Property Taxes | Town of Vermilion

Town of Vermilion Online Services

The Town of Vermilion now brings you the convenience of managing your accounts online and at any time. To use the Online Services, you will need your Access/PIN Number which is printed on your bill or statement. You can also obtain your Access/PIN Number by calling the Town office.

We are dedicated to protecting your privacy and safeguarding your personal financial information. This is a secure site.

Once logged in, you’ll see the services available for your account.

This site is best accessed using Google Chrome or Firefox

https://icityonline.aspgov.com/vermilion/live/

E-Transfer

Payments can be made by e-transfer to: payments@vermilion.ca

Please include your account number and a brief description of what the payment is for in the memo line.
E-transfer payments are accepted for both residential and commercial accounts.
To ensure your payment is processed on time, please send your e-transfer 3–5 business days prior to the payment deadline.

Assessment & Taxation

Assessment

The process of estimating a dollar value on a property for taxation purposes. This value is used to calculate the amount of taxes that will be charged to the owner of the property.

Assessment is determined by the Town of Vermilion's assessor Mike Krim from Tanmar Consulting Ltd. The grand total listed on your notice is your property's total assessed value as of July 2024 when the valuation was determined. The Town of Vermilion administration office is unable to make any changes to your property's assessed value.

To gain a better understanding of how properties are assessed please refer to the Alberta Municipal Affairs Guide to Property Assessment & Taxation in Alberta.

Taxation

The process of applying a tax rate to a property's assessed value to determine the taxes payable by the owner of that property.

Minimum Tax
- A municipality may levy, by Bylaw, a minimum amount of tax on each property. The minimum property tax is not a fixed surcharge - rather, it applies to a property if the calculated tax rate multiplied by the assessed value of the property is lower than the amount set as the minimum tax.

Special Culture and Recreation Tax
- A municipality may levy, by Bylaw, a special tax to provide or construct a special service that will benefit a defined area within a municipality. Examples of special services include waterworks, sewer, boulevards, drainage ditches, dust treatment, fire protection and/or recreation services.

School Tax
- All property owners in Alberta (with some exceptions, such as non-profit organizations and seniors lodge facilities) are required to pay the provincial education property tax, based on their property's assessed value. This tax revenue is collected by the Town of Vermilion and then transferred to the Alberta Government to be placed into the Alberta School Foundation Fund. This money is then distributed among Alberta's public and separate school boards on an equal per-student basis.

Local Improvement Tax
- A municipality may levy, by Bylaw, a local improvement tax to fund a project that Council considers to be of greater benefit to an area of the municipality than to the whole of the municipality. The local improvement tax would apply only to those properties benefiting from a particular project, rather than every property owner within the municipality.
- On October 1, 2022, Council for the Town of Vermilion made the decision to eliminate any new/future local improvement taxes by creating an infrastructure reserve that is funded by a minimal fee on all utility bills. Those property owners who are currently paying local improvement taxes are not required to pay this fee until their local improvement tax period has lapsed.

Provincial Policing Tax
- In 2021, the Alberta Government elected to update the legislation and begin collecting a municipality's policing cost share under the Policing Funding Model Regulation. A portion of the costs of frontline policing are now charged back to municipalities based on population, equalized assessment, crime severity, shadow population and detachment locations. Although not a separate line item on your tax notice, the Town of Vermilion has been tasked with collecting $260,878 in 2025 towards policing which is transferred directly to the Alberta Government like the school tax.

Tax Rates vs. Mill Rates
- The tax rate is the number that is multiplied by each property's assessed value to determine its property taxes. It is usually expressed in four (4) to six (6) decimal places such as 0.008437. Due to the number of decimal places, municipalities often communicate tax rates as mill rates.
- The mill rate is achieved by multiplying the tax rate by 1,000. For example, using the number above, a tax rate of 0.008437 would be presented as 8.44 in mill rate terms.
- The mill rates are itemized on the 2025 Property Tax Bylaw No. 3-2025.

Relationship between Property Taxes and Assessment Values

Although one impacts the other, assessment and taxation are very different and each have a distinct and independent process.

For ease of reference the City of Airdrie created an exemplary informational tutorial on how property assessment and taxation work together in the short video linked below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QY8GDQCk_pU

2025 Combined Tax & Notice of Assessment

The 2025 Combined Tax and Notice of Assessments for all property owners were mailed Friday, May 30, 2025. Please ensure to check your mailbox and notify us if you believe you did not receive your notice. Failure to receive your tax notice does not preclude you from your responsibility to pay your taxes by the deadline of July 15, 2025.

MAILED DATE: May 30, 2025

NOTICE OF ASSESSMENT DATE: June 9, 2025

DUE DATE: July 15, 2025

12% PENALTY ON OUTSTANDING BALANCES: July 16, 2025

8% PENALTY ON OUTSTANDING BALANCES: January 1, 2026

4% PENALTY ON OUTSTANDING BALANCES: March 1, 2026

APPEAL DEADLINE: August 6, 2025

The summary document titled "Understanding your Tax Notice" is available by clicking below.

2025-tax-information-sheet

Assessment Complaint Process

Should you disagree with your property assessment, you may contact the Town of Vermilion's assessor Mike Krim from Tanmar Consulting Ltd. directly at (780) 417-5191 (ext. 221) or by email at mike@tanmarconsulting.com for further assistance.

If after speaking with Mr. Krim and reviewing your assessment you remain unsatisfied, you may initiate the formal appeal process with the Assessment Review Board.

