Philadelphia's Office of Property Assessment reassesses hundreds of thousands of properties using automated models, and those models make mistakes. If your assessed value is higher than what your property would actually sell for, you have the right to challenge it. This guide walks through both appeal paths, the critical deadlines, how to build an evidence package, and what realistically happens at a Board of Revision of Taxes hearing.
Each year, thousands of Philadelphia property owners successfully reduce their assessments and lower their real estate tax bills. The process is not as complicated as it appears, and for most residential properties you do not need an attorney. What you need is the right information, the right evidence, and an awareness of the two hard deadlines that govern the entire process.
The Office of Property Assessment (OPA) is responsible for valuing all real property in Philadelphia, approximately 580,000 parcels across the city. OPA uses a mass appraisal methodology: computer-driven valuation models calibrated with market sales data, neighborhood coefficients, and property characteristic data pulled from city records. The goal is to set each property's assessed value equal to its fair market value, defined as the price a willing buyer would pay a willing seller in an arm's-length transaction.
Mass appraisal works reasonably well at scale, but it is inherently an averaging process. It cannot account for the specific condition of your property, the micro-location dynamics of your particular block, or errors in the underlying property data that OPA has on file. Common reasons an OPA reassessment produces an inflated value include:
Any of these can form the basis of a successful appeal. The burden is on you to show that the assessed value does not reflect fair market value, but that bar is achievable with solid documentation.
Before building a comparable sales argument, go to property.phila.gov and look up your address. Click through to the property characteristics tab and check the data OPA has on file: square footage, bedroom count, bathroom count, lot dimensions, and condition grade. These records are frequently outdated or incorrect, especially for properties that have been renovated, subdivided, or converted.
If you find an error, correcting it through the First Level Review is often the fastest and most straightforward path to a reduction. A factual correction does not require comparable sales and can produce a significant adjustment without a formal hearing.
If you own and live in your property as your primary residence, the Philadelphia Homestead Exemption reduces the assessed value subject to tax by $100,000. On a $350,000 assessed property, only $250,000 is taxable. This is a permanent, no-income-limit benefit that requires a one-time application. If you have not applied, do this before spending time on an appeal. Apply at property.phila.gov under the Homestead Exemption section.
Also check whether you qualify for the LOOP (Longtime Owner Occupants Program), which caps taxable assessment increases for long-term owner-occupants who have lived in their home for 10 or more years and have experienced a significant reassessment jump.
Philadelphia property owners have two distinct mechanisms for disputing an OPA assessment. They are not mutually exclusive, and in many situations you should file both.
| Process | Who Runs It | Deadline | Format | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First Level Review (FLR) | OPA (internal) | Varies; typically by the first Monday in October of the applicable tax year | Written submission, no hearing | Free |
| BRT Appeal | Board of Revision of Taxes (independent) | First Monday in October of the applicable tax year | Formal petition + hearing | Nominal filing fee ($25 to $39 depending on assessed value) |
The BRT deadline is absolute. The Board of Revision of Taxes appeal deadline is the first Monday in October of the year for which the assessment applies. Miss this date and you lose the right to challenge that assessment year entirely. No extensions are granted. If you are waiting for an FLR response and the BRT deadline is approaching, file the BRT appeal anyway. You can withdraw it later if the FLR produces a satisfactory outcome.
The First Level Review is OPA's own internal administrative review process. It is free, requires no hearing, and is conducted entirely through document submission. Most practitioners recommend starting here because it is the least adversarial path, OPA can correct factual errors directly, and a successful FLR eliminates the need for a formal BRT proceeding.
File through OPA's online portal at property.phila.gov. You will need:
After submission, OPA reviews your documentation and either adjusts the assessment or confirms the original value. They respond in writing, typically within 60 to 120 days. If the FLR produces a sufficient reduction, you are done. If OPA confirms the original value or the reduction is insufficient, you proceed to the BRT, assuming you filed a BRT appeal before the deadline.
