How To Appeal Your Property Taxes in Bucks County
It’s that time of year again – Tax Season. For many of us, we are laser-focusing on filing our personal income taxes because we love getting that refund check and dreaming of ways to spend it. Have you ever considered whether or not you are overpaying on your real estate taxes? If you have an escrow account tied to your mortgage that automatically pays your yearly taxes, you probably aren’t thinking about it because you aren’t writing a large check to the Assessor every year. But if you’ve never researched it, how would you know how much your taxes should be?
There are typically two main components of property taxes, which are the combined county and municipal taxes and the school district taxes. Based on your county’s millage rate and your township’s school district millage rate 1, there is a formula used to calculate your taxes which takes into account the land and the improvement (home/buildings.) The tax amount you owe is a percentage of the Assessor’s determined value. Bucks County has one of the highest median taxes, second only to Chester County, in the state of Pennsylvania, and it’s estimated that almost 25% of homeowners nationally are overpaying in property taxes 2. There is also a Homestead/Farmstead Tax credit in PA that is offered to residents that will use the property as a primary residence and you only need to apply one time to receive annually 3.
How To Appeal Your Property Taxes in Bucks County:
Step 1: Go to Bucks County’s Board of Assessment’s website: www.buckscountyboa.org and research your property to make sure that the data on file is correct. Click on the Property Records tab and enter your name or address to check the lot size, square footage, bedrooms, bathrooms, etc. Make notes of any discrepancies.
Step 2: Go to the Bucks County main webpage: www.buckscounty.org. Under the Government tab, choose Finance. In the grid with hyperlinks, choose Board of Assessment. There you will find the information on the process and the correct forms to complete to file an Appeal.
Step 3: Call your trusted Realtor. He or she can help you with figuring out what the best comparable subject properties are to justify your tax appeal. If you have an Appraisal or a Survey from the purchase of your home, those could also help your case.
Step 4: File with the Board of Assessment and bring copies of all documents to your hearing.
The deadline for filing 2021 tax-year appeals is August 3, 2020 so call your trusted Real Estate advisor on the Laurie Dau Team today!
Sara Stridacchio, Buyer Specialist
d: 215.534.2984 | o: 215.234.7645
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- http://www.buckscounty.org/government/Finance/BoardofAssessment/MillageRates
- http://tax-rates.org/pennsylvania/property-tax
- http://www.buckscounty.org/docs/default/source/finance-documents/homesteadfarmsteadapplication2020.pdf
