(Cochrane, AB) – At its regular meeting last night, Cochrane Town Council approved the 2026 property tax rates that will be used to calculate annual property tax bills for residents and businesses. Council’s decision finalizes the tax levy needed to fund municipal services and ongoing community priorities.
For a median single-family home in Cochrane assessed at $674,800, the municipal portion of the tax bill will increase from $2,520 in 2025 to $2,585 in 2026 – an increase of approximately 2.61%. A larger share of this year’s overall tax bill reflects the provincially mandated education tax, which increased 14.89% – from $1,578 in 2025 to $1,813 in 2026.
The Rocky View Foundation requisition – which funds affordable senior housing in the region – will decrease from $42 in 2025 to $37 in 2026, a decrease of approximately 11.86%. Residential and non-residential tax rates can be found on cochrane.ca/taxes.
“Delivering the services and infrastructure Cochrane residents rely on requires disciplined, sustainable investment,” said Kevin Blanchette, Interim Executive Director, Strategic Services, Town of Cochrane. “Cochrane’s approved tax rates are designed to support the daily services residents count on – from community safety and road maintenance to parks, trails, and recreation – while keeping long-term affordability and value for residents in mind.”
What a property owner pays depends on their property’s assessed value relative to the median assessment in Cochrane. Because assessments change each year, individual tax bills may go up or down even when the tax rate stays the same.
Property taxes collected by the Town support a wide range of municipal services including emergency services, roads and infrastructure maintenance, public recreation facilities, parks and pathways and community programming.
The annual property tax bill is made up of three components collected by the Town on behalf of different levels of government:
- Municipal property taxes to fund local services,
- Provincial education taxes collected on behalf of the Government of Alberta, and
- A requisition to support seniors affordable housing through Rocky View Foundation.
In March 2026, the Government of Alberta increased Cochrane’s provincial education tax requisition from $24.2 million to $29.0 million – a 19.8% increase. Municipalities collect this tax on behalf of the Province and have no authority over the amount. The education tax increase accounts for the largest share of the overall change residents will see on their 2026 bills.
More information about the 2026 tax rates, as well as assessment details, is available at cochrane.ca/taxes. Residents can also watch this video to learn more about how property tax dollars are allocated.
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