Deadline Approaching for Property Tax Appeals in Over Half of Pennsylvania’s Counties

With less than a month until the September 1 filing deadline, time to file your real property tax assessment appeals in many Pennsylvania counties is quickly running out. 

In Pennsylvania, assessment appeals are handled at the county level.  There is not a single statewide filing deadline that applies uniformly to all counties.  All Pennsylvania counties, except Philadelphia County, use an August 1 or September 1 annual appeal deadline.  While the August 1 filing deadline has passed, there is still time for property owners in some of the state’s largest counties, including Allegheny and Washington, to take action and secure property tax savings.

Pennsylvania assessments can be affected by county-specific base-year systems, common level ratios, reassessments, changes in property condition, market shifts, and errors in property characteristics.  Because county assessors often rely on broad assessment data, an assessment may not fully reflect specific challenges affecting a particular property or property type. The appeal process gives owners an opportunity to present evidence such as recent comparable sales, appraisals, income information, vacancy data, condition issues, or other market-based support to achieve lower assessments, resulting in lower tax bills.

The following counties have a September 1 appeal deadline:

Vorys has significant experience in analyzing real property tax assessments and securing real property tax savings for property owners across Pennsylvania and the nation.  To discuss an analysis of the opinions of value assigned by your county assessor, please contact us for a complimentary review.