If you own a $500,000 home in Sturgeon County, your 2026 property tax bill is about $3,312. Pick that same house up and drop it in St. Albert and the bill is about $5,538. That's a $2,226 difference, every single year, for the same house.
I get asked about property tax a lot, usually by people trying to decide between Edmonton and one of the communities around it. So I pulled the 2026 tax rate bylaw for Edmonton and eight nearby communities, checked every number, and put it all in one place. There's also a free calculator on my site where you can type in any home value and see all nine bills side by side.
How your property tax bill is calculated
Every city in Alberta uses the same simple sum:
Your assessed value ÷ 1,000 × the tax rate = your yearly property tax
That's it. Two numbers decide your bill.
1. Your assessment. Each year the city estimates what your home would have sold for on July 1 of the year before. For your 2026 bill, that's the value as of July 1, 2025. You get this number on your assessment notice early in the year, and you can question it if it looks wrong.
2. The tax rate. Council works out how much money its budget needs from property tax. Then it divides that by the total value of every property in the city. The answer is the tax rate, usually written in "mills". One mill is $1 of tax for every $1,000 of value.
Your bill is made of three slices:
- City or county services. This is the biggest part: police, fire, roads, snow clearing, transit, parks, rec centres and libraries.
- Provincial education. The Province sets this and the city just collects it. In Edmonton it's about a quarter of the bill. In rural counties with lower city rates, it's a bigger share.
- Seniors housing. In most cities, a small slice goes to the local housing foundation that runs seniors lodges. It's usually under $60 a year on a $500,000 home.
Water, sewer and garbage are usually billed separately, so they're not in these numbers.
Why your bill can go up even when the rate goes down
This one surprises people. When home values in a city go up, the rate usually comes down, because the city only needs to collect what its budget needs. Spruce Grove is a good example: its city rate went down from 6.5781 mills in 2025 to 6.4198 in 2026, but the City still describes it as a 3.99% tax increase.
So your own bill goes up more than average only if your home's value rose faster than other homes in the city. If your value stayed flat while everyone else's went up, your bill could even go down.
2026 property tax on a $500,000 home
Here's what the same $500,000 home pays in 2026, from lowest to highest. The rate is the total of all three slices.
| Town | 2026 total rate (mills) | Yearly tax on $500,000 | Per month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sturgeon County | 6.6239 | $3,312 | $276 |
| Sherwood Park (Strathcona County) | 7.2770 | $3,639 | $303 |
| Fort Saskatchewan | 7.9086 | $3,954 | $330 |
| Spruce Grove | 9.0202 | $4,510 | $376 |
| Beaumont | 9.3416 | $4,671 | $389 |
| Leduc | 9.3950 | $4,698 | $391 |
| Stony Plain | 9.4336 | $4,717 | $393 |
| Edmonton | 10.3637 | $5,182 | $432 |
| St. Albert | 11.0767 | $5,538 | $462 |
And at a few other price points:
| Town | $350,000 | $650,000 | $800,000 | $1,000,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sturgeon County | $2,318 | $4,306 | $5,299 | $6,624 |
| Sherwood Park | $2,547 | $4,730 | $5,822 | $7,277 |
| Fort Saskatchewan | $2,768 | $5,141 | $6,327 | $7,909 |
| Spruce Grove | $3,157 | $5,863 | $7,216 | $9,020 |
| Beaumont | $3,270 | $6,072 | $7,473 | $9,342 |
| Leduc | $3,288 | $6,107 | $7,516 | $9,395 |
| Stony Plain | $3,302 | $6,132 | $7,547 | $9,434 |
| Edmonton | $3,627 | $6,736 | $8,291 | $10,364 |
| St. Albert | $3,877 | $7,200 | $8,861 | $11,077 |
What's happening with Edmonton's taxes
Edmonton's property tax has gone up a lot in the last few years. These are the yearly increases in the City's total tax levy:
- 2024: 8.9% (approved)
- 2025: 5.7% (approved)
- 2026: 6.9% (approved)
- 2027: 4.9% (draft)
- 2028: 4.7% (draft)
- 2029: 4.5% (draft)
- 2030: 3.9% (draft)
The 2027 to 2030 numbers come from the City's draft four-year budget, released in early November. They can still change. There's a public hearing on November 23, 2026, and council is expected to vote by mid-December. If you want to have your say, that's the time.
The City estimates that a median Edmonton home, assessed at $492,500, would pay about $18 more a month in 2027 for the City's share alone. Remember that's the levy going up 4.9%. Your own bill depends on how your assessment changed compared to the average.
Lower taxes don't always mean cheaper living
Before you pick a city just because of the tax bill, here's what I walk through with buyers:
- Assessments aren't the same everywhere. A similar home can be assessed higher or lower in a different city. Always compare real bills on real homes.
- Utilities are separate. Water and waste rates differ a lot between cities. Many rural homes are on a well and septic instead, which come with their own costs and upkeep.
- The drive. Saving $1,500 a year in tax doesn't help much if you're adding a second car or an extra hour of driving a day. Try the commute at rush hour before you buy.
- Services you'll actually use. Transit, rec centres, snow clearing on your street, libraries and how close the fire hall is all vary. Ask what you're getting for your tax dollars.
Every city has different budgets, different needs and different priorities. The right place is the one where the whole monthly cost and the lifestyle both work for you.
Want the real numbers on a home you like?
Send me the address. I'll pull the actual tax bill for that home and help you work out what it really costs to own each month, taxes, utilities and all. No pressure and no charge.
Call or text 587-400-4668, or try the property tax calculator.
Brent Deptuck with Real Broker
These comparisons are estimates for learning only. They use 2026 residential tax rates multiplied by an example assessed value. Your real bill depends on your actual assessment and any local charges. Future increases are drafts and need council approval.
Sources
- Edmonton: City of Edmonton historical tax rates, 2026 Bylaw 21442
- St. Albert: City of St. Albert current tax rates, Bylaw 18/2026
- Sherwood Park: Strathcona County tax rates, Bylaw 4-2026
- Spruce Grove: Bylaw C-1440-26 and 3.99% increase announcement
- Stony Plain: Bylaw 2739/TAX/26
- Beaumont: Bylaw 1100-26
- Leduc: City of Leduc property taxes
- Fort Saskatchewan: 2026 property tax bylaw
- Sturgeon County: Bylaw 1711/26
- Edmonton increases: CBC, 2024 8.9%, CTV, 2025 5.7%, CTV, 2026 6.9%, CBC, 2027-2030 draft, Culture Alberta, City dollar estimates
