Homeowner Tips
Eight municipalities, eight different answers. Carstairs charges 14 per cent the day after the deadline. Okotoks charges 4. Here is the whole picture in one table, each figure taken from the municipality’s own website on 2 October 2026.
The short answer. Most municipalities in the Calgary and Airdrie area set property tax due on 30 June and apply the first penalty on 1 July. The size of that first penalty ranges from 4 per cent in Okotoks to 14 per cent in Carstairs. Foothills County is the outlier on timing, with taxes due 1 October. Airdrie is the outlier on structure, counting days rather than calendar dates.
If you own property in more than one of these places, or you are moving between them, the difference is not trivial. On a $4,000 tax bill left unpaid from July to the end of the year, Carstairs costs you $560 on 1 July alone. Okotoks costs you $160 on the same day.
Nobody publishes this comparison, so here it is. Everything below was read off the municipality’s own site on 2 October 2026, and the two places we could not confirm are named rather than guessed at.
The Comparison Table.
| Municipality | 2026 due date | Penalties on current taxes | Arrears |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calgary | Tuesday 30 June 2026 | 7% on 1 July, 7% on 1 October | 1% monthly after 31 December |
| Airdrie | End of June, no calendar date published | 5% at 1 day, 5% at 60 days, 5% at 120 days | 9% on 1 January, 9% on 1 April |
| Rocky View County | 30 June 2026 | 4% on 1 July, 4% on 1 September, 4% on 1 November | 12% on 1 January, on taxes and penalties |
| Cochrane | 30 June 2026 | 7% on 1 July, 8% on 1 October | 15% on 1 January |
| Okotoks | 30 June 2026 | 4% on 1 July, 4.5% on 1 August, 5% on 1 September | 1.5% monthly after 30 September |
| Carstairs | 30 June 2026 | 14% on 1 July | 14% on 1 January 2027 |
| Crossfield | 30 June 2026, by 4:30 p.m. | 12% on the first business day in July | 12% on the first business day in January |
| Foothills County | 1 October, stated as an annual rule | 6% on 2 October | 12% on 1 January |
Every figure verified on the municipality’s own website on 2 October 2026. Source links are at the foot of this page. Chestermere and Strathmore are not in the table, and the reason is explained below.
Who Charges The Most, And Who Charges The Least.
Carstairs is the most expensive place in the region to be late. Fourteen per cent on 1 July, and a further 14 per cent on 1 January on the total outstanding. A $4,000 bill carried from July into the new year becomes roughly $5,198 before anyone has sent a reminder. Crossfield is next at 12 and 12.
Okotoks has the gentlest opening and the longest tail. It steps up slowly, 4 then 4.5 then 5, which is forgiving if you are a few weeks late. But after 30 September it switches to 1.5 per cent on the first of every month, January through December, and that does not stop.
Rocky View County’s 12 per cent in January applies to taxes and penalties together. That wording matters. Most municipalities apply the January penalty to unpaid tax. Rocky View applies it to the accumulated total, which includes the three 4 per cent hits already added.
Cochrane’s 15 per cent on 1 January is the single largest arrears penalty in the region.
Airdrie Counts Days, Not Dates.
Airdrie is the only municipality on this list that does not publish calendar penalty dates. Its bylaw works in day counts: 5 per cent one day after the due date, 5 per cent again at 60 days, and 5 per cent again at 120 days.
The City also does not publish a specific due date. Its page says only that notices are mailed at the end of May and are due at the end of June each year.
So if you are an Airdrie owner trying to work out when the next penalty lands, you have to do the arithmetic yourself from your own notice, and the third one falls in late October. Call the City at 403.948.8800 and confirm your own date rather than relying on a count you did in your head. This is the one municipality in the region where the deadline is genuinely easy to misjudge.
Foothills County Is On A Completely Different Calendar.
Everywhere else in this table, property tax is due at the end of June. In Foothills County it is due 1 October, with a 6 per cent penalty on 2 October and 12 per cent on 1 January.
If you have moved from Calgary or Okotoks onto an acreage in Foothills County, the June habit will not serve you, and the reverse is equally true. The County also offers a prepayment discount, which is the only one of its kind in the region: enrolling in its instalment plan before 31 January earns a 5 per cent discount.
Every One Of These Has A Monthly Plan, And Most Of Them Are Free.
This is the part that gets missed. A monthly instalment plan removes the penalty risk entirely, because the balance is never outstanding.
Calgary calls it TIPP, the Tax Instalment Payment Plan. No charge to join, withdrawn on the first of each month, no annual reapplication, and a $35 charge on a dishonoured payment. The City’s own newsroom is explicit that the June deadline does not apply to owners enrolled in TIPP by 30 June.
Airdrie’s Monthly Tax Payment Plan carries no fees and no interest, and you can join at any time.
