Disclaimer:(Please check with the RM office for up to date information for legal purposes, as website may require updating)
Assessment & Taxation
Property assessment is the process of determining a property’s assessed value for tax purposes. The assessed value is not the market value; however, the assessed value will closely resemble a current market value for most properties. All properties are reassessed every four years. Should you wish to discuss your properties valuation, please contact SAMA directly and they will review your property profile with you. The phone number for the SAMA office is 306-924-8080.
The total taxable assessment of any agricultural land you own or lease located within the RM of Francis or in adjoining Saskatchewan rural municipalities will be applied to reduce your residential taxable assessment. An assessment can only be used to reduce residential taxable assessment once. The 293 Exemption Form must be sent in to the RM office by March 31st.
Residential Ag Exemption Form March 31st Deadline
PROPERTY ASSESSMENTS AND APPEALS
WHAT IS PROPERTY ASSESSMENT?
Property assessment is the process of determining a property’s assessed value for property tax purposes as of a specific date.
Assessed value is not market value; however, for most types of property it is close to the average market value in that municipality or neighborhood.
Assessed value is determined by applying the market valuation standard and the rules and procedures that are contained in The Municipalities Act, Saskatchewan Assessment Manual and, by following the appropriate statutes.
Local governments use property assessments as a basis for the distribution of property taxes among property owners. Property assessment is not the same as property tax. The assessment of a property is the value assigned to it as the basis for allocating taxes among various classes of property. Property Assessments are performed by SAMA (Saskatchewan Assessment Management Agency)
WHAT PROPERTY IS ASSESSABLE?
All land and improvements (buildings) are assessable.
- The term “land” refers to the ‘parcel of land’ that is a legally surveyed parcel of ground to which an owner has title or a lessee has access.
- “Improvements” are buildings or structures on the land, including machinery or equipment that is used to service the building.
- “Property” means land or improvements or both.
WHO CAN I CONTACT TO EXPLAIN MY ASSESSMENT?
If you have specific questions regarding why your property has been assessed a certain way, or what the things on your assessment mean, you may contact SAMA directly at 1-800-667-7262 or [email protected]. You may also contact the RM Office at 306-245-3256 regarding the assessment, and the appeals process, or with questions on how your assessment might affect your taxes.
WHAT IF I FEEL MY ASSESSMENT IS INCORRECT?
If you feel your assessment is in error you can appeal it if you have sufficient grounds for the appeal. For example, perhaps SAMA has rated the condition of your property ‘average’, but you feel it is in ‘poor’ condition, or they have assessed a deck on your property in 2002 and the deck has since been removed.
The more information you can provide to back up your grounds for appeal the better.
CAN I APPEAL MY ASSESSMENT EVEN IF I WASN’T REASSESSED THIS YEAR?
Yes. Anyone can appeal their assessment in any year while the assessment roll is open. In a regular year the roll is open for 30 days, in a Province-wide revaluation year (every four years, the last one was in 2021), it is open for 60 days. Simply submit the associated appeal fee with the applicable appeal form (Form F) which is available on the reverse side of your assessment notice or from the RM Office while the roll is open and your appeal will be processed.
HOW DO APPEALS WORK?
When you submit your appeal form with your appeal fee, the appeal information is sent to SAMA and to the Board of Revision. SAMA will review your appeal to see if there has in fact been an error on their end that they can make an agreement to correct. If you agree to their correction, you sign the agreement to adjust, withdraw your appeal and receive a refund of your appeal fee. If there is no agreement to adjust through SAMA, your appeal will be reviewed and heard by the board. If you win your appeal you will receive a refund of your appeal fee.
https://www.sama.sk.ca/property-owner-services/appeals
The RM of Francis uses the Saskatchewan Assessment Management Agency (SAMA) to calculate and update all assessments within the municipality. SAMA performs annual maintenance updates to properties showing an increase or decrease in assessment.
The provincial government mandates SAMA to conduct periodic revaluations of all Saskatchewan properties every four years to coincide with the change to a new base date.
More detailed information of property assessments throughout the province can be found at: (Click on Item)
Sama View and the 2021 Revalutation
SAMA INFO Residential Property
How Property Assessment Works In Saskatchewan
Assessment Notices are mailed in the spring of each year for properties who saw a change in the valuation or for new owners.
