Tax Assessment Appeal Calculation
How to find out if I should appeal my assessment
Should I Appeal my Allegheny County Assessment?
If you live in Allegheny County, you are likely aware of the assessment issues the County has faced. However, there is a HUGE Opportunity to potentially save a significant amount on your real estate taxes, and here’s why.
How to win my Tax Assessment Appeal
For the past 12 years, since the last countywide reassessment, school districts across Allegheny County have been actively appealing property values. This is especially true if you recently purchased a home or applied for a work permit for home improvements. If you bought a home and the sales price was above a certain percentage of the previous assessed value, you likely triggered a “red flag,” prompting the school district to appeal your assessment and increase your property taxes—this practice has been called the “newcomers’ tax.” A calculation known as the Common Level Ratio (CLR), determined by the State Stabilization Board with data from each county, was used. Every county in the Commonwealth, including Allegheny, has a CLR.
Over the years, numerous lawsuits were filed claiming that Allegheny County’s CLR was too high and should be reduced. The courts agreed, and the CLR was ordered to be Significantly Lowered. We are closely following these changes and how you can benefit from them for your 2025 real estate taxes.
If you purchased your home within the last 5–6 years, there’s a very high chance you can lower your taxes. However, this opportunity isn’t just for recent homebuyers—ALL Property Owners in Allegheny County could potentially benefit. Years ago, during COVID, the assessment appeals for 2021 and 2022 were combined, and at that time, school districts used a CLR of 83.?%. This meant that if you were appealing or responding to an appeal, you were required to obtain a current appraisal and multiply it by 83.?%, resulting in a higher assessed value and, subsequently, higher property taxes. Thanks to the lawsuits and court rulings, the CLR has been ordered to be reduced incrementally over the following years.
If your school district has previously appealed your assessment, or if you successfully appealed and won, you are still eligible to appeal again. In fact, property owners can appeal every year if they wish. This is where significant savings can be made! The CLR reductions, which directly impact your assessment and lower your property taxes, have occurred as follows:
- In 2023, the CLR dropped from 83.?% to 63.5%, marking the first significant reduction.
- In 2024, the CLR dropped further from 63.5% to 54.5%.
- For 2025, the CLR is set at 52.7%, which is close to where the 2012 property values should be; 2012 is the base year at which all properties were assessed and considered as “Market Value” for that year. Current taxes are based upon this value.
Many property owners will find that this reduction makes it worthwhile to file an appeal, and substantial savings could be on the table. However, the story doesn’t end there.
This year, alongside the CLR reduction to 52.7%, Allegheny County changed the appeal period. It used to run from 01/01 to 03/31, but it has now been shortened to 08/01/2024 to 09/30/2024—a month less than before. Time is of the essence if you are considering filing an appeal. Here’s how to determine if you should seriously consider an assessment appeal:
- Did you purchase your home in the last 5–6 years, and did the school district appeal and increase your assessment?
- Do you have a good idea of your property’s current value (residential or commercial)? If so, multiply that value by 52.7%, and compare the result to your current assessed value from Allegheny County. Note: If you’ve taken a Homestead Exemption, this does not affect your total assessment. Here’s how to check your assessment: Visit the County website at https://www2.alleghenycounty.us/RealEstate/Search.aspx and enter your address. Under the first green tab, “General Information,” scroll down to see two columns—on the left, “202X Full Base Year Market Value” and on the right, “202X County Assessed Value.” The important number is in the left column under “Total Value” as this represents what the County thinks your property is worth.
- Another indicator: Go to the County website https://www2.alleghenycounty.us/RealEstate/Search.aspx and Multiply your 2025 Full Base Year Market Value by 1.9, this indicates what Allegheny County thinks your property’s current value is. If this number seems high, you are likely over-assessed and could be paying too much in property taxes.
Time is running out! Many property owners may be able to lower their property taxes, but action needs to be taken now.
Although we are an appraisal firm and handle hundreds of assessment appeals, this is not a solicitation. This is information that the property owners of Allegheny County need to know, as many may be unaware of it. Please take a moment to review your current assessment using the methods above to see if you could benefit from this tremendous opportunity to save money.
