In Allegheny County, tax appeal season has already begun for 2025. For every tax year, County property owners have the ability to file an assessment appeal. ...more
9/10/2024
/ Administrative Procedure ,
Commercial Property Owners ,
County Assessors ,
Fair Market Value ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Municipalities ,
Property Owners ,
Property Tax ,
Property Valuation ,
Tax Appeals ,
Tax Assessment
In Allegheny County, tax appeal season has begun for 2024. Every year, County property owners have the ability to file an assessment appeal. But this year there are unique opportunities for an assessment reduction....more
Downingtown Area School District v. Chester County Board of Assessment Appeal, 2023 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 161 (Pa. Commw. Ct. October 6, 2023). Commonwealth Court rejects assessment appeal despite school district-established...more
GM Berkshire Hills LLC v. Berks County Board of Assessment (2023 Pa. LEXIS 272, February 28, 2023) – – Split Supreme Court Ruling Enables Taxing Body Assessment Appeals Based on Recent Sales to Remain -
Counties, schools...more
6/14/2023
/ Administrative Procedure ,
Commercial Property Owners ,
County Assessors ,
Fair Market Value ,
Municipalities ,
PA Supreme Court ,
Property Owners ,
Property Tax ,
Property Valuation ,
Reassessments ,
School Districts ,
Tax Appeals ,
Tax Assessment
Under the Pennsylvania Public School Code, a school district is to pay a charter school for students lawfully enrolled in the charter school who are residents of the school district. If the school district, however, fails to...more
In Allegheny County, tax appeal season has begun for 2023. Every year, County property owners have the opportunity to file an assessment appeal. But this year there are unique opportunities for an assessment reduction....more
In Cummings v. Premier Rehab Keller, P.L.L.C., 142 S. Ct. 1562 (April 28, 2022) (U.S. Supreme Court) concludes that damages for emotional distress are not recoverable under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the...more
10/21/2022
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Cummings v Premier Rehab Keller PLLC ,
Emotional Distress Damages ,
Public Entities ,
Rehabilitation Act ,
SCOTUS ,
Section 504 ,
Spending Clause ,
Title IX ,
Title VI
Allegheny Court Judge Alan Hertzberg issued a preliminary injunction on September 1 lowering the common level ratio on real estate for 2020 sales of real property. Currently, the ratio in Allegheny County is 81.1. As a...more
In the continuing litigation between taxing bodies and taxpayers over how and when taxing bodies may file property tax assessment appeals, Commonwealth Court recently issued a decision clarifying when such appeals may occur,...more
The Clean and Green deadline for 2022 is June 1, 2021.
Most property owners are familiar with the tax appeal process in Pennsylvania. But many may not be aware of a program that provides tax savings for properties that...more
T.W., a minor, through Waltman v. Southern Columbia Area School District (2020 WL 7027636) (M.D. Pa. 2020), Federal District Court for Middle District of Pennsylvania denies student’s and parents’ motion for preliminary...more
4/28/2021
/ Code of Conduct ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Drug & Alcohol Abuse ,
Due Process ,
Educational Institutions ,
Handbooks ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Public Schools ,
School Districts ,
School Suspension ,
Student Athletes ,
Students
In Allegheny County, tax appeal season has begun for 2021. Every year, County property owners have the opportunity to file an assessment appeal, and as always, an appeal may provide an opportunity for a reduction in your...more
The Pennsylvania Legislature enacted, and Governor Wolf signed Senate Bill 751, to address the Pandemic of 2020 brought on by COVID-19. These emergency provisions apply only to the current 2019-2020 school year and impacts...more
Despite the COVID-19 emergency, Allegheny County is still holding to its March 31, 2020 deadline to file tax assessment appeals. Therefore, if you have been considering an assessment appeal, you must file now. Owners cannot...more
In Allegheny County, only two things are certain in life: death and property tax assessment appeals. Every year, County property owners have the opportunity to file an assessment appeal, and as always, an appeal may provide...more
Punxsutawney Area School District v. Broadwing Timber, LLC, 1209 C.D. 2018 (Pa. Commw. Ct., October 29, 2019) -
Since the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s recent decision in Valley Forge Towers Apartments N, LP v. Upper...more
The property tax assessment system in Pennsylvania, particularly in Allegheny County, has been challenged on various grounds throughout the years. Recently, Commonwealth Court dismissed a class action lawsuit seeking relief...more
Property assessments in Allegheny County have been in the news for many years. While many property owners had their assessments reduced through appeals after the 2012 Countywide reassessment, there still may be opportunities...more
Valley Forge Towers Apartments N, L.P. v. Upper Merion Area School Dist., 2017 Pa. LEXIS 1520, 163 A.3d 962 (Pa. July 5, 2017). (The Pennsylvania Supreme Court holds that school district’s tax assessment appeal policy...more
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court recently reversed the Commonwealth Court and held that the Uniformity Clause of the Pennsylvania Constitution does not permit school districts to selectively appeal only the assessments of...more
Valley Forge Towers Apts. N, LP v. Upper Merion Area School District, 124 A.3d 363, 365 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2015). The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court holds that when a school district has reasonable and financial considerations...more
To culminate a process that has been years in the making, in February 2016, Washington County will be issuing notices to real estate owners showing their new property assessments. Because county, municipal and school...more
In the flurry of activity before the end of the legislative session in October, the Pennsylvania Legislature passed and Governor Thomas Corbett signed into law Act 153 of 2014, that amended the state Child Protective Services...more
Remember the real estate tax reassessment that occurred in Allegheny County over the past year or so? Allegheny County retained an outside expert to value all Allegheny County real estate parcels; the new assessments were...more