Assessment complaints must be filed within sixty (60) days from the date of your tax notice and must be filed using the Government of Alberta's Assessment Review Board Complaint Form (#LGS1402) which is available online by clicking here.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the deadline to pay my 2025 taxes?

The deadline to pay your 2025 property taxes for both residential and commercial properties is July 15, 2025 as per Bylaw No. 3-2025. If you are on pre-authorized payments however, your account will continue to be debited each month to bring your balance to 0 by December 31, 2025.

What penalties will apply if I fail to pay my 2025 taxes by the deadline?

Failure to remit payment for your property taxes by the July 15, 2025 deadline will result in a penalty of 12% being applied to all outstanding balances as of July 16, 2025. A subsequent penalty of 8% will be applied to all outstanding and/or remaining balances as of January 1, 2026 and another 4% on March 1, 2026.

What payment types do you accept for property taxes?

Payment can be made via cash, cheque, bank draft, online banking, debit or credit card (for a fee) through our partnership with PaySimply. You can come into the Town administration office, log into your personal online banking platform, visit our website or use your preferred mail service available 24/7 at your convenience.

Please be advised that payments can take between 3 to 5 business days to process. Payments must be received by the Town of Vermilion prior to the due date to avoid penalties. Payments made on or before the due date that have not been received until after the due date will be subject to the applicable penalties.

If I didn't receive a tax notice, am I still responsible for paying my property taxes?

Yes. Failure to receive a tax notice does not preclude you from your responsibility to pay your taxes. If you did not receive a tax notice, it is your job to contact the Town of Vermilion administration office to request a copy. As per the Municipal Government Act, once mailed, your tax notice is considered to have been received within 7 days.

It is currently taking 3-4 months for the Town of Vermilion to receive notification of property title changes from Alberta Land Titles. As a result, if you recently purchased a property, the Town may not have the correct information updated in our system. Please make sure to contact us as soon as possible to avoid penalties for non-payment.

I have only owned the property for a few months, why am I being billed for the full year?

When you purchase a property, adjustments for taxes are made between the vendor and the purchaser. All charges on a tax account become the responsibility of the registered owner of the property.

I don't have kids in school, why do I have to pay school tax?

All property owners in Alberta (with some exceptions, such as non-profit organizations and seniors lodge facilities) are required to pay the provincial education property tax, based on their property's assessed value. This tax revenue is collected by the Town of Vermilion and then transferred to the Alberta Government to be placed into the Alberta School Foundation Fund. This money is then distributed among Alberta's public and separate school boards on an equal per-student basis.

Will I automatically receive a receipt after paying my taxes?

Receipts are provided upon request only. If you wish to receive a copy of your receipt, please contact the Town of Vermilion administration office.

Can I appeal the amount of my tax notice?

No. You may not appeal your property tax amount, you may only appeal your property's assessed value by following the appropriate assessment complaint process as outlined above.

What are the arrears on my tax notice?

Any arrears on your tax notice are the result of prior year tax levies and penalties which have not been paid. These amounts will continue to be subject to additional penalties should they remain unpaid. Property owners with an account balance of 2 or more years of unpaid property taxes are subject to the tax arrears recovery process as per the Municipal Government Act.

What is the balance transfer from AR/UB on my tax notice?

Any amounts on your tax notice are the result of accounts receivable invoices or utility account balances and penalties which have not been paid.

Tax Installment Plan

Many property owners find it beneficial to pay their taxes through the Pre-Authorized Tax Payment Plan.

The benefits include:

Enhanced convenience as monthly payments are automatically withdrawn from your bank account on the last banking day of each month.
Taxes left owing after July 15th will not be subject to penalty provided that your account remains in good standing.
No need to enroll annually as you remain on the plan until you give notice of cancellation.

The monthly withdrawals begin in January so property owners are encouraged to enroll into the plan before December 15th. The Town will accept enrollment into the plan up to April 15th of the following year provided that a pro-rated portion of the taxes are paid in advance. Forms are available at the Town office.

To enroll in the pre-authorized payment plan, please complete our form available below.

Pre-authorized payment plan enrollment - taxes

If you are enrolled in the pre-authorized tax payment plan and are considering selling your property or changing bank accounts, please ensure that you inform our Tax Department by the 10th of the month so that the change can take effect before the next withdrawal date.

Failure to notify the Town may result in additional withdrawals and/or NSF fees being charged.

You may complete the Change of Banking form and email it to taxes@vermilion.ca or call 780-581-2417 for more information.

Senior Property Tax Deferral Program

The Seniors Property Tax Deferral Program allows you to defer all, or part, of your residential property taxes through a low-interest home equity loan with the Government of Alberta. The program will pay the property taxes to your municipality on your behalf. You repay the loan, with interest, when you sell your home, are no longer eligible for the loan, or sooner if you choose. You may apply for a loan on your primary residence if you are age 65 or older, listed as the registered owner, a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada, an Alberta resident and you must have a minimum of 25% equity in your residence. You can apply to the program at any time but are encouraged to apply at least 30 days before the residential property tax deadline. This will allow the program enough time to process your application, forward payment to your municipality and avoid penalties. The loan and interest can be repaid at any time without penalties. Monthly repayments are not required.

For Information, call the Alberta Supports Contact Centre at 1-877-644-9992 or visit: https://www.alberta.ca/seniors-property-tax-deferral-program

Tax Roll & Certificates

The Town of Vermilion has an online service for retrieving property tax searches and certificates. The cost for online certificates is $25.00 and a certificated provided in house is $35.00.

https://icityonline.aspgov.com/vermilion/live/

Please contact the administration office at 780-853-5358 or email taxes @vermilion.ca