How is assessed value calculated in Philadelphia?

Question

Anyone know of a good way to estimate how assessed value for a property in Philadelphia will change after purchase? For example, if the current assessed value for a property is $800,000 and I plan to purchase at $1,000,000. Will the assessed value jump to $1mm, based on the sale? Or will it land somewhere in between?

I've looked on the Philadelphia tax assessor's website and came up short on details. I also know the city has recently been under scrutiny for having issues with their property assessed values, but it surprised me that their formula for calculating the value is not a bit more transparent.

Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Paulette Midgette · Answer

@Joseph ODonovan let me correct you here.  The City of Philadelphia reassess RE taxes each year.  This assessment typically reflects market value increase, which you can argue would correlate with price increases, but in fact Philadelphia does not use sale prices of homes to determine RE tax increases.  If your property is in a A/B neighborhood you can bet your tax will increase each year.  Normally the increases are nominal, less than $100.

When the City is seeking a to raise money for City services, schools, etc, this is when our Major will ask for a rise in RE taxes.  This is not a reassessment of property value, just an increase to the taxing rate.  This type of increase is applied to all citizens, whether their property saw an increase in value or not.

Joseph ODonovan · Answer

@Cliff T. The City of Philadelphia does not reassess properties after sale transactions. The usually do city wide reassessments when they need to raise tax revenue or simply adjust to reflect market prices. You should be fine until the next city wide reassessment which is anybody's guess when that will be.

Cliff T. · Answer

Thanks for the replies @Paulette Midgette @Joseph ODonovan!

Do you know if recent sales affect the assessed value in any way? Or is there any way to understand the formula that determines assessed value?

Also, I know the tax rate is currently 1.3998%. Any idea how the tax rate has changed over the last 10 years?