Several counties in Pennsylvania are conducting countywide property reassessments. This update provides status changes for Washington, Blair and Lancaster Counties, along with a set of important deadlines and basic assessment appeal information.

Washington County

Washington County rolled out informal notices setting forth the tentative reassessment values for tax year 2017 for commercial properties last week, and the reassessment values are now available on the Washington County reassessment website. If you are unhappy with your tentative value, you may request an informal review with Tyler Technologies. The deadline to request an informal review is property-specific. All reviews must be heard by June 1, 2016, so you must contact Tyler Technologies by the date listed on your notice to schedule a review.

Following the informal review process, on July 1, 2016, the county will issue a Change of Assessment Notice to all property owners. Property owners will then have 40 days to file a formal appeal that will be due by August 10, 2016.

Blair County

Blair County reassessment notices effective for tax year 2017 will be mailed to all property owners on or before July 1, 2016. Property owners will then have 40 days to file a formal appeal with the Blair County Board of Assessments. The deadline to file the formal appeal is August 10, 2016.

In addition, informal administrative reviews will be conducted from July through September 2016. Formal appeal hearings will be held after the informal reviews are complete. Because of the timing of the informal review, you must file the formal appeal by August 10, 2016, to preserve your appeal right.

Lancaster County

Lancaster County postponed its ongoing reassessment and it will now be effective for the 2018 tax year. Preliminary reassessment notices are scheduled to be mailed out in March 2017.

We will continue to update you on additional information.

Important Reassessment Dates:

May 2016 Deadline to schedule informal review (Washington County – check notice for deadline)

July 1, 2016 Formal reassessment notices to be mailed (Washington County and Blair County)

July 2016 Informal review hearings (Blair County)

August 10, 2016 Formal appeal deadline (Washington County and Blair County)

March 2017 Informal notices to be mailed (Lancaster County)

Should I file an appeal?

A property owner receiving a reassessment notice should evaluate the following:

  • Is the property data correct (i.e., land area, building size)?
  • Is the market value fair, based on your location (i.e., compared with recent sales in your area)?
  • If the property is rented, is the market value based on the income generated by the property?

This article is presented for informational purposes only and is not intended to constitute legal advice.