Cold Lake City Council sets 2026 tax rates

Cold Lake, AB – At its May 12 regular meeting, City Council voted to set the 2026 municipal tax rates, resulting in an average residential municipal property tax increase of 2.48 per cent.

The 2026 residential property and multi-family tax rates decreased to 8.4824 from 8.5295 in 2025. The non-residential tax rate increased to 13.9891 from 13.5791 in 2025. These rates do not include the provincial School Board or Lakeland Lodge and Housing Foundation requisitions, which are not controlled by the City of Cold Lake. These tax rates are established by the province and the foundation respectively, then added to municipal tax bills and passed on to the Government of Alberta and the Lakeland Lodge and Housing Foundation.

The tax rates for properties that fall into the city’s vacant subclasses were set 10 per cent higher than their non-vacant counterparts, with vacant residential set at 9.3306, and vacant non-residential set at 15.3880. Properties are considered vacant if they have been subdivided and can be readily serviced but have remained undeveloped for seven years or more. An incentive program ensures that properties which fall into the vacant tax subclass can be rebated the difference between the amount generated by the vacant versus the non-vacant subclass, plus an additional five per cent, if they are listed for sale.

These rates will generate about $25.23 million from properties within the City to balance the City’s $61.33 million operational budget. The 2026 operational budget includes a transfer to the capital budget of roughly $7.23 million. In 2025, the City collected $24.54 million in taxes to balance its budget.

“We are getting ready for busy economic times, but that does not mean there are not challenges in the local economy either,” Mayor Bob Mattice said. “We worked hard as a council to keep our tax increase to a minimum, and given the increase in costs we are seeing, I am very proud of the work we did.”

The tax rate set by City Council is a factor used per $1,000 of property value to determine the amount of taxes a property pays for municipal services. Taxes are based on a property’s assessed value, which means that a tax rate increase or decrease does not necessarily mean an increase or decrease in the amount of municipal tax a property owner will pay compared to previous years. Depending on the change in assessment and tax rate, the impact will vary from property to property.

As previously noted, the total property tax rate also includes the Education Property Tax Requisition, set by the province, and the Lakeland Lodge and Housing Foundation Requisition, which is set by the foundation. These requisitions are collected for the province and foundation by the City and forwarded to province and the foundation as required. In 2026, the Education Property Tax Requisition increased by eight per cent and the Lakeland Lodge and Housing Foundation Requisition decreased by four per cent over 2025. 

The City’s total taxable assessment has seen steady growth since hitting a low of roughly $2.08 billion in 2021. The total taxable assessment now sits at $2.57 billion for 2026, up by $75 million when compared to 2025.

Tax notices will be sent out by Friday, May 29, 2026, with a payment deadline of June 30, 2026. The deadline to pay taxes is set by legislation and cannot be easily changed by the city.

For more information on the City’s capital and operational budgets, visit www.coldlake.com.

Information regarding past tax rates and the municipal property taxes collected can be found in the City’s annual report, also available online.

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