Homeowner Tips
One of them closes on 30 September and takes about five minutes. Another one is a penalty, and it arrives on its own whether or not anybody tells you.
Most of what gets written about homeowner programs is either out of date or vague enough to be useless. So this page does the opposite. Five items, each with the actual figure, the actual date, and where it came from. Everything here was checked against the source on 1 September 2026.
Where something is a loan rather than a rebate, it says so, because those two words get used interchangeably in a way that costs people money.
01. The $100 Alberta Energy Rebate Closes 30 September.
This is the one with a hard stop, and it is the reason this page exists.
The Alberta Energy Rebate is a one time payment of $100. Applications opened on 1 July 2026 and close on 30 September 2026. To qualify you need to have been 18 or older on 1 July 2026, be an Alberta resident, have filed a 2025 tax return, and have household income of $225,000 or less. Payment comes by direct deposit or e transfer, generally within fourteen days.
If you receive the Alberta Seniors Benefit, AISH, ADAP or Income Support, you are enrolled automatically and do not need to apply.
Details and the application are at alberta.ca/alberta-energy-rebate. It is a hundred dollars for a form. Take the five minutes.
02. Calgary’s Second Tax Penalty Lands 1 October.
Calgary property tax was due 30 June 2026. A seven per cent penalty was applied on 1 July to anything unpaid, and a second seven per cent penalty is applied on 1 October. That is $70 per $1,000 outstanding, each time. After 31 December, arrears accrue a further one per cent monthly.
If there is a balance sitting on your account, the last useful day to deal with it is in September, not October.
Airdrie runs a different schedule: five per cent at one day late, again at 60 days, and again at 120 days, then nine per cent on 1 January and nine per cent on 1 April on arrears. There is no September or October Airdrie date, but the 120 day mark falls in late October.
03. This Is The Month To Join The Monthly Payment Plan.
Both cities let you pay property tax monthly instead of in one lump. Both are free. And in both, the month you join changes what you pay.
Calgary TIPP. No fee, withdrawn on the first of each month, and no annual reapplication once you are on it. Join partway through a year and the remaining balance is spread over fewer months, so the payment is higher. A missed payment carries a $35 service charge. Joining before 1 January 2027 gives you the full twelve month spread.
Airdrie’s Monthly Tax Payment Plan. No fees and no interest, withdrawn on the last day of the month, running January through December with the first payment on 31 January and a recalculation each January and June. The City’s own example makes the point better than we can: a $2,750 levy is $229.17 a month if you join in January, and $392.86 a month if you join in June.
Neither plan removes a penalty you have already incurred. That is item 02’s job.
04. Clean Energy Improvement Program
Financing repaid through your property tax bill. This is a loan, not a grant. The two cities are in completely different positions right now.
| Measure | Calgary | Airdrie |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Reopens 22 Sept, 9:00 a.m. | At capacity, waitlist only |
| Maximum | $50,000 | 100% of eligible costs |
| Term | Up to 20 years | Up to 25 years |
| Rate | Indicative 5.66% to 5.80% | 2.75% fixed |
Calgary’s 2026 rates are posted one week before applications open, so the figures above are indicative until roughly 15 September. Airdrie’s program also carries rebates of up to $3,100, being a $600 project rebate plus $2,500 where financed costs reach $15,000 with three or more upgrades across two or more categories, for the first 250 applications. Sources: calgary.ca and airdrie.ca, verified 1 September 2026.
Worth saying plainly: a program repaid through your property tax bill attaches to the property. If you may sell within a few years, that is a conversation to have before you sign, not after. We are happy to be part of it.
05. Two Programs For Seniors, And An October Rate Review.
These come up constantly with clients helping a parent, and almost nobody knows they exist.
Seniors Property Tax Deferral. Alberta will pay your residential property tax to the municipality on your behalf, repaid when the home is sold. Eligibility is 65 or older, Alberta resident for at least three months, owner and occupant of the primary residence, with a minimum 25 per cent equity. There is no income test. The interest rate is currently 4.45 per cent, reviewed each April and October, so a review is due next month. Applications for the following year’s June taxes close 31 May.
SHARP, the Seniors Home Adaptation and Repair Program. A loan of up to $40,000 for home repairs and accessibility work, for households with income of $75,000 or less, at the same 4.45 per cent, requiring 25 per cent equity remaining after the loan. There are no monthly repayments, it is repaid on sale or change of ownership, and there is no application deadline. A grant version exists for those who do not qualify for the loan, at $32,690 income or less for a single senior and $53,800 for a couple.
Alberta Supports can walk anyone through both at 1-877-644-9992.
And One Date That Is Not A Deadline.
The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation falls on Wednesday 30 September. It is a federal statutory holiday, and in Alberta it is listed as an optional general holiday, which means provincially regulated employers are not required to give it off. City of Calgary recreation facilities have closed for it in previous years and schools are closed, but many workplaces are open. Worth checking rather than assuming, in either direction.
Nobody sends you a reminder for the good ones. They only send you a reminder for the penalty.
Not Sure Which Of These Applies To You?
Reply to any of our emails, or call or text 403.809.4639. We will tell you which ones are worth your time and which ones are not, including when the answer is none of them.
We will rebuild this page every September, because every figure on it changes.
Figures verified 1 September 2026 against alberta.ca, calgary.ca and airdrie.ca and were accurate at the time of writing. Program terms, rates and deadlines change without notice and should be confirmed with the administering body before you act. This post is general information, not financial, tax, legal or mortgage advice.