PHILADELPHIA – City officials today unveiled a web-based calculator that will allow property owners to see how changes in assessments and the Mayor’s Fiscal Year 2019 education funding proposal would affect their property tax bills for next year, including the effect of proposed revisions to the Homestead Exemption.

The calculator is available at property.phila.gov.  Its release comes one month after new assessments were mailed to many property owners in Philadelphia (those whose assessments were unchanged did not receive a mailing).  After users type in their property address, they’ll be taken to a page with complete details of the property. The calculator appears above the sections on tax balance and valuation history:

“With this calculator, we hope to make it easier for home owners to understand the potential changes to their tax bill next year,” said Mayor Kenney.  “We also want them to understand how the proposed expansion of the Homestead Exemption could mitigate the impact of those changes.”

The Mayor’s budget proposes increasing the Homestead Exemption from $30,000 of assessed value to $45,000 to provide relief to homeowners in light of growing home values.  An important feature of the calculator is that it shows what a property’s estimated 2019 tax would be if that change to the Homestead Exemption is approved by City Council.  The exemption is available to all properties occupied by homeowners.

In some instances, approval of the increased Homestead Exemption may result in a decrease of taxes for a property owner, even for some homeowners whose property assessment has increased.  For example:

• A homeowner with a homestead and a property valued at $100,000 would see a reduction in taxes under this package if the property’s assessed value went up by less than 12%.
• At $200,000, a home would see a decrease in its tax bill if its assessed value went up by less than 4%.
• For the median valued home, which is approximately $128,000, a homeowner would still see a decrease in taxes even with an assessment increase of 8.7% or less.

The calculator will allow owners in situations like those listed above to easily see the decreases.

This budget also increases funding for foreclosure prevention through counseling and outreach, and funding to ensure that low-income homeowners are enrolled in available tax-relief programs and affordable payment plans.  Among the other programs already in place to assist homeowners are the Owner Occupied Payment Agreement Program, the Long-time Owner Occupants Program and the Low-income Senior Citizen Freeze Program.  More details on assistance programs can be found here.

In addition, any property owner concerned about their assessments can ask the Office of Property Assessment to conduct a First Level Review.  Information on that process is included with the new assessment mailing.  Owners can also file a formal appeal of the assessment with the Board of Revision of Taxes.  Furthermore, residents can get answers to many questions here:  http://www.phila.gov/OPA/.

The sole mandate of the Office of Property Assessment is to determine the value of properties within Philadelphia, using nationally recognized methodologies, to ensure that all values are fair and in compliance with state laws and industry standards.  The new values are a result OPA’s ongoing efforts to keep up with changes in the real estate market, as well as to reflect demolitions, new construction, and other changes.