Please watch the Local Newspaper (Grasslands Production -formerly Quad Town Forum) for notices each spring for when the Assessment Roll is open to inspection; a 30-day appeal period applies for when the Assessment Roll is open (60-days in Revaluation years).
SAMA has been mandated the responsibility for determining assessment values for all properties, while the task of setting property taxes belongs to municipal governments.
The relationship between assessment and taxes comes from the fact that municipal governments levy taxes as a “mill rate” that is charged as a proportion of a property’s assessment value.
Assessed Value (SAMA) X Percentage of Value & Exemptions (Province) X Mill Rates Education (Province) and *Municipalities (Local Governments) = Property Taxes (Tax Payer)
SAMA first determines the assessed value for the property. After that, a provincial government tax policy is applied. The policy multiplies a percentage formula against the assessed value, producing what is called the taxable value.
Provincial Property Classes and Percentage of Value: Additional information for the re-evaluation year can by found on the Saskatchewan.ca website (Click here) https://www.saskatchewan.ca/residents/taxes-and-investments/property-taxes/revaluation
| Property Class | Taxable Percentage |
| (A) Agriculture | 55% |
| (N) Non-arable (Range) | 45% |
| (R) Residential | 80% |
| (C) Commercial | 85% |
| (E) Elevators | 85% |
| (P) Railway | 85% |
Municipal Property Tax Mill Rates
The municipal mill rates for the tax year as per Bylaw No. 2022-05 are as follows, Council determines the Mill Rate Factors & Mill Rates every year after the Budget is adopted
| Property Class | Mill Rate | Mill Rate Factor |
| (A) Agriculture | 5.2 mills | 0.8 |
| (R) Residential | 5.2 mills | 0.65 |
| (C) Commercial/Industrial | 5.2 mills | 1.90 |
Mill Rate Factors
Bylaw 2022 05 Mill Rate Factors 2022
The RM of Francis uses mill rate factors to transfer some of the cost of public services from one property classification to another. All property in a municipality is classified as agricultural, residential or commercial / industrial. Mill rate factors essentially adjust the mill rate, with the result that the effective mill rate for a specific property classification may be higher or lower than other property classifications.
Education Property Tax Mill Rates
As of January 1, 2013 municipalities cannot apply discounts or incentives to education property tax.
Mill rates for education taxes are set by the Government of Saskatchewan. More information on the setting of education property tax mill rates can be found at Education Property Tax System.
The mill rates set for this tax year are as follows:
| Property Class | Mill Rate |
| (A) Agriculture | 1.42 mills |
| (R) Residential | 4.54 mills |
| (CO) Commercial/Industrial | 6.86 mills |
| (CR) Resource (Oil, Gas, Pipelines, etc.) | 9.88 mills |
Property Tax Payments & Discounts
The deadline for payment of taxes is December 31st for the year levied.
DISCOUNTS FOR EARLY PAYMENT OF CURRENT YEAR MUNICIPAL TAXES
- 5% on or before August 31st
- 5% on or before September 30th
- 4% on or before October 31st
- 2% on or before November 30th
- 0% after November 30th
DISCOUNTS FOR EARLY PAYMENT OF CURRENT YEAR HAIL TAXES
- 5% if paid before October 1st
- 4% if paid on or after October 1st but before November 1st
- 2% if paid on or after November 1st but before December 1st
Late Payment penalties
Late payment penalties are added each month to property taxes that remain unpaid as of December 31st of each year, at the rate of 1.0% per month
Methods of Payment
- Cash
- Cheque
- E-transfer to [email protected]
- Online only with Affinity, Conexus, Cornerstone and Weyburn Credit Unions
In order to pay taxes online, please look for FRANCIS NO. 127 (RM) – TAXES as a payee and use your customer number located at the top of your tax notice as the account number. If your customer number is shorter than 4 digits, use zeros to prefix your account number—for example, if your account number is 127, you will enter 0127 as your account number. PLEASE CALL THE OFFICE IF YOU REQUIRE ASSISTANCE.