Rocky View County’s plan has enrolment deadlines worth noting: 15 June for the current year, and 15 December for future years. Okotoks requires enrolment by 23 June to avoid the penalty, with a 10 December cutoff for the following year. Chestermere states there are no administration fees and enrolment can happen any time of year. Cochrane, Carstairs, Crossfield and Foothills County all run plans too.
Joining partway through a year does not reduce what you owe. It spreads the remaining balance over fewer months, so the monthly figure is higher. The cheapest month to join any of these is always January.
If You Are 65 Or Older, Alberta Will Pay It For You.
The Seniors Property Tax Deferral Program lets a homeowner aged 65 or older defer all or part of their residential property tax through a low interest home equity loan with the Government of Alberta, repaid when the home is sold. There is no income test. Cochrane, Okotoks and Crossfield all point to it from their own tax pages.
Cochrane additionally offers its own seniors property tax rebate of $500.
This comes up constantly with clients who are helping a parent, and almost nobody knows it exists. Applications must be in at least 30 days before the municipal deadline, so for a June due date that means May.
Two We Could Not Confirm, And We Are Not Going To Guess.
Chestermere. The only official document carrying a penalty schedule is a PDF filed under a 2023 upload path, and the document itself states no year. It gives a 31 July due date, a 7 per cent penalty on 1 August and 1.5 per cent monthly thereafter. The City’s most recent news item with a due date says 31 July 2025, and its 2026 tax rate announcement gives mill rates without a due date. Those figures are probably still correct. They are not confirmed for 2026, so they are not in the table.
Strathmore. The current tax page explains assessment and calculation but publishes no due date, no penalty percentages and no payment plan terms. The older page still says payments were due 30 June 2024, which is stale. Call the Town at 403.934.3133.
If you own in either place, phone them. An out of date number on a page like this is worse than no number at all.
Common Questions.
When are property taxes due in Calgary in 2026?
Tuesday 30 June 2026. A 7 per cent penalty applies to any unpaid balance on 1 July, and a second 7 per cent penalty on 1 October. Owners enrolled in TIPP by 30 June are not subject to the deadline.
What is the penalty for paying property tax late in Airdrie?
Five per cent one day after the due date, a further 5 per cent at 60 days, and a further 5 per cent at 120 days. Unpaid balances then move to arrears, carrying 9 per cent on 1 January and 9 per cent on 1 April. Airdrie publishes day counts rather than calendar dates.
Which municipality near Calgary has the highest late property tax penalty?
Carstairs, at 14 per cent applied 1 July and a further 14 per cent on 1 January on the total outstanding. Crossfield is second at 12 per cent and 12 per cent.
When are property taxes due in Rocky View County?
30 June 2026. Penalties of 4 per cent apply on 1 July, 1 September and 1 November, and 12 per cent is applied on 1 January to the total of taxes and penalties outstanding.
Can I pay Alberta property tax monthly instead of in one payment?
Yes. Every municipality in this comparison runs a monthly instalment plan, and most charge no fee and no interest to join. Calgary’s is called TIPP and Airdrie’s is the Monthly Tax Payment Plan. Joining partway through a year raises the monthly amount because the remaining balance is spread over fewer months.
Does a late property tax penalty affect selling my home?
Outstanding property tax is settled through the statement of adjustments at closing, so it does not stop a sale. It does reduce your net proceeds, and penalties accumulated over a year or more can be substantial. If you are carrying arrears and thinking about listing, it is worth raising with your lawyer and your REALTOR early rather than discovering it on the adjustment statement.
Nobody sends you a reminder for the monthly plan. They only send you a reminder for the penalty.
Two related pages on this site: the October house list, which covers what to clear before 31 October, and how to appeal your assessment, which is the other half of the property tax question and has its own deadline in January.
Coming Early In The New Year
Want Our Tax Fighters Guide?
We are putting together a Tax Fighters Guide and sending it out early in the new year. If you would like a copy, send us your email address and we will add you to the list and email it to you when it is ready.
Buying Across A Municipal Line?
The tax calendar changes the moment you cross one, and so does the mill rate, the utility structure and the service level. We sell across Calgary, Airdrie, Cochrane, Okotoks, Chestermere, Carstairs, Crossfield and Rocky View County, so we can tell you what actually changes. Call or text 403.809.4639.
Sources, All Verified 2 October 2026.
City of Calgary, property tax penalties: calgary.ca
City of Airdrie, paying your taxes: airdrie.ca
Rocky View County, important tax dates: rockyview.ca
Town of Cochrane, taxation: cochrane.ca
Town of Okotoks, property taxes: okotoks.ca
Town of Carstairs, property tax information: carstairs.ca
Town of Crossfield, assessment and tax: crossfieldalberta.com
Foothills County, discounts and penalties: foothillscountyab.ca
Government of Alberta, Seniors Property Tax Deferral Program: alberta.ca
Every figure on this page was read off the named municipality’s own website on 2 October 2026 and was accurate at the time of writing. Municipal due dates, penalty rates, bylaws and payment plan terms change without notice and should be confirmed with the municipality before you act on them. This page is general information, not financial, tax or legal advice.