A significantly lower common level ratio (CLR) went into effect in Allegheny County as of January 1, 2024, bringing the potential for major tax savings to property owners — and a short window to take advantage of it.
Below are answers to some frequently asked questions about how Allegheny County’s 2024 CLR can impact assessed values and property taxes:
Every county has a “base year” for tax assessment purposes. Property assessments are supposed to reflect a base year valuation. The base year for Allegheny County is 2012. The CLR is a ratio which is intended to convert present day market values into base year assessed values. The CLR is adjusted annually based on sales data selected by each county.
In 2024, Allegheny County’s CLR will drop from 63.6% to 54.5%. This will be the second consecutive year with a significant drop in the CLR. Three years ago, Allegheny County properties were assessed at 86.2% of market value. At that time, a property worth $1,000,000 was assessed at $862,000. Today a $1,000,000 property should be assessed at $545,000.
Allegheny County changed the property sales data used for the 2024 CLR. The change in data has had a significant change in the CLR for 2024.
Yes. This applies to all property in Allegheny County, commercial and residential.
When it works to their benefit, taxing authorities chase new sales and seek an increase in assessed value. In doing so, the taxing authorities are essentially asking that a new “snapshot” of market value be taken and the CLR applied to the sales price.
In Allegheny County: between January 1, 2024 and March 31, 2024. Each county varies.
No, you must have a pending tax assessment appeal to get the benefit of the ratio. If you do not file an appeal, no one will file an appeal for you. Taxing authorities only file tax appeals on properties where they believe they can increase the property’s assessed value, resulting in higher property taxes.
Property taxes are based on assessed value. Assessed values are taxed at the millage rates set by your County, school district, and local municipality. Assuming no change in millage rates, a lower assessed value means lower property taxes. Taxing authorities may increase their millage rates to avoid a large drop in tax revenue resulting from fewer assessed dollars. If millage rates increase, each assessed dollar will be taxed more. In a rising millage rate environment, property owners will see tax increases unless they can reduce their assessed value via a tax assessment appeal.
The answer to this question will vary based on each property’s use, market value, current assessed value, and the strategies available to obtain a reduction for that property. The attorneys in Meyer, Unkovic & Scott’s Real Estate Group have substantial experience representing property owners with property tax assessment appeals in Allegheny County and throughout Pennsylvania.
For further information on the adjusted CLR, the potential benefits, and the risks of staying idle, please read the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) and Commercial and Residential example documents, linked here. Please fill out the form below if you would like someone to follow-up with you, or feel to reach out to Jason Yarbrough at [email protected] or 412-456-2592. Click here for more information on our Real Estate Tax Assessment Practice Group.
• Three Downtown skyscrapers win big property assessment cuts. Are more on the way?, Pittsburgh Post Gazette, January 4, 2024.
• ‘A big number’: Allegheny County Council action could trigger thousands of assessment appeals — retroactively, Pittsburgh Post Gazette, January 26, 2023.
• Real Estate Advisory: Allegheny County Council Votes to Reopen 2022 Tax Assessment Appeals, MUS Client Advisory, January 25, 2023.
• 2023 Tax Assessment Appeal Deadlines Fast Approaching In Many Western Pennsylvania Counties, MUS Client Advisory, July 19, 2022.
• In 2023, tax breaks could await property owners who file assessment appeals in Allegheny County, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 30, 2022.
• Owners of Downtown Pittsburgh skyscrapers, other commercial properties could benefit from assessment appeals deal, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 9, 2022.
• Potential for Large Reductions in Assessed Value for Allegheny County Property Owners, MUS Client Advisory, May 3, 2022.
• Empty Office Buildings Squeeze City Budgets as Property Values Fall, The New York Times, March 3, 2021.
• COVID-19 Fallout Could Lead to Lower Commercial Property Taxes, Bloomberg Tax, July 14, 2020.
Jason M. Yarbrough is a Partner and Chair of the firm’s Real Estate Litigation Section, Co-Chair of the firm’s Summer Associate Program, and a member of the firm’s Construction Law, Creditors’ Rights & Bankruptcy, Energy, Utilities & Mineral Rights and Litigation and Dispute Resolution Practice Groups.
Mr. Yarbrough frequently represents clients in complex commercial, real estate and construction disputes. His real estate litigation practice includes disputes involving the acquisition and development of real property, landlord tenant disputes, property rights, property tax assessment appeals and exemption proceedings, land use and title disputes, partition actions and foreclosure proceedings. In his construction practice, Mr. Yarbrough represents owners, developers, contractors, architects, and engineers in disputes arising out of both public and private construction projects. He has litigated claims in state and federal courts, and against state agencies and the federal government.
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