On April 29, 2025, City Council approved a two-year pilot program that provided a 15% reduction on municipal property taxes for eligible privately owned buildings designated as Municipal Historic Resources in Calgary. The pilot applied to both residential and non-residential properties.

The pilot was designed to help offset some of the additional costs associated with owning and maintaining designated heritage properties. These buildings are an important part of Calgary's history and often require specialized maintenance and conservation work.

Through the pilot and accompanying surveys, The City gathered feedback from participating property owners and owners of eligible heritage properties to better understand how property tax incentives support heritage conservation and influence interest in designation as a Municipal Historic Resource.

To learn more about Municipal Historic Resource designation, including the process and eligibility requirements, please visit:

The City surveyed both participating property owners of the pilot (38) as well as eligible owners of inventory sites that are not designated (42) to better understand the effectiveness of property tax incentives and whether additional incentives could encourage voluntary designation as a Municipal Historic Resource.

Key findings (from both surveys):

• Survey One: Owners of Designated Municipal Historic Resources
  • 82% had completed or planned to complete work in 2025-2026
  • 55% reported a moderate or significant impact on upkeep
  • 53% reported a moderate or significant impact on new projects
• Survey Two: Eligible Owners of Inventory Sites Not Yet Designated
  • 64% indicated that extending the existing 15% tax cancellation pilot would not encourage them to pursue designation.
  • 65% indicated that a tax incentive cancelling 50% or more of municipal property taxes could encourage designation.
  • Many respondents said the current incentive does not sufficiently offset conservation and maintenance costs associated with heritage properties.
• Overall:
  • 73% of respondents were aware of the Historic Resources Conservation Grant Program, while 43% were aware of the property tax cancellation pilot.

To see the full survey results, download the report:

Property owners told us:

• They value Calgary's historic buildings and are generally open to designation.
• Heritage properties often have higher maintenance and conservation costs.
• Temporary incentives are less compelling because heritage designation is permanent.
• Larger financial incentives may be more effective in encouraging future designation.

Program and survey findings showed that decisions about heritage designation are influenced by many factors. Feedback from property owners indicated that a temporary 15% property tax reduction did not provide enough value or certainty to encourage additional designation of heritage properties. The pilot also did not demonstrate measurable conservation outcomes that could be directly attributed to the incentive.

Based on the findings, The City will not continue the pilot program. Instead, The City will continue to support heritage conservation through existing grant programs and other heritage conservation initiatives that provide more direct support for the protection and conservation of Calgary's historic resources.