The Pennsylvania State Tax Equalization Board (“STEB”) has released the Common Level Ratio (“CLR”) real estate valuation factors for 2018. The common level ratio is the ratio of assessed value to market value used to value properties in a particular county for property tax purposes, and is used for purposes of appealing property tax assessments effective for tax year 2020. Click here to see the 2018 CLR list. To determine if your property is currently over-assessed – take the properties current assessed value and divide it by the CLR listed for your county. This will give you your property’s current implied fair market value. If you know that your property’s current fair market value is for example $100,000 (based on a recent appraisal value) and the current implied fair market value is $200,000, then your property is over-assessed and an annual assessment appeal should be filed to lower your assessed value and consequently your real estate taxes. If you have any questions regarding the CLR and how to determine if your property is over-assessed, please call Paul Morcom (717-237-5364) or Randy Varner (717-237-5464) to discuss.
