Property assessment and appeals in Northwest Territories

MACA says that in the NWT "the responsibility to manage property assessment belongs to MACA with taxation responsibilities handled mainly by the Department of Finance." Assessment covers improvements (buildings, mobile units, pipelines, works and transmission lines), assessable land in the Municipal Taxation Communities and in the General Taxation Area (GTA), and land and improvements in the "Hinterland", such as mines, oil and gas installations and telecommunications infrastructure outside community boundaries. Personal property is not assessed.

Assessors follow the Act, the Property Assessment Regulations and the Property Class Regulations. In the GTA, land value is based on development costs, "the cost of building new roads and providing services like water, sewer, and electricity", with regulations setting those costs by region. Improvements are valued at two-thirds of depreciated replacement cost new.

Yellowknife values land at market value, "analyzing the average selling price of similar parcels of land in an area for the base year", and buildings with a building assessment manual "based on northern costs" that the Territorial Government regulates.

An annual assessment reflects changes since the last assessment. A general assessment revalues all properties to a common base. Finance says that between general assessments "the value of the land and improvements for taxation purposes remains at the last assessed value."

The Director certifies each roll by October 31 (s. 25(1)). Rates are then set by the Minister of Finance in the GTA or by council in a municipality. See property tax in the Northwest Territories.

Within 21 days after the Director sends the certified roll (first revision) to the appropriate authority, the Director (in the GTA) or the municipality's senior administrative officer (in a Municipal Taxation Community) must mail the notices (s. 27(1)). Under s. 27(2), a notice must go to the owner when a property is assessed for the first time, its value has changed, or a property class is assigned or changed. MACA says "each year, property owners receive a notice of assessment" summarizing what will be on that year's roll.

Yellowknife mails its notices "at the beginning of January". Each shows the assessed value of land and of improvements for the prior and current years and the current school tax support share. MACA says the back of the notice explains how to appeal.

The notice is not a tax bill. In the GTA, the Department of Finance mails a separate tax notice. Yellowknife mails an interim bill at the end of January and a final bill at the end of June.

MACA says owners "can review their community's assessment roll", which "is located at the community government's office." The roll lists each property's owner, legal description, the assessed value of land and improvements, account number, property class, tenure, and taxable or exempt status. MACA's assessment contact (Community Governance, Yellowknife) lists the office number (867) 767-9165.

In Yellowknife, the City posts its annual assessment rolls online ("2025 Property Assessment Rolls For 2026 Taxation" on its Property Assessment page). Its online City Explorer tool lets owners compare their value with similar properties, and eServices shows previous years' taxation. Owners can book an appointment with the assessor to check measurements and calculations, or ask the Taxation Division for a printout of the assessment breakdown at (867) 920-5625 or (867) 920-5664.

The Northwest Territories has no assessment phase-in or cap. The Property Assessment and Taxation Act (consolidation amended to SNWT 2023, c. 30) contains no phase-in or limit on assessment increases, and MACA, Finance and Yellowknife describe none. Finance says instead that "In years when there is a general property assessment, the mill rate often goes down." Yellowknife's 2025 General Assessment raised average values by 18.23% (Residential), 10.74% (Multi-Residential), 8.58% (Commercial/Industrial), 1.30% (Mining), 3.82% (High-Density Parking) and 9.72% (Agriculture). The City says that if a property's value rose more than the average, its share of the levy "may have increased by more than 3.7%", the overall levy increase.