Community Organization Property Tax Exemption Regulation Review
Property Taxes and Nonprofits
You may have been following Calgary City Council's recent vote to approve property tax exemption for nonprofit affordable housing providers. At the Nonprofit Chamber, we have also been involved in a conversation about property taxes and nonprofits; we have been in consultation with the Province in their review of the policy governing property tax exemption for Alberta nonprofits, the Community Organization Property Tax Exemption Regulation (COPTER).
What is COPTER?
The Community Organization Property Tax Exemption Regulation (COPTER) provides Alberta municipalities with criteria and conditions to use for determining property tax exemption eligibility for Alberta nonprofit organizations. COPTER has been in effect since 1998 and resides within the Ministry of Municipal Affairs under the Municipal Government Act (MGA). The regulations expired in 2025, triggering a broad policy review by Municipal Affairs.
COPTER Review
The COPTER review by Municipal Affairs is focused on ways to improve consistency of interpretation and ease of administration, and to ensure property tax exemptions are equitably available to nonprofits that provide similar essential services or supports for communities. This review is of the policy only, it is not a review of the legislation.
The review will consider:
Clarifying or modifying definitions, conditions, and criteria used in determining exemptions for nonprofit community organizations;
Clarifying or modifying exemption eligibility for property owned by residents’ associations, subsidized residential accommodations, and continuing care facilities; and
Clarifying application processes and municipal decision-making processes.
The review will not consider:
Changes to the general intent of COPTER;
Changes to the eligibility of for-profit organizations; and
Changes to the MGA, and policies reflected therein, except for s.362(1)(n) which enables COPTER. This includes other types of exemptions and other taxation policies.
Review Process
Municipal Affairs began a targeted stakeholder engagement in spring 2024. The engagement began by soliciting responses to a discussion guide, which was used to inform in-depth topic discussions with stakeholders. Large municipalities with a significant number of property tax exemptions were invited to respond in addition to municipal associations and representatives of nonprofits. Municipal Affairs received a total of 14 submissions from stakeholders representing municipalities and nonprofits. Four in-person and online COPTER stakeholder engagement meetings were held October 1, October 16, November 19, and December 10, 2024. A representative of the Nonprofit Chamber was at each of these consultations. Throughout the consultations, the Nonprofit Chamber emphasized consistency, fairness, and transparency in applying COPTER. The principles governing COPTER were established in 1997 and we urged a review of those principles to more accurately reflect the breadth and depth of the sector, while also increasing the ability for municipalities to achieve the policy intent of supporting nonprofits that contribute to public benefit. We also strongly suggested that Municipal Affairs undertake a more thorough consultation with nonprofits on this policy review and we are currently in touch with the Ministry to see if it is possible to do so within the review timeframe.
What’s Next?
Municipal Affairs will draft recommendations for the Minister, which then go to Cabinet for approval, and not until they receive Cabinet approval will this information become public. We anticipate recommendations and Cabinet approval happening spring 2025, with the intent to make sure that any changes to COPTER can be implemented by fall 2025. We will share information as it becomes available and make sure to keep nonprofits informed on any pending updates to COPTER.