First Step: File a Complaint

The Assessment and Tax Business Unit (ATBU) of The City of Calgary mails annual assessment notices each year in early January. Following the mailing of the assessment notices, there is a 60-day Customer Review Period, where you can arrange to speak with a City Assessor regarding any questions you may have about your assessed value. To learn more about the Customer Review Period, click here.  The Assessor may agree to make a change without the need for a hearing.

If you are unable to resolve your issue with the Assessor, you may file a formal complaint with the Calgary Assessment Review Board (ARB).  To be valid, a formal complaint with correct filing fee must be filed prior to the final date for complaint shown on your Assessment Notice. The ARB cannot hear a complaint that does meet these requirements, even if you are waiting to hear back from your Assessor.

A valid complaint must include:

• The reasons why you think the information shown on the Assessment Notice is incorrect with sufficient detail for the ARB to fully understand the issues.  It is not sufficient to merely state that the assessment is too high or incorrect. You can gather information on comparable properties and other evidence to support your case and check, review, and compare your assessment on The City’s Assessment Search site.
• Your contact information with a telephone number where you can be reached on weekdays. If you provide an email address on the Complaint Form, the ARB will use it to communicate with you.
• Roll number and property address.
• Payment of the required filing fee.

The ARB must not hear any matter that is not identified on the Complaint Form. You cannot introduce new matters or issues at a hearing that have not been disclosed on your Complaint Form.  A Complaint Form may be filed online, in person or by mail.

Submitting a Complaint Online

You use the ARB’s public online filing system called ePortal to file a complaint, manage, and view the status of your complaint, access hearing information, request a postponement, submit a withdrawal, and access previous ARB decisions. The ePortal is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Payments for filing fees are accepted online.  You will be asked to estimate the amount of time you expect to take to present your evidence and argument. The ePortal cannot be used for filing a complaint regarding local improvement or brownfield property exemptions and deferrals, which must be submitted in person or by mail (see below).

Submitting a Complaint in Person/By Mail

To file by paper, you must include a completed the ARB Complaint Form - Fillable PDF, the correct filing fee, and a copy of your assessment notice. Complaints cannot be faxed or emailed. Acceptable payment methods are cash, or cheque or money order payable to “The City of Calgary”. A complaint regarding a local improvement assessment can only be filed in person or by mail. As there is no City Bylaw regarding brownfield property exemptions and deferrals, the ARB cannot hear complaints regarding matters 11 to 13 on the Complaint Form.

Your filing fee is indicated on your Assessment Notice. The filing fee for residential properties with 3 or fewer dwellings, and farm land is $50. A residential condominium unit is considered a single residential property.  The filing fee for residential properties with 4 or more dwellings and all non-residential properties is $650. See Bylaw 44M2019 for details.

Filing fees are charged and payable for each roll number. The filing fee will be refunded if your assessment is reduced by the ARB or by reaching a settlement with the ATBU.

Early Filing Fee

The filing fee is reduced to $40 for residential properties with 3 or fewer dwellings and farm land if received by January 31. Early filing allows the ARB to schedule hearings earlier, so that decisions are rendered earlier.