| Share | Rate | On $900,000 |
|---|---|---|
| Municipal | 0.67% | $6,069 |
| Education | 0.27% | $2,424 |
| Seniors housing | 0.01% | $102 |
| Total | 0.96% | $8,595 |
| City | Rate | On $900,000 |
|---|---|---|
| Stony Plain | 0.94% | $8,490 |
| Devon | 0.94% | $8,492 |
| Medicine Hat | 0.96% | $8,595 |
| Red Deer | 0.97% | $8,756 |
| Whitecourt | 0.99% | $8,875 |
Alberta levies no land transfer tax, provincial or municipal. At closing there are two Land Titles registration fees: $50 plus $5 for each $5,000 or portion thereof of the land value, and the same on the mortgage principal.
On a $900,000 building financed at 80%, that comes to $1,720 in all. Bought with cash, the same building costs only $950: the second half of the line follows the mortgage, not the price. For comparison, the same building in Vancouver would pay a five-figure transfer tax. So what sets Medicine Hat apart from its neighbours is not closing costs: it is its property tax rate.
The rate above is the one for a building under 5 units. At 5 and above, Medicine Hat classes the building as “Multi-Family Residential” and taxes it at 1.06% instead of 0.96%.
On a $900,000 building the gap is $902 a year. That is the expense line that decides whether a fourplex still beats the triplex next door, and no listing mentions it.
Medicine Hat's rate is 0.96%. On a $900,000 plex that is $8,595 a year.
Yes. At 5 units and above, Medicine Hat classes the building as “Multi-Family Residential” and taxes it at 1.06% instead of 0.96%.