BY: Scott C. Gottel, Esquire
sgottel@markaserenilaw.com
There’s an old expression that there are only two things certain in life – death and taxes!
If you’re the owner of real estate, you probably know that your real estate taxes are supposed to be based on the value of your property.
So, the starting point is the concept of “fair market value.” Fair market value is defined as the amount for which a reasonable and willing buyer would purchase your property and for which a reasonable and willing seller would sell it, in an arms-length transaction.
Your property’s real estate tax assessment equals what should be the fair market value of your property multiplied by a percentage known as the Common Level Ratio (“CLR”), which is a percentage established annually by the State Tax Equalization Board (“STEB”) that reflects the ratio between your county’s assessed property values and current fair market values of other properties.
Multiplying your property’s real estate tax assessment by the taxing authorities’ (county, school district, and municipality) “millage” rate for the given tax year yields the amount of real estate taxes you owe to each taxing authority for the given tax year.
As a property owner, you have the right to appeal your real estate tax assessment on an annual basis to try to lower your real estate taxes. A common argument is that the presumed fair market value on which the assessment is based is too high, and therefore the assessment should be lowered.
But did you know that taxing authorities can also appeal your real estate tax assessment if they believe it is too low?
Litigation over the right of taxing authorities to appeal a property’s real estate tax assessment had been ongoing for decades. The outcome of this litigation is that taxing authorities may lawfully appeal real estate tax assessments as long as the appeal process is applied uniformly among the same classes of subjects. In other words, a taxing authority cannot target specific types of property while ignoring other types of property. If a school district appeals only apartment buildings over considering appeals of single family homes or appeals only commercial businesses but not residential properties, this would generally be considered a violation of the Pennsylvania Constitution.
However, smart and careful taxing authorities have developed policies about whether they can appeal properties based on the amount of tax increase an appeal may produce compared to the cost of the appeal process. Property owners have litigated these policies, attempting to prove that the result is still a spot assessment of a particular property or type of property in violation of the Pennsylvania Constitution.
A recent case was decided by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania in which the Court upheld a school district’s right to appeal property assessments. In May 2026, the Court decided the case of Downingtown Area School District v. Chester County Board of Assessment Appeals and held that a school district’s policy in selecting property assessments to appeal did not violate the Pennsylvania Constitution.
In Downingtown, an apartment complex owner challenged the school district’s policy for taking assessment appeals. The policy was generally that the school district would appeal properties where there was the potential for a tax increase of at least $10,000. The school district employed a consultant to assist in identifying possible properties that fit into its policy for identifying possible appeals.
However, the school district then added the apartment complex to the list of appeals based on its recent sale in which it was determined that the apartment complex’s assessment was far lower than the sale price indicated.
The Court reviewed the evidence and found that the monetary threshold used by the school district for selecting properties to appeal did not violate the constitutional requirement for uniformity. The policy was neutral and not based on impermissible classifications of property types.
Even though the school district added another property outside the scope of its policy, the addition of the apartment complex to the appeal list was found not to be arbitrary or discriminatory, and therefore, the school district maintained its right to appeal the property.
While the Downingtown case is lengthy and goes through some more complex analysis of the issues and evidence, the fact remains that taxing authorities may lawfully appeal an individual’s real estate tax assessment as long as the appeal is not arbitrary, is not discriminatory, and does not improperly tunnel the property into a specific impermissible category that only appeals certain types or classes of property.
The Law Firm of Mark A. Sereni, PLLC
The Law Firm of Mark A. Sereni, PLLC is a full-service law firm in Media, Delaware County, Pennsylvania. We strive to help people, businesses and institutions throughout Southeastern Pennsylvania solve legal problems – and even prevent legal problems before they occur. To learn more about the full range of our specific practice areas, please visit www.markaserenilaw.com or contact Scott C. Gottel, Esquire at 610-565-5700 or at sgottel@markaserenilaw.com.
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