How is Pennsylvania property tax calculated?

Pennsylvania taxes the assessed value, not the market value. Assessed value equals market value times the county's assessment ratio (Common Level Ratio). The tax is assessed value divided by 1,000, multiplied by the combined millage rate of your county, municipality and school district.

A mill is one dollar of tax per 1,000 dollars of assessed value. A millage rate of 25 mills means 25 dollars of tax for every 1,000 dollars of assessed value. Your total millage is the sum of county, municipal and school district rates, with schools usually the largest.

What is the Common Level Ratio?

Because Pennsylvania counties reassess infrequently, assessed values drift from market values. The Common Level Ratio (CLR), published yearly by the state, expresses the typical ratio of assessed to market value in a county, letting you convert one to the other.

What is the homestead exclusion?

The homestead exclusion lowers the assessed value of an owner-occupied primary residence before tax is applied, funded largely by gaming revenue through Act 1. The exclusion amount varies by school district; enter your district's figure to reduce your taxable assessed value.

Why are Pennsylvania school taxes so high?

School districts levy the largest share of property tax in Pennsylvania — often two-thirds or more of the total bill — because public schools are funded primarily through local property taxes rather than statewide revenue. This is why millage varies so much between districts.

Pennsylvania Property Tax Estimator

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Pennsylvania has no statewide property tax. Instead, your bill is set locally by three taxing bodies — the county, your municipality, and (largest of all) your school district — each charging a millage rate against your property’s assessed value. The twist is that assessed value usually isn’t market value: counties reassess rarely, so the state publishes a Common Level Ratio to bridge the gap. This estimator handles all of it, including the homestead exclusion for owner-occupied homes.

How it works

The calculation moves from market value to a tax bill in four steps:

Market to assessed value. Assessed value = market value × Common Level Ratio. If your county’s CLR is 0.25, a $300,000 home is assessed at $75,000.
Homestead exclusion. Subtract your school district’s homestead exclusion from the assessed value if this is your primary residence.
Apply millage. Tax = (taxable assessed value / 1,000) × total mills, where total mills is the sum of county, municipal and school district rates.
Result. The annual property tax owed.

Tips and example

Take a $300,000 home in a county with a 0.25 CLR, total millage of 30 mills, and a $15,000 homestead exclusion. Assessed value is $75,000; after the exclusion, taxable assessed value is $60,000. The tax is (60,000 / 1,000) × 30 = $1,800.

A few tips: school district millage dominates the total, so neighbouring districts can have very different bills for identical homes. Always pull your county’s current CLR and your three millage rates from your tax bill or county assessment office — they change annually. If you recently bought, your assessed value may not match the CLR-implied figure until a reassessment; this tool gives a planning estimate, not the exact assessed figure on file.