Edmonton businesses closed due to COVID-19 may be eligible for BIA fee rebate

Public Service Announcement

Businesses within Edmonton’s Business Improvement Areas (BIAs) may be eligible for a rebate of up to three months of their 2020 BIA tax if they were closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The rebate is part of the Edmonton Economic Recovery Grant, as the City makes an effort to help businesses hurt by the pandemic.
To be eligible, a business needed to have been closed for a minimum of two weeks in 2020 because of the pandemic, and earned zero revenue while closed. The rebate is only applicable to the BIA tax and not to any other type of federal or provincial tax.
The rebate application form and details on eligibility are available online at edmonton.ca/biaassessment. The application deadline is February 28.
The rebate will be directly applied as a credit to the business tax account. Businesses closed for two to five weeks are eligible for a rebate of up to one month’s BIA tax amount, six to nine week closures may receive up to two months’ rebate and closures of 10 weeks or more qualify for a three month rebate. BIA taxes are collected by the City and distributed in full to BIA boards, who use the funds for improvements and projects within their BIA.For more information:edmonton.ca/biaassessment Step By Step Business Improvement Area Tax Process