Overview
The education property tax provides Alberta's education system with a stable and sustainable source of revenue. The tax supports all public and separate school students and helps pay for basic instruction costs, including teacher salaries, textbooks and other classroom resources.
Funding to the Kindergarten to Grade 12 education system comes from 2 revenue sources:
- general provincial revenues
- education property taxes
Pooling the education property tax in the Alberta School Foundation Fund (ASFF) ensures that students receive a quality education no matter where they live.
All property owners pay the education property tax (with some exceptions, such as non-profit organizations and seniors' lodge facilities). People who rent or lease property may also contribute indirectly through their monthly rent or lease payments. As the education system benefits everyone, people without children in school also pay it.
For more details, read the Education Property Tax: Facts and Information brochure.
How it is calculated
Every year the province calculates, based on assessment value, the amount each municipality must contribute towards the public education system.
Your share of the education property tax payment is based on the assessment value of your property and the local education property tax rate.
Mill rate
Municipal Affairs establishes the provincial mill rate used to determine each municipality's share of the provincial education tax. The provincial equalized assessment base used to determine education property taxes this year reflects 2023 property values.
After being frozen in 2024-25, education property tax rates will increase to $2.72 per $1,000 of equalized assessment for residential/farmland properties and $4.00 per $1,000 of equalized assessment for non-residential properties in 2025-26.
The higher rates, along with rising property values and increased development, are expected to raise the education property tax requisition from $2.7 billion in 2024-25 to $3.1 billion in 2025-26.
The share of education operating costs funded by the education property tax will increase to 31.6% in 2025-26, following historic lows of about 28% in 2023-24 and 29.5% in 2024-25. This will enhance Alberta’s ability to fund school operations, leading to better educational outcomes as student enrolment continues to grow.
Individual properties are taxed based on the local education property tax rate set by the municipality. This is applied to the taxable assessment value determined by the municipality.
Education requisitions
Collection and distribution
Municipalities collect the education property tax from all property owners in Alberta. The money collected through this tax is pooled into the ASFF and then distributed to public education system school boards on an equal per-student rate.
Opted-out school boards
All separate school boards in the province have opted-out of the ASFF. This means they collect education property tax money directly from the municipalities.
Any difference between what an opted-out board collects and what it is entitled to receive is adjusted so there is no financial gain to opt out of the ASFF.
Separate school jurisdictions
The Constitution of Canada guarantees Protestant and Roman Catholic citizens' minority rights to a separate education system. In communities where there are separate school jurisdictions, property owners must declare support for one school jurisdiction or another to determine where education property tax dollars should be directed.
School support notices – Declarations of faith
- Form 6A – Roman Catholic Individual
- Form 6B – Protestant Individual
- Form 6C – Roman Catholic Corporations and Cooperatives
- Form 6D – Protestant Corporations and Cooperatives
- School Support Declaration Form Fact Sheet
Private schools
Under provincial law, government can only use money collected through the education property tax to fund the public education system, which includes public and separate schools. Private school funding comes from 3 sources:
- provincial general revenues
- tuition or instruction fees paid by parents
- private fundraising
Municipal inquiries
Contact your municipality regarding:
- the assessed value of your property
- market value assessments
- declaration of school board support
- monthly tax instalment plans
Contact
Connect with the Government of Alberta Education Property Tax Line:
Phone: 780-422-7125
Toll free: 310-0000 before the phone number (in Alberta)
Email: taxprogramdelivery@gov.ab.ca