Notice of Increased Real Estate Tax Assessments

Notices of Increased Real Estate Tax Assessments in the City of Philadelphia

The Office of Property Assessment, starting in April, has sent owners of commercial and industrial properties in Philadelphia notices of reassessment of property values.

This involved a thorough analysis of some of Philadelphia’s most complex and high-valued parcels, including hotels, office buildings, and apartment buildings.  Also reassessed were all retail properties, warehouses, commercially-zoned vacant land, and properties with multiple uses.

The new property values take effect for Tax Year 2018, with property taxes due on February 28, 2018.  Written notices of the new values are being mailed and, for comparison, can be seen at http://www.phila.gov/OPA/Pages/PropertyInformation.aspx .

Beginning in Fiscal Year 2018, the OPA will conduct annual reassessments of all 579,000 properties in the city, including residential and commercial.

Condo units have been considered undervalued for assessment purposes and most are being increased substantially.

Also, residential and commercial properties enjoying the benefit of the 10 year tax abatement will be affected. The abatements apply only to new improvements and there is no abatement on the tax on the land value. OPA has announced that it believes that land in the City is under assessed and these assessments will increase. Whether or not this will be matched by a decrease in assessed values of the buildings and improvements remains to be seen.

We at Astor Weiss are staying on top of this situation and are in the process of filing appeals for clients.  Please ask your questions and discuss the 2018 substantial increases in real estate taxes and the City Use and Occupancy Tax by calling Ron Glazer, David Mandel or Therese Allison at 215-790-0100.

You may have us request a First Level Review (FLR) by filing no later than May 26, 2017.   If you are not satisfied with the outcome of the review or decide to skip the FLR process altogether, you may have us file a Formal Appeal with the Board of Revision of Taxes (BRT). Formal appeals are due to the BRT by the first Monday in October (October 2, 2017).