Canmore Livability Tax 2026-2027: Who Pays, How Much, and How to Declare
Short answer: From the 2026 tax year, Canmore charges a higher rate on homes that are not someone's primary residence for at least 183 days a year: 0.833% of assessed value against 0.457% for a primary residence. That difference is about $4,523 a year on a $1.2 million home. Provincial legislation exempts any property with an Alberta-resident owner, so it mainly hits out-of-province second homes.
What it is
Canmore's Livability Tax Program creates a separate, higher residential tax rate for homes that do not house a full-time resident. Council approved it in 2024. It is being charged for the first time on 2026 tax notices, and it continues for 2027. Revenue is reinvested in affordable housing.
Who pays, and who does not
A home qualifies as a primary residence if someone, the owner or a long-term tenant, lives there as their primary residence for at least 183 days in the calendar year, including at least 60 consecutive days. A home rented to a full-time tenant counts as occupied. A home visited for 20 weekends a year does not.
A person may only have one primary residence. The property cannot be in the Tourist Home subclass to qualify under this program.
The Bill 28 Alberta-resident exemption
Bill 28, the Municipal Affairs and Housing Statutes Amendment Act, 2026, introduced April 2, 2026, exempts any property wholly or partly owned by an individual who resides in Alberta.
In plain terms: a Calgary family's weekend condo is exempt even if it sits empty most of the year. An Ontario, B.C., or U.S. owner's identical condo is not. A mixed title, an Albertan and an Ontarian together, is exempt because it is partly owned by an Albertan.
The transitional provisions that allowed mid-year corrections in 2026 expire for 2027. Town staff told Council on Oct 20 that from 2027, subclass assignments will be based on
information available as of Dec 31 of the previous year, with no mid-year reassessment on a sale to an Alberta resident.
In 2026 the Town adjusted 191 bills after notices went out, leaving 667 properties paying the tax. Most of those adjustments were Alberta residents who had missed the deadline. That kind of correction will generally not be available in 2027.
How much it costs, using 2026 rates
Primary residence: 0.456554%. Non-primary: 0.833462%. Difference: 0.377%.
Assessed value | Primary total | Non-primary total | Extra per year |
$800,000 | $3,652 | $6,668 | $3,015 |
$1,000,000 | $4,566 | $8,335 | $3,769 |
$1,200,000 | $5,479 | $10,002 | $4,523 |
$2,000,000 | $9,131 | $16,669 | $7,538 |
That is about $377 a month extra on a $1.2M home. These totals include municipal, provincial education, seniors requisition, and Vital Homes levy combined, and are based on assessed value, not purchase price. Livability Tax vs tourist-home tax
Not the same thing. Tourist homes are their own class, paying 0.832% all in in 2026, whether or not they are occupied. The Livability Tax raises a residential non-primary home to 0.833%. The two end up almost identical, but a property is generally in one bucket or the other.
Nightly rentals do not count as primary residence occupancy. And a residential-zoned home cannot be rented nightly at all. Since March 11, 2025, no new Tourist Home designations have been allowed.
Buying or selling part-way through the year
The declaration follows the owner on record at year end. If you buy in the autumn, you file the December declaration. If you buy as a non-Albertan and leave the home empty, the higher rate follows for that tax year regardless of how few weeks you have owned it. From 2027, a sale during the year will no longer trigger a mid-year reassessment, so buyers and sellers need to settle any tax difference in the purchase contract and statement of adjustments.
What this means if you are buying
If you live in Alberta, the tax is not your problem, but the declaration still is, so file it. If you live outside Alberta and plan to use the home as a weekend place, budget an extra 0.377% of assessed value every year from day one.
Richard Greaves, Kyle Pressman & Sophie Smith RE/MAX Alpine Realty Richard, Kyle & Sophie is a collaborative marketing approach and not a RECA-registered team. Representation is provided by the named agent(s).
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