Unless you live under a rock, you’ve heard about the Allegheny County real estate tax reassessment mess that started in early 2012. Thousands were up in arms because they felt their homes were over-assessed, meaning they would pay more in real estate taxes than they should. At the time, the impact of the new assessment values seemed far off, because the new assessment would not impact the amount homeowners paid in taxes until 2013. Allegheny County gave disgruntled homeowners a chance to appeal their reassessment two times, once in 2012 and once in 2013, before the reassessment values went into effect.
One might think that based on the amount of media coverage the reassessment received and the fact that Allegheny County provided two chances to appeal, everyone who thought their reassessment was incorrect has already appealed. This couldn’t be farther from the truth.
Despite the amount of media coverage given to the Allegheny County reassessment, some people still didn’t understand how the reassessment would impact them in dollars and cents. Those people got a harsh reality check this year when their real estate tax bills came. In particular, the school tax bills, always the highest among the three real estate taxes (school, county and municipality), have caused panic among homeowners who neglected to have their tax assessment corrected.
Our office received countless phone calls in July from people who wanted to appeal their assessment after receiving their shockingly-high school tax bill. Unfortunately, those people missed the deadline to appeal for 2013. They will have to pay the high tax bill for at least one year.
The good news is that there will be another chance to appeal next year. If you feel that your house is assessed too high and you missed your chances to appeal in 2012 and 2013, don’t let another year pass you by. Even though Allegheny County will not accept 2014 appeals until after January 1, 2014, Steidl & Steinberg can make sure you don’t forget to appeal when the time comes.
If you are interested in having Steidl & Steinberg help you appeal your real estate tax assessment next year, give us a call now at 800-360-9392 and we will contact you next year when it is time to appeal. That way there is no chance of forgetting again.
Make an early 2014 New Year’s resolution and contact Steidl & Steinberg to help you pay your fair share of real estate taxes next year.