PA Property Tax Administration 2nd Worst in Nation

This past May, the commonwealth tied for second worse in the nation in state property tax administration, according to the Council On State Taxation (COST). States were evaluated in three main categories with Pennsylvania earning a D-. Only our neighbor to the north, New York, scored worse.

Read more on the COST evaluation here.

Table 1. Pennsylvania’s COST Evaluation of State Property Tax Administration

Category

Criteria

Rating

Standardized Procedures

Standardized Due Dates

Reasonable real property tax evaluation cycle

F

Fair Tax Appeal Procedures

Appeal deadline must be fair (at least 60 days)

Burden of proof to appeal must be reasonable

C

Residential v. Business Property

Equal property tax burden

Assessment ratios on types of property

C-