Assessment Appeals Deadlines for 2019

The yearly real estate assessment appeal deadline is fast approaching.  The last filing date for Montgomery, Chester, Bucks, Lehigh and Delaware Counties is August 1, 2019.   For Berks County the deadline is August 15, 2019 (and you cannot file your appeal prior to July1).  If you believe that your home, business location, rental property, or other real estate is over-assessed, the above dates are your deadlines to act.  Additionally, those dates serve as deadlines for certain qualifying charitable organizations who may wish to file appeals to establish their exemption from local real estate taxes. 

Annual appeals with the above deadlines are for the upcoming year (i.e. 2020).  Thus, the results would affect your assessment and your tax bill for county and municipality purposes beginning January 1, 2020 and for school taxes purposes beginning July 1, 2020. 

Note that the above deadlines will not apply to “interim” tax assessment appeals.  That is an appeal of an interim tax assessment that comes out during the course of a year after an event such as the completion of new construction or the subdivision and improvement of a parcel.  The date for appealing an interim assessment is 40 days after the date of the change of assessment notice.  Nor does this deadline apply to Act 319/Clean and Green enrollment; the deadline for those applications are June 1.

Note that Delaware is in the midst of a county-wide reassessment; all Delaware County properties will have a new assessment as of January 1, 2021.  The benefit of a tax assessment appeal is typically the cumulative, year-after-year savings that results from a lower assessment.  For Delaware County landowners appealing an assessment now could only be of benefit in 2020.  Unless you have very special circumstances, our advice would be to await the results for your property of the county-wide reassessment.  You will be able to appeal the reassessment results in 2021.

If you have questions about your current assessment and how it relates to your property’s fair market value, please do not hesitate to contact us.  Although we are not appraisers, we can talk to you about the feasibility of an appeal and/or help you get an expert appraisal. 

     — Rod Fluck

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