c10 s4(16)