If your company owns real estate in Pennsylvania, you should carefully examine your current tax assessments to make sure you are not paying too much in County, School and Municipal real estate taxes.

Many property owners are finding that the fair market value of their properties has decreased over the past several years, while the tax assessment value of the properties has stayed the same. Property owners in such a situation should consider challenging their assessed values to bring them in line with the fair market value of the properties.

Because of the complexities of the Pennsylvania tax assessment process and tight annual deadlines (which vary among counties and circumstances--usually the deadline is either August 1 or September 1), property owners often miss opportunities for appeal. Since many counties base their assessments on a fraction of some historical value, a simple comparison of current market value and assessed value often will not give a proper indication of the fairness of your current assessed value. Let us help you review your current assessment and determine whether it should be challenged.

A court appeal isn’t always necessary; we often work closely with county assessment offices to resolve disputes without the necessity of formal litigation. If litigation is necessary, however, we can draw upon our extensive experience across the state before county boards of assessment and county courts of common pleas.