Highlights of the 2017 Assessment Roll: Assessment Notices Mailed & 60-Day Assessment Appeal Period Begins

On January 9, 2017, Assessment Notices will be mailed to property owners in Saskatoon and the 2017 Assessment Roll opens.

The Assessment Notice provides owners with an updated market value assessment of their property using the base date of January 1, 2015. Provincial legislation requires that all properties are reassessed every four years so that property assessments reflect a more current value.

The last reassessment was conducted in 2013. Since 2013, property owners have been paying property tax each year based on the assessed value of their property as of a base date of January 1, 2011.

To preview an estimate of the effect the 2017 Reassessment will have on your property taxes, try the new easy-to-use online Revenue Neutral Property Tax Estimator. The estimated taxes shown will not include any additional taxes as a result of the 2017 budget changes.

Revenue neutral is a tax calculation that means, whether property assessments increase or decrease due to changes in values, the City of Saskatoon (City) receives the same amount of tax revenue. The revenue neutral principle ensures that tax revenues do not change with assessment changes due to market fluctuations and that any tax changes brought forward by the City are communicated through the budgetary process, not the reassessment process.

Assessment of properties provides a way to equitably distribute the tax load. Property taxes are based on your property's assessed value, and owners of properties with similar values pay similar taxes. Your Reassessment Notice is not a tax bill. Actual taxes will not be known until mill rates are set and tax bills are sent out in May 2017.

The City develops assessed values by using valuation approaches that are accepted within the industry. This ensures assessments are a reflection of the fair market value on a given date.

For residential properties, factors such as location (neighbourhood) of the property, traffic patterns around the property, views, and the property structure are all used to determine an assessment value. Adjustments are also made for other factors including size, age, style, garage, quality of construction, etc.

For more information, view the informative short video Understanding Residential Property Assessment on the City's website - it explains the factors that do or do not influence your property's assessed value.

In addition, you can also find useful market area and assessment information, as well as the details of your property that were used for your 2017 reassessment by using the Property Assessment & Tax Tool on saskatoon.ca. You can also contact Assessment & Taxation at 306-975-3227 to speak with an assessor who will be pleased to assist with any of your questions.

Highlights from the 2017 Assessment Roll

The City is committed to placing fair, accurate and equitable values on all properties in Saskatoon.

The total number of accounts on the 2017 Assessment Roll is approximately 95,000 (88,000 residential properties and 7,000 non-residential). The assessed value of all property in Saskatoon is $52.1 billion ($30.1 billion for residential properties and $22 billion for non-residential properties).

The average assessment change by property class as a result of updating the base valuation date from January 1, 2011 to January 1, 2015 is as follows: Residential 12%, Commercial 36%, Multi-Residential 51% and Agriculture 112%.

The following table shows the assessment changes by property class (including Condominium property type) over the last four reassessment or revaluation cycles:

Revaluation Year	Residential	Condominium	Multi-unit Residential	Commercial	Agricultural
2005	13%	10%	14%	23%	n/r*
2009	33%	34%	21%	39%	n/r*
2013	83%	85%	102%	92%	46%
2017	13%	5%	51%	36%	112%

* Agricultural information not reported for these years

The median single-family assessment value (excluding condos) as a result of the 2017 Reassessment is $364,000, compared to the median single-family assessment value in the 2013 Reassessment of $325,000.

For 2017, all single-family neighbourhood properties in Saskatoon experienced moderate assessment value increases.

The residential neighbourhoods that saw average increases greater than 20% are:

Ward	Neighbourhood	2016 Average Assessed $ Value	2017 Average Assessed $ Value	% Change in Assessment
1	City Park	341,165	412,754	21%
2	King George	174,573	213,721	22%
2	Riversdale	173,449	218,330	26%
4	Mount Royal	229,852	278,981	21%
6	Nutana	458,925	572,113	25%
6	Varsity View	417,887	522,435	25%

In 2017, the number of single-family properties that will see an increase or decrease to their property taxes on a revenue neutral basis:

• Approximately 90% of single-family properties' revenue neutral taxes will stay within plus or minus 10% of last year's taxes
• Approximately 42% of single-family properties will be revenue neutral or see a revenue neutral tax decrease
• Approximately 58% of single-family properties will be revenue neutral or see a revenue neutral tax increase

The number of residential condominium properties that will see an increase or decrease to their property taxes on a revenue neutral basis:

• Approximately 54% of single-family properties' revenue neutral taxes will stay within plus or minus 10% of last year's taxes
• Approximately 84% of single-family properties will be revenue neutral or see a revenue neutral tax decrease
• Approximately 16% of single-family properties will be revenue neutral or see a revenue neutral tax increase

The number of non-residential properties (including multi residential) that will see an increase or decrease to their property taxes on a revenue neutral basis:

• Approximately 23% of non-residential properties' revenue neutral taxes will stay within plus or minus 10% of last year's taxes
• Approximately 44% of non-residential properties will be revenue neutral or see a revenue neutral tax decrease
• Approximately 56% of non-residential properties will be revenue neutral or see a revenue neutral tax increase

With the 2017 Reassessment, the retail commercial property type saw the largest overall increase in assessment at approximately 57%. For the last reassessment cycle in 2013, retail saw the smallest overall average increase in assessment compared to other property group types.

Value changes in the real estate market after January 1, 2015 will be reflected in the next province-wide reassessment in 2021.

The Formal Assessment Appeal Process

Most property owners can address their reassessment concerns by speaking with an assessor, prior to starting a formal appeal process with fees as set out in Bylaw 7595.

As 2017 is a reassessment year, property owners will have 60 days to appeal their assessment. If you would like to proceed formally with an appeal, Customer Assessment Appeals must be made betweenJanuary 9 and March 10, 2017 by completing the appeal form included with your 2017 Reassessment Notice and submitting the appropriate filing fee. The appeal form can be mailed or delivered with the required fee to:

Secretary, Board of Revision
c/o City Clerk's Office, City Hall
222 - 3rd Avenue North
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7K 0J5

If there have been changes to a property that requires updating, or if residents wish to discuss their assessment further, they are encouraged to contact Assessment & Taxation at 306-975-3227 or visit the Assessment & Taxation Office in person at
4 - 325 Third Ave North, located one block north of City Hall.

Your 2017 Property Taxes

The City collects property taxes on behalf of the Municipality, Provincial Government, Public and Separate School Boards, and Saskatoon Public Library. Each taxing authority establishes its annual budget, and after taking into consideration other sources of revenue, determines the total revenue required through taxation.

Property Tax Notices will be delivered to residents in May 2017, once education rates are determined as part of the provincial budget. Increases or decreases to the amount of property tax due to reassessment will be phased-in over two years for residential properties. Recommendations for phase-in for commercial and multi-family properties will be made in February 2017. The annual property tax bills will be adjusted to include the appropriate phase-in adjustment.

Your 2017 property tax payment is due June 30, 2017. Visit saskatoon.ca/propertytax for more information.