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By Marilyn Le Lodico, Esquire
Rothman Gordon
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Owners of real estate in Pennsylvania always have the opportunity to try to reduce their tax bill by filing an annual tax assessment appeal. In 2022, property owners in Allegheny County and certain other counties who file appeals may have a greater likelihood of seeing reductions.

New real estate valuation data released by the Pennsylvania State Tax Equalization Board (“STEB”) gives an edge to property owners in certain counties who file a 2022 appeal. STEB annually issues real estate valuation data for each county, known as “common level ratios,” based on the prior year sales data. Common level ratios describe the difference between the market values of real property and the current county assessed values. These common level ratios are used in certain situations to identify the taxable value of real property.

On July 17, 2021, STEB published new data that showed the Allegheny County common level ratio decreased from 87.7% to 81.3%. This means that if you have an Allegheny County property with a fair market value of $100,000, the property’s assessed value after July 1, 2021 would be $81,300, as opposed to the prior year’s value of $87,700. This reduction can result in tax savings for property owners. In order to take advantage of this new data, property owners would have to file a tax assessment appeal. The Allegheny County deadline to file is March 31, 2022.

Before filing an appeal, property owners should keep in mind there are many relevant facts to consider when deciding whether to file. While the availability of a reduced common level ratio gives Allegheny County property owners an advantage, it alone may not be reason enough to file an appeal. Our real estate attorneys can help you evaluate your case and answer questions about tax assessment appeals in Allegheny and other surrounding counties.