January 29, 2020 – Following confirmation that the existing manual rates for all regulated property will be used once again to calculate the 2019 assessment for 2020 taxation, Alberta (AB) Municipal Affairs has confirmed that the linear Designated Industrial Property (DIP) assessments are in the final stages of preparation for mailing later this week.

The Minister’s Guidelines (the Guidelines), the official documentation confirming assessment rates, were signed on December 17, 2019 allowing the Assessment Services Branch to begin preparing the detailed assessment values.

New in 2020

The Guidelines include specific depreciation factors for those wells and pipelines that were eligible to receive the 2019 Shallow Gas Tax Relief Initiative (SGTRI). A 35% assessment depreciation factor has been applied to these assets. This change in assessment for shallow gas wells and pipelines should result in reduced taxes for these property types without the administrative burden of a rebate program. This reduction is subject to potential tax rate changes in the applicable municipalities.

The Guidelines also include the annual assessment year modifier (AYM) for each linear property type.

Linear property owners should watch their mailboxes for this important assessment as there is only a 60-day review period after which tax notices will be prepared based on the assessment values.