Property Assessment

As stated in The Municipalities Act, you have 30 days, or 60 days in a revaluation year, to appeal the assessment from when the assessment roll is opened.

Any person with an interest in the assessed value or classification of a property can appeal the property assessment.

You can appeal if you believe there has been an error in:

• the assessed value;
• the classification;
• the contents of the assessment roll; and
• the assessment notice.

You may wish to meet with the assessment appraiser to discuss the appeal prior to completing the notice of appeal form. The meeting may create understanding between the parties on facts or issues surrounding your appeal.

It is your responsibility to make a case to the Board of Revision when you prepare a notice of appeal form. It may be as simple as proving that dimensions in the current assessment are wrong or that a property classification is not correct. The case may be as complex as proving that the value of a property is not fairly assessed compared to another property that is similar. SAMA will also attend the hearing to provide information on the assessment.

Board of Revision fee:

Agricultural – $100.00
Residential – $100.00
Multi-Unit Residential – $250.00
Commercial/Industrial – $250.00

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SAMA’s role in determining assessed value for properties is just the first part of a process established by provincial legislation. The second part is application of provincial government-established tax policy, such as property classes and percentage of value. The third and final part of the process involves municipalities annually determining the local mill rate based on budgetary needs. The province sets the mill rate for the education sector. Municipalities then multiply the taxable assessment by the local mill rate to produce property tax levies, also known as your property tax bill.

How Municipal Property Taxes are Determined:

Property assessment is an estimate of the typical market value of your property developed for the purposes of determining your portion of the municipality’s property tax. The values for those parcels deemed taxable generate property taxes. Further information can be obtained from the SAMA website.

By sending property assessment notices in advance of the property tax notices, owners have the opportunity to review their assessments and raise any concerns they may have about their assessed value before taxes are levied.

Saskatchewan uses three generally accepted appraisal techniques to value property in a Market Valuation Assessment (MVA) system: the cost approach, the sales comparison approach and the property income (rental) approach.

The cost approach estimates the replacement cost of a building, less depreciation, adding land values primarily based on sales. The approach is most useful when there are few comparable sales, or a lack of rental and expense information needed to administer the sales comparison or property income approach.

The sales comparison appropriate for determining property assessments for areas and property types with active sales markets, such as residential property in medium to large cities.

The property income approach is based on the premise that the value of a property is directly related to the rental income it will generate. The appraiser analyses both the property’s expenses and ability to produce future income, and then estimates the property’s value.

How Property Assessment Works in Saskatchewan

After receiving an assessment notice, a property owner may discuss and review their property with a SAMA Assessor or with the Town of Leader.

Individual assessments can be viewed by using SAMAView.

Your property characteristics are measured against other properties that have sold, cost to build, and any property income generated in order to calculate a valuation value. Characteristics such as location, age, size, and others are all considered.