Philadelphia's 2027 Property Assessments: How to Review Your Value and Appeal
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By Max Karasick, Compass real estate agent licensed in PA and NJ
Appealing a Philadelphia property assessment comes in two flavors: an informal First Level Review with the Office of Property Assessment (OPA) and a formal appeal to the Board of Revision of Taxes (BRT). You can use one or both. For tax year 2027, the standard deadlines have passed (September 1 and October 5, 2026), so what's left is narrower. Buyers who sign or close before December 31, 2026 get a 30-day window. Everyone else should start planning for the 2028 deadline now.
Why bother? Because the value is the whole tax bill. As of October 2026, the City has held the Real Estate Tax rate at 1.3998% for 2027, so when the assessment moves, what you pay moves with it.
How Do I Appeal My Philadelphia Property Assessment?
You file a First Level Review form with OPA, a market value appeal with the BRT or both, each by its own deadline. Either way, you're showing that the value is too high or too low, or that the property's recorded characteristics are substantially wrong. At the BRT you can also argue the value isn't uniform with similar homes nearby.
What Is a First Level Review?
It's the informal route, straight to OPA, the office that set the value in the first place. The form comes with your mailed Notice of Valuation, and you send it back to the address on it. OPA looks at whatever evidence you include, and its notice suggests photos or a recent appraisal. One thing OPA won't hear: ability to pay isn't a reason to request an FLR. Lost the form? OPA or your Council District Office can send another.
A Formal Appeal to the Board of Revision of Taxes
The BRT is a separate board that hears market value appeals. An owner of record, an equitable owner, a tenant who pays the taxes under the lease or a mortgagee in possession can file. One form per property. The BRT takes it by mail, in person at 601 Walnut Street (Suite 325 East) or as a PDF emailed to appealinquiry@phila.gov.
Hearing choice. Ask for an oral hearing (in person or remote) or a non-oral appeal decided on your documents. Skip a scheduled oral hearing without a waiver and the board treats the appeal as abandoned.
Timing. Hearing notices go out about 45 to 90 days ahead, according to the board.
Evidence for an owner-occupied home. Board rules list photos of the front, rear, side and street view, plus any other support, filed with the application or within 45 days of the hearing date.
Higher values. If the certified value is $1,500,000 or more, the 2027 instructions require an appraisal by a Pennsylvania certified general appraiser or certified evaluator, with an effective date of January 1, 2027.
Filing Both
OPA's 2027 notice says you can file an FLR and a BRT appeal at the same time on two separate forms, and you don't have to wait for the FLR result before going to the BRT. If the BRT rules first, its decision overrides OPA's. Disagree with the BRT? The next stop is the Court of Common Pleas, which has its own deadline, so that's a job for a real estate attorney.
What Is the Deadline to Appeal a 2027 Philadelphia Assessment?
For tax year 2027, OPA's First Level Review deadline was September 1, 2026. The BRT deadline was October 5, 2026, the first Monday in October. Both are gone. But the BRT's written rules keep three doors open for late 2026, each with a 30-calendar-day clock:
Buyers under contract. If an agreement of sale is signed after the first Monday of October and before December 31, the purchaser has 30 days from signing.
New owners. If the deed is recorded in that same window, the new owner has 30 days from the deed date.
Late notices. If an owner's assessment notice is dated after the first Monday of October, the appeal is due within 30 days of the notice.
Missed all three? The BRT lists late (nunc pro tunc) petitions among the matters it hears, but nothing in its published rules promises one gets accepted. Ask the BRT or an attorney before you count on it.
Planning for 2028
The BRT's rule is the first Monday of October of the year before the tax year, which makes October 4, 2027 the date for a 2028 appeal. OPA sets the FLR date on each year's notice and hasn't published one for 2028, so confirm both dates with the City in 2027. Put it on your calendar now.
How to Review Your 2027 Value
OPA's 2027 notice says it weighs size, age, location, proximity to amenities, condition and recent sales of similar properties. It also says a value can go up or down even if nothing about the house changed. A review that holds up at OPA or the BRT checks the same things:
Look up the address on the City's Property Search site and compare the 2027 market value with last year's.
Check the recorded characteristics: living area, lot size, year built, number of units and exterior condition. Wrong square footage is about as clean a case as it gets.
Compare the value with recent sales of truly similar homes nearby, adjusting for size and condition. An appraisal from a purchase or refinance is strong evidence.
