A key element in the amount of your property tax is your assessment. When your assessment is multiplied by the applicable millage rates, you get the amount of your tax bill.
You should not confuse your assessment with the actual value of your property. In most counties in Pennsylvania, your assessment represents only a percentage of what is ostensibly the actual value (fair market value) of your property. The percentage that applies is called the common level ratio. Because many counties do not regularly reassess the value of the properties in that county, the common level ratio is intended to address changes in property value that occur between assessments.
You can find the common level ratio for your county by going to the State Tax Equalization Board - click here for the webpage that will let you find the common level ratio for your county.
Thus, if your property is worth $400,000, and the applicable common level ratio is 64.2, your assessment should be $256,800.
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