Pennsylvania real property tax appeal "season" is upon us once again. It's important that a property owner not take an assessment at face value.
For 66 of Pennsylvania's 67 counties, the 2015 real property tax appeal deadlines fall between August 1 and the first Monday of October 2014. The current annual deadlines are as follows:
- August 1: Bucks, Cambria, Chester, Dauphin, Delaware, Erie, Fayette, Franklin, Indiana, Lancaster, Lawrence, Lehigh, Luzerne, Monroe, Montgomery, Northampton and York
- August 15: Berks
- August 31: Wyoming and Butler
- September 1: Adams, Armstrong, Beaver, Bedford, Blair, Bradford, Cameron, Carbon, Centre, Clarion, Clearfield, Clinton, Columbia, Crawford, Cumberland, Elk, Forest, Fulton, Greene, Huntingdon, Jefferson, Juniata, Lackawanna, Lebanon, Lycoming, McKean, Mercer, Mifflin, Montour, Northumberland, Perry, Pike, Potter, Schuylkill, Snyder, Somerset, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Tioga, Union, Venango, Warren, Washington, Wayne and Westmoreland
- October 6: Philadelphia
- March 31, 2015: Allegheny
Nearly all of the counties above may move their appeal dates up
to as early as August 1 with as little as two
weeks' notice via publication in a local
newspaper. We will continue to monitor changes in appeal
deadlines.
Labor Day falls on September 1 this year. Because of this, the
September 1 appeal deadline is extended to September 2.
Nonetheless, we recommend filing any appeal in such a county before
the Labor Day weekend to avoid problems arising from delays in mail
delivery.
STEB to Release the New Common Level Ratios July 1
By July 1 of every year, the Pennsylvania State Tax Equalization
Board must publish the latest Common Level Ratio figures for
each of Pennsylvania's 67 counties.
Pennsylvania law contemplates that the county's Common Level
Ratio is to be applied to a property's assessment to determine
the alleged current market value. Common Level Ratios vary widely
because most Pennsylvania counties do not regularly reassess.
Here is an example: The Common Level Ratio published last year
for Butler County was 31.5 percent. if a property in that county
has an assessment of $1 million, its fair market value based upon
the Common Level Ratio is $3,174,600. If the real estate is worth
less than that amount, the property owner should consider filing a
real estate tax assessment appeal. This example shows why it is
important not to take a property's assessment at face
value.
Because of the short period of time between when the Common Level
Ratios are released and the appeal deadlines, property owners have
a narrow window of time to analyze the fair market values being
applied to their properties using the applicable Common Level
Ratio.
Reed Smith's Real Estate Practice Group in Pennsylvania is well
prepared to assist property owners and tenants who are responsible
for paying real estate taxes with this evaluation. Often tax
assessment appeals can be handled on a contingency fee basis
calculated upon the taxes saved as a result of the appeal, which is
an effective way to budget and pay for this work. Any
individual or business with an interest in commercial real
estate may be interested in discussing the prospects of an appeal
with us.
This article is presented for informational purposes only and is not intended to constitute legal advice.