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Pennsylvania works through the Common Level Ratio, and every county runs its own rules.
Works for some owners here, not all. No cap, but base years are stale, and Allegheny County hasn’t reassessed since 2012 with a ratio of 50.14. That ratio is actually the opportunity, because you divide market value by it to get the assessment you should have. The cost is that 67 counties each set their own deadlines and procedures. Philadelphia alone had 13,500 appeals for tax year 2023.
So Pennsylvania gives you a ground that runs on published assessed values rather than on sale prices. You're not showing what your house would sell for. You're showing that homes genuinely like yours are assessed lower than yours is, using numbers the county already publishes.
Now that matters more than it sounds, because it means a state keeping sale prices private doesn't stop you. Illinois, Texas, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Kansas, Massachusetts and DC all have some version of it, and honestly it's usually the stronger argument even where sale prices are public.
Set by each county. Many use August 1 or September 1, and Allegheny County's is September 1 of the year before the tax year.
Miss it and you generally wait a year, so honestly the date matters more than the paperwork does.
And wherever you are, the single most useful thing you can actually do today is go find your assessment notice and read the date printed on it. That's what starts your clock, it's usually a much shorter window than people expect, and there's no getting it back once it's gone.
First, look up your own record. Your county assessment office lists your home's assessment. Most Pennsylvania counties haven't reassessed in years, so the number on your notice really isn't meant to be market value. Look up your county's Common Level Ratio, which the State Tax Equalization Board publishes by July 1 each year, and divide your assessment by it. That's the market value the county's actually claiming.
Next, know where to file. Appeals go to your county's Board of Assessment Appeals, on the county's own form. Each of the 67 counties sets its own deadline. Many use August 1 or September 1, Allegheny County's is September 1 of the year before the tax year, and some counties count the date it arrives rather than the postmark, so it's smart to file early.
Then bring the evidence that wins here. If your home would really sell for less than your assessment divided by the Common Level Ratio, you've probably got a case. The burden's on you, though, so you'll need sales of genuinely similar homes nearby.
Also, check your exemptions. Ask your school district about the homestead exclusion. It's funded by state gaming money, the amount varies by district, and you'll usually apply through your county by early March.
We only turn a state on once we've read its appeal rules and its actual board decisions, because that's how we make sure what we tell you is right and not generic. It takes a few days per state, and honestly it's the reason our answers are worth anything.
In the meantime our free check runs in parts of Illinois, Washington, Ohio, Georgia, Colorado, North Carolina and Oregon, and in every town in New Jersey. If you leave your email on the check page, we'll write to you the day Pennsylvania goes live, and we won't email you before that.
We've screened all fifty states and DC on the same two questions. Does winning a lower market value actually lower your bill, or is there a cap sitting in between? And can you even put the evidence together from public records?
This comes from our own fifty-state screen, where we checked each state's cap, whether sale prices are public, whether there's an argument based on assessed values, and how many appeals actually get filed. Where we've quoted an appeal count, it's from the state or county that published it. If you spot an error, please write to hello@propertytaxbuddy.com and we'll correct it and say what changed.