A Tourist Home designation allows the owner(s) the opportunity to rent the property on a short-term or long-term basis, or to use the property for their own personal use.
A Tourist home is a sub-class of residential property. For property tax purposes, it is registered with the assessment class 21 (Tourist Home) or 21A (Tourist Home – Personal Use).
If the titled owners declare Personal Use status at the beginning of the calendar year, the property is designated Tourist Home – Personal Use (THPU). This means that the owner(s) have declared that the property will not be rented (short-term or long-term) for the entire calendar year. The property is then taxed at the Tourist Home – Personal Use (THPU) rate which is equivalent to the residential tax rate.
If the property is rented for a short-term or long-term at any time during the year, the property is taxed at the Tourist Home tax rate (a little less than double the residential rate).
All Tourist Home and THPU properties default back to the Tourist Home assessment code (21) each year.
If you are NOT renting your property and would like to declare Personal Use in 2024
-
The declaration deadline has now passed. If you have not already submitted a signed statutory declaration, your property will default to Tourist Home (Code 21) for this calendar year and you are entitled to rent your property short-term or long-term. If you are a new owner and have purchased this property prior to January 1, 2024, please contact taxes@canmore.ca to review the declaration option for 2024.
If you would like to rent your property (short-term or long-term) in 2024
-
If you have not already submitted a signed statutory declaration, your property will default to Tourist Home (Code 21) for this calendar year and you are entitled to rent your property short-term or long-term.
- If you had previously submitted a statutory declaration for the 2024 tax year but would now like to rent your property (short-term or long-term) you must contact taxes@canmore.ca to revoke your declaration to avoid a $10,000 fine for a false declaration. The property taxes will be recalculated at the Tourist Home rate for the full calendar year, regardless of when you decide to rent your property.
To qualify for THPU the property must be owned by individuals (i.e. cannot be owned by a business/company). All owners on Title must complete the annual statutory declaration, witnessed by a Commissioner of Oaths, and submitted to the Town of Canmore no later than the annual due date.
If your statutory declaration is not received by the Town of Canmore by the deadline your property will be assessed and taxed at the Tourist Home tax rate. Your next opportunity to declare personal use will be the following calendar year.
Upload your scanned or photographed copy of the completed declaration here. By uploading your document to our site, you will receive a confirmation email once the form has been received and validated.
Alternatively, you can drop it off in person or mail it to 902 7 Avenue, Canmore, AB, T1W 3K1. It is the owners’ responsibility to confirm that the declaration has been received an processed by the Town of Canmore prior to the deadline.
If you did not declare Personal Use by the annual due date, your property will be designated Tourist Home for the entire calendar year. The next opportunity to declare Personal Use will be for the following calendar year.
If you declared Personal Use and then decided to rent out your property (short-term or long-term), you must notify the Town of Canmore in writing at taxes@canmore.ca to revoke your statutory declaration. The Town of Canmore will then revert your assessment code and tax levy (invoice) to the Tourist Home designation and tax rate for the entire calendar year.
Property taxes are not pro-rated based on a change part way through the year. The minimum fine for making a false declaration as per Town of Canmore Bylaw 2013-01 is $10,000.
To change your property assessment code to Tourist Home (21) or Tourist Home – Personal Use (THPU) (21A), your property must obtain a Development Permit from the Town of Canmore Planning & Development Department. Please review the Vacation Rentals and Tourist Homes section of the Types of Development webpage and contact the Planning & Development for more information.