Property owners in Allegheny County have a rare opportunity to significantly reduce their property taxes for 2022 and 2023 by filing an appeal by March 31. Typically property owners may only challenge their taxes for the current tax year (2023), but Allegheny County Council voted to authorize a special “lookback” window for 2022 appeals after Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas Judge Alan Hertzberg ruled that Allegheny County had improperly excluded data used to calculate the common level ratio (“CLR”).

On Sept. 1, 2022, Judge Hertzberg’s order reduced the CLR applicable in 2022 assessment appeals from 81.3% to 63.53%. Judge Hertzberg’s ruling came after the normal deadline to file 2022 assessment appeals expired. While an appeal of Judge Hertzberg’s decision remains pending, Allegheny Council reopened a special window for 2022 appeals.

The reduction in the CLR from 81.1% to 63.53% may result in significant tax savings for property owners. Pennsylvania law requires application of the CLR to the current market value of a property. For example, the proper assessment for a property with a fair market value of $1,000,000 is $811,000 with a CLR of 81.1%. At a CLR of 63.53%, the proper assessment for the same property is significantly lower at $635,300. The 2023 CLR is 63.6% and is not in dispute at this time. With the significant reduction of the CLR and the opportunity to challenge two years at once, property owners may be entitled to unprecedented tax savings.