Philadelphia Commercial Property Tax Appeals

Philadelphia's annual appeal deadline is the first Monday of October, for the following tax year. That is later than the August 1 or September 1 dates used across most of Pennsylvania, which is exactly why owners with property in several counties tend to miss it. Separately, if the city mails you a change-of-assessment notice, you generally have 40 days from that notice to appeal, regardless of the annual date. Because the city occasionally adjusts its schedule around a citywide revaluation, confirm the current year's date directly with the Board of Revision of Taxes rather than assuming it. Our property tax appeal deadline guide tracks filing windows across every state we serve.

Far less than it does in the rest of the state. Most Pennsylvania counties hold a frozen base year and rely on the Common Level Ratio to translate a property's current market value into an assessed value, which makes the ratio a central battleground in those appeals. Philadelphia's Office of Property Assessment instead revalues at or near full current market value, so there is no long-stale base-year figure to convert. The practical effect is that a Philadelphia case is a direct argument about present-day worth: prove the market value is lower and the assessment follows. If you also own property elsewhere in the state, read how the base-year and Common Level Ratio system works across Pennsylvania before you assume the same strategy applies.

Philadelphia offers a first-level review request, handled by the Office of Property Assessment, which is an informal reconsideration of the valuation on your parcel. It runs on a separate track from the formal appeal and is not a substitute for it. A first-level review can be denied, or can simply run past the annual filing date, leaving an owner with no route back in for that tax year. The safe approach is to file the formal BRT appeal to preserve your rights and treat the first-level review as an extra chance to resolve the value early. Our DIY versus professional appeal comparison walks through where owners most often lose ground on procedure alone.

We represent owners across the full commercial spectrum in Philadelphia. That includes Center City office towers working through a difficult leasing cycle, University City lab and life-science space, Navy Yard research and campus buildings, industrial and logistics facilities in Northeast Philadelphia and Port Richmond, and retail properties in Fishtown and South Philadelphia. We also handle apartment and multifamily assets throughout the city. Each of these carries valuation issues that mass appraisal flattens out, and lab conversions in particular are difficult to value from sales data alone.

Yes, and in Philadelphia it is often the highest-value moment to look. Because the city assesses toward current market value rather than a frozen base year, a recorded sale is highly visible to the Office of Property Assessment and frequently shows up in the next assessment cycle. A purchase price is not automatically the market value of the real estate: portfolio allocations, assumed above-market leases, deferred capital needs, and business value bundled into a deal can all push a price above what the building itself is worth. New owners should have the assessment reviewed in the first year of ownership and file by the first Monday of October if the number is overstated. Our guide to appealing property taxes after a purchase covers the evidence buyers need to assemble.

EPTA works primarily on a contingency basis. Beyond a modest filing retainer that covers filing fees and case costs up front, you pay our fee only if we reduce your assessment and save you money. In Philadelphia, where city and school district levies both ride on the same valuation, a meaningful reduction in market value translates directly into recurring annual savings rather than a one-year benefit. Because the city revalues periodically instead of holding a base year, keeping the assessment accurate is an ongoing exercise across successive cycles. See our property tax appeal cost guide for how the retainer and the contingency fee fit together.

Philadelphia is the most procedurally distinct assessment jurisdiction in Pennsylvania, and the city defends its valuations with experienced staff and outside counsel. A BRT hearing is a valuation proceeding: you need a supportable market value conclusion, credible comparables, and income evidence presented in the form the board expects to see. Owners who appear without that record usually leave with the assessment unchanged, and the annual deadline means a weak first attempt costs a full tax year. Professional representation on a contingency basis ties the cost of building the case to the result it produces. Read what our clients say about how we handle commercial appeals from first review through hearing.