See how similar homes on the same block are valued. That's the basis for a uniformity argument at the BRT.
Make sure any abatement or Homestead shows up correctly. The appeal form has a box for an incorrect abatement or exemption.
How Does a New Assessment Change a Buyer's Monthly Cost?
For a buyer, the assessment sets the property tax and, through the lender's escrow account, part of your monthly payment. Multiply the change in taxable value by 1.3998%, then divide by 12. A home whose value rises $30,000 adds about $35 a month. Your purchase price doesn't reset the assessment, so look up the 2027 value before you offer.
Worked Example
A hypothetical owner-occupied home with Homestead, no abatement, at 1.3998%:
Assessed at $300,000: taxable $200,000, tax $2,799.60 a year
Assessed at $330,000: taxable $230,000, tax $3,219.54 a year
Difference: $419.94 a year, about $35 a month
Homestead shrinks the bill but not the size of the jump, since it takes off a flat $100,000 either way. Comparing homes? Run this math on each one's 2027 value. The 2027 buyer's calendar lays out the Homestead and appeal dates around a purchase.
What an Appeal Can't Fix
An appeal argues value, not affordability. If the value is right but the bill is tough to carry, the City's relief programs are the better tool: Homestead (apply by December 1, 2026 for the 2027 bill), the Longtime Owner Occupants Program, the senior and low-income tax freezes and the installment plan, which share one combined application. An expiring 10-year abatement raises the taxable value rather than the assessment, and the guide to an abatement ending covers that separately.
For Sellers
Buyers and their lenders will look up the 2027 value and the tax that comes with it, so you should know that number before you set a price. A value that looks out of whack with the asking price raises questions either way. Pair the tax figures with the paperwork in Philadelphia home seller disclosures, or start with a pricing conversation.
How Max Uses This With Clients
For owners, Max pulls the City record, checks the recorded characteristics against the actual house and lines the 2027 value up against comparable sales, so the call to file is based on evidence, not frustration. For buyers who sign between the first Monday of October and December 31, he flags the 30-day BRT window the day the agreement is signed. For buyers comparing homes, each home's 2027 tax goes into the monthly cost. The owner files the appeal, alone or through an attorney or authorized representative.
This is general information, not legal or tax advice. Confirm deadlines and eligibility with OPA, the BRT or a real estate attorney.
Official Sources
City of Philadelphia: Mailing of 2027 Property Assessments, Key Dates (June 30, 2026)
City of Philadelphia: Lower Your Property Tax Bill Ahead of the 2027 Valuations (July 20, 2026)
City of Philadelphia: Forms for First Level Review of Property Tax Assessments
Board of Revision of Taxes: Property Assessment Appeals (Rules)
Board of Revision of Taxes: Market Value Appeal Filing Instructions, Tax Year 2027 (PDF)
City of Philadelphia: Homestead Exemption Update (June 22, 2026)
FAQ
How do I appeal my Philadelphia property assessment?
File a First Level Review form with the Office of Property Assessment, a market value appeal with the Board of Revision of Taxes or both. Either way, you need to show the value is too high or too low, or that the recorded property characteristics are substantially wrong. Photos or a recent appraisal help.
What is a First Level Review?
A First Level Review is an informal appeal to the Office of Property Assessment, the City office that sets Philadelphia property values. The form comes with the mailed valuation notice, and for tax year 2027 it was due September 1, 2026. Filing one doesn't stop you from also filing a formal Board of Revision of Taxes appeal.
What is the deadline to appeal a 2027 Philadelphia assessment?
The standard deadline to appeal a 2027 Philadelphia assessment to the Board of Revision of Taxes was October 5, 2026. Buyers who sign an agreement of sale, or take title, after that date and before December 31, 2026 get 30 calendar days to file. The 2028 deadline should land on October 4, 2027.
How does a new assessment change a buyer's monthly cost?
A new assessment changes a buyer's monthly cost through the property tax paid into the mortgage escrow account. Multiply the change in taxable value by 1.3998% and divide by 12. At the 2027 rate, a $30,000 increase adds about $420 a year, or roughly $35 a month.
Can I appeal if I just bought a home in Philadelphia?
Yes, in some cases. Board of Revision of Taxes rules give a new owner 30 calendar days from the deed date to appeal when the property changes hands after the first Monday of October and before December 31. A purchaser under an agreement of sale signed in that window also gets 30 days.
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