Calculating Property Taxes In Pennsylvania
For every property you list or put an offer on, a good agent will calculate the taxes on their own to ensure they are providing correct information to their clients and other agents. Most agents pull taxes from "Realist" or ask the seller what they pay every year. That information isn't always reliable as sellers sometimes forget there are three tax bills (county, local, and school) to pay or they include the Homestead Exemption in their calculation. Homestead Exemption is only for owner occupied properties.
You can use this calculator, but it's recommended to check by hand if the number seems off: AnyTimeEstimate
1) Verify what county, municipality, and school district the property is located in. Some agents will have the wrong information listed on the MLS and it's YOUR responsibility to find out the correct info for your clients. The county website will have that information.
2) Using the most updated year, find the millage rates. Google "millage rates BLANK County" and make sure it's a government site to ensure the validity of it. For 2021, these links are valid for Allegheny School and Municipality.
3) Add the millage rates up for the county, municipality, and school.
Example: 5425 Baum Blvd, Pittsburgh, PA 15232
For 2020, the Allegheny County millage is 4.7300. Since the property is within city limits, the City of Pittsburgh millage is 8.0600. It's in Pittsburgh Public School District: millage is 9.9500
Total millage is 4.7300+8.0600+9.9500=22.7400
4) Take the total millage and multiply it by the assessed market value. This is the column on the left on the Allegheny County website.
For our example, the market value is $452,800.
452,800 x 22.74=10,296,672
Please note this is the total value of the property, not including the Homestead Exemption. Tax calculation continued under picture.
You can use this calculator, but it's recommended to check by hand if the number seems off: AnyTimeEstimate
1) Verify what county, municipality, and school district the property is located in. Some agents will have the wrong information listed on the MLS and it's YOUR responsibility to find out the correct info for your clients. The county website will have that information.
2) Using the most updated year, find the millage rates. Google "millage rates BLANK County" and make sure it's a government site to ensure the validity of it. For 2021, these links are valid for Allegheny School and Municipality.
3) Add the millage rates up for the county, municipality, and school.
Example: 5425 Baum Blvd, Pittsburgh, PA 15232
For 2020, the Allegheny County millage is 4.7300. Since the property is within city limits, the City of Pittsburgh millage is 8.0600. It's in Pittsburgh Public School District: millage is 9.9500
Total millage is 4.7300+8.0600+9.9500=22.7400
4) Take the total millage and multiply it by the assessed market value. This is the column on the left on the Allegheny County website.
For our example, the market value is $452,800.
452,800 x 22.74=10,296,672
Please note this is the total value of the property, not including the Homestead Exemption. Tax calculation continued under picture.
5) Take that number and divide by 1000 to get the taxes per year.
10,296,672 / 1000 = $10,296.67 a year in taxes.
6) Prorate them based upon the closing date. Pittsburgh Public Schools operate on a calendar year. All other schools collect July 1. If it's not Pittsburgh Public Schools, it might be easier to calculate the school taxes separately, prorate those, then do the county and municipality proration separately. You can use this website to prorate: link.
7) Please be sure to note if the assessed amount is a lot lower than the sales price, the taxes will be increasing along with the assessed amount the following year. Be sure to tell the client their taxes will be going up a lot so it's not a surprise.
10,296,672 / 1000 = $10,296.67 a year in taxes.
6) Prorate them based upon the closing date. Pittsburgh Public Schools operate on a calendar year. All other schools collect July 1. If it's not Pittsburgh Public Schools, it might be easier to calculate the school taxes separately, prorate those, then do the county and municipality proration separately. You can use this website to prorate: link.
7) Please be sure to note if the assessed amount is a lot lower than the sales price, the taxes will be increasing along with the assessed amount the following year. Be sure to tell the client their taxes will be going up a lot so it's not a surprise.
