Apr 21 2008
The Taxman Cometh - Property Taxes in Pittsburgh
An Introduction to Property Taxes in the Pittsburgh Area
In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes." Benjamin Franklin
I’m not a fan of them. And certainly we would have less of it if we had smaller government. But the reality is that we have big government so we pay lots of taxes - income tax, sales tax, excise tax, gasoline tax, social security tax, etc, ad nauseum.
One of the costs of home ownership is property taxes. In the Pittsburgh area, these taxes are levied by three entities - the county, the local municipality (city, borough, township), and the school district for that area.
Tax rates reflect a relationship between the tax base and the services provided; typically, the more services offered, the higher the tax rate - although that’s not always the case.
Each entity has its own tax rate and each rate is applied to the "assessed value" of the property. In Allegheny and Westmoreland counties, this tax-assessed value is almost always lower than the market value of the property.
The assessed value of a property can be adjusted by the County due to errors in figuring the tax or due to physical changes of the property. The value can be appealed at any time by the owner. The value can also be appealed at any time by the school district or local taxing authority if they believe the assessed value is too low.
In Allegheny County, appeals are heard by the Board of Property Assessment Appeals. In Westmoreland County, it’s the Westmoreland County Board of Assessment Appeals.
In Pennsylvania, county and municipal tax bills are based on a calendar year, January 1 - December 31. School district taxes are based on a fiscal year, July 1 - June 30; the exceptions here are the Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Scranton school districts, which are based on a calendar year.
The tax rate is expressed in units called mills, and is sometimes referred to as millage. A mill is equal to one-tenth of one cent, or one-thousandth of a dollar. As a decimal a mill would be expressed as 0.001.
As an example, in Monroeville in East Allegheny County, the property tax rate is 26.3 mills. This millage includes 4.69 mills for county tax, 2.2 mills for local tax, and 19.41 mills for school tax. So, the taxes on a property assessed at $100,000 would be calculated as follows: .
0263 x $100,000 = $2630/year
Homes in Westmoreland County, and other surrounding counties, tend to have lower property taxes than comparable homes in Allegheny County. In fact, the last few years have seen an increase in people moving out of Allegheny County to areas that have lower property taxes. In some cases, the tax savings can be significant.
However, there are a number of tax abatements and exemptions available in Allegheny County. You can find information about this at http://www.county.allegheny.pa.us/opa/abate.aspx
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