Education Property Tax System

The Government of Saskatchewan announced significant changes to the education property tax system in its 2009-10 budget.  On a province-wide basis, property taxes for educational purposes decreased.  Effective April 1, 2009, the province sets the province-wide property tax mill rates used to levy education taxes by all public school divisions.  This arrangement may also be used by separate school divisions.  Separate school divisions have a constitutional authority to levy taxes to fund their educational system; therefore each separate school division will decide if it will exercise its authority to establish its own property tax mill rates or if it will participate in the new funding structure.  Currently, all separate school divisions have elected to participate in the province-wide education property tax mill rates.  The net benefit will be lower education property tax overall for Saskatchewan people.

General Information

• Municipalities will continue to collect education property taxes along with municipal property taxes. Municipalities will remit education property tax collected to the appropriate school division. Provincially established education property tax mill rates will apply to all taxable property within a municipality. The province will set a rate for each of three property classes - agricultural, residential, and commercial/industrial. Currently, all separate school divisions elected to participate in the province-wide education property tax mill rates. The Provincial Education Property Tax Credit Program was discontinued.
• Provincially established education property tax mill rates will apply to all taxable property within a municipality. The province will set a rate for each of three property classes - agricultural, residential, and commercial/industrial. The 2012 tax mill rates are:
  • 3.91 mills for agricultural land,
  • 9.51 mills for residences, and,
    • Commercial/industrial property with a taxable assessment of less than $500,000 will have a mill rate of 12.25.

    • Commercial/industrial property with a taxable assessment of more than $500,000 has a mill rate of 12.25 on the first $499,999 of assessment, a mill rate of 14.75 on assessment between $500,000 and $5,999,999 and a mill rate of 18.55 on any assessment of $6,000,000 or more.

• The 2012 education property tax mill rates remain the same as in 2011.

Information for Taxpayers

• Property owners will continue to receive an assessment and tax notice from their municipality as they have in the past. The municipality will continue to receive property tax payments and remit education property taxes to the appropriate school division as required by law.
• The amount owed for education property tax will appear on the municipal tax notice.  In addition to tax information normally provided by the municipality in previous years, the tax notice will include education property tax rates for prescribed property classes - agriculture, residential and commercial/industrial.
• Education property taxes will continue to be eligible for discounts and subject to penalties in 2012 in the same manner as municipal taxes. Discount and penalty rates are established by the municipality.
• However, effective January 1, 2013, tax incentives (discounts and rebates) set by municipalities will no longer apply to education property tax. Provisions in The Cities Act, The Municipalities Act and The Northern Municipalities Act, 2010 will be amended to make this change. Municipalities will retain the option to offer an incentive (discount/rebate) or not offer an incentive on the municipal portion of the property tax bill. 
• Further information for property owners may be found on the Ministry of Education website (below).

Information for Separate School Division Education Property Taxpayers

The right of separate school divisions to generate revenue for education purposes is protected by the Constitution of Canada.  If your separate school division chooses to retain its right to establish its own property tax mill rates, the rates established by the board of education will mirror the provincial structure - that is, there will be specific rates for agriculture, residential and commercial/industrial property classes.  The property tax mill rates for the commercial/industrial property class will vary as the assessed value of the property increases.

Information for Municipalities

• The prescribed classes of property used to calculate education property tax mill rates parallel those used by municipalities.  The legislation removed authority to apply mill rate factors to education property taxes.
• Education property tax collections will be remitted to appropriate school divisions using a form provided for that purpose. The prescribed remittance and school liability forms are available from the Ministry of Education or in the related articles below.  Completed forms must be sent to each school division and the Minister of Education by the 10^th of each month.
• Municipalities' will be notified shortly of the requirement to submit the School liability forms to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs in addition to the Ministry of Education and the School Division(s).  These forms are also in the process of being updated.  This is due to the transfer of certain responsibilities pertaining to education property tax from the Ministry of Education to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs.
• Municipalities are reminded to ensure all properties receiving tax exemptions by bylaw, or otherwise, are listed on the assessment roll.

Contact your municipality regarding:

• paying your taxes through a pre-payment plan
• the assessed value of your property
• declaring your tax support for a separate school division (applicable where a separate school division opts to levy education property tax)

Contact Saskatchewan Municipal Affairs at (306) 787-2680 regarding:

• technical, administration and legislation questions pertaining to the education property tax

Contact Saskatchewan Education at (306) 787-4959 regarding:

• how the province funds education (link below)