Tax Assessment Appeals

Appealing Your Real Estate Tax Assessment Bill

Many taxpayers do not pay much attention to their county and local real estate tax bills because they are a fraction of the bill they receive each July for the real estate taxes owed to the local school district. Furthermore, many people confuse the “assessed value” of their property with the “fair market value” of their property. An attorney can help you understand the process, and O'Donnell, Weiss & Mattei, P.C., is a particularly experienced firm.

What To Know About Assessment Appeals

Your tax bills provide you with the assessed value of your property, which today is a fraction of the true fair market value of your property. When individuals see the assessed value, which is far less than what they believe the fair market value of their property is, they often believe they should not appeal their tax assessment, because if they bring it to the attention of the County Board of Assessments, their taxes could increase. However, research of many of the neighborhoods in both Chester and Montgomery counties indicates that many taxpayers are overpaying their real estate taxes by more than $1,600 per year.

The process to appeal your tax assessment is relatively simple. Since our office handles all of the details with the County Board of Assessments, the process requires very little of your time and in most cases, the entire cost of the appeal can be paid for with just a few months of the permanent annual tax savings that result from a successful appeal.

Don’t Procrastinate On Your Appeal

Counties limit the time when you can file an annual tax assessment appeal. The annual appeal period begins May 1 and runs until Aug. 1 in Chester, Montgomery, Delaware, Bucks and Lancaster counties and Aug. 15 in Berks County.

If you would care to discuss your particular real estate tax assessment in detail, please call tax lawyer Mike Murray at 610-323-2800 or email Mike.