OPA has broad authority in a First Level Review. They can correct factual errors in the property record, adjust the condition grade, update square footage or bedroom count, and revise the value based on market evidence you submit. What they cannot do is ignore their own valuation model entirely: the FLR works best when you have a clear factual basis for a correction, or when your comparable sales are well-documented and close in proximity.
Do not expect a large reduction based on vague complaints. Present specific, verifiable evidence. OPA reviewers are processing hundreds of submissions; clear, organized documentation is far more effective than a lengthy narrative.
The Board of Revision of Taxes is a quasi-independent body that hears formal assessment appeals separate from OPA. A BRT appeal involves filing a petition, being assigned a hearing date, and appearing before a hearing officer to present your evidence. It is more formal than the FLR but far less formal than a court proceeding. Most residential property owners handle BRT hearings without attorney representation.
File at the BRT office located at 601 Walnut Street, Suite 325E, Philadelphia, or check the BRT website for any available online filing options. At filing, you will submit:
You do not need to submit your full evidence package at the time of filing; that comes at the hearing. But you should be building your evidence package from the moment you file.
After filing, BRT assigns your case a hearing date. For residential properties, hearings are typically scheduled 6 to 18 months after filing. You will be notified by mail. In the interim, if your FLR produces a satisfactory outcome, you can contact BRT to withdraw your appeal before the hearing date.
Residential BRT hearings are typically brief, often 15 to 30 minutes. A hearing officer presides. You or your representative present your evidence. OPA does not typically send a representative to contest residential appeals, which means if your evidence is credible and organized, you have a reasonable chance of a reduction. Hearing officers see many cases; a clear, concise presentation with written comparables will serve you better than a lengthy oral argument.
Standard outcomes at a BRT residential hearing:
BRT decisions are issued in writing. If you win, OPA updates the assessment on your property record. If you have already paid taxes at the higher rate, you may be eligible for a credit or refund from the Revenue Department.
After a BRT loss: If the BRT confirms the original assessment and you believe the decision was in error, you can appeal to the Court of Common Pleas within 30 days. This is a formal judicial proceeding where attorney representation is standard. The cost and complexity make court appeals practical mainly for high-value properties with significant tax savings at stake.
The question at the center of every assessment appeal is the same: what would this property actually sell for on the open market? Every piece of evidence you present should speak to that question directly.
Comparable sales, commonly called comps, are the most persuasive evidence available in a Philadelphia property tax appeal. The goal is to identify 3 to 5 recent sales of properties similar to yours that demonstrate a market value lower than your current assessed value implies.
A strong set of comparables shares these characteristics with your property:
Present your comparables in a simple table showing the address, sale date, sale price, square footage, and price per square foot. Then show where your assessed value falls against those figures. If your assessment implies a price per square foot that is 20 or 30 percent above what similar properties actually sold for, that gap is your case.
Reliable sources for Philadelphia comp data include Zillow, Redfin, and Atlas (atlas.phila.gov), which shows deed-recorded sales. The OPA property search at property.phila.gov also includes sale history for each parcel.
Flagstone property reports pull OPA records, sale history, permit records, and violation data for any Philadelphia address. If you are preparing an appeal for a property you own or are researching, a Flagstone report gives you the complete OPA record, including current assessed value, the last recorded sale price, and permit and violation history relevant to a condition argument.
A formal appraisal from a Pennsylvania-certified residential appraiser is the single strongest piece of evidence you can bring to a BRT hearing. A certified appraisal is a professionally prepared opinion of market value that accounts for condition, location adjustments, and comparable sales in a format hearing officers recognize and give significant weight. The cost for a residential appraisal is typically $350 to $600.
Whether to get an appraisal is a straightforward cost-benefit decision. Estimate your annual tax savings if the appeal succeeds: multiply the assessment reduction you are seeking by Philadelphia's combined tax rate (currently around 1.3998% for the city real estate tax, plus any applicable school district rate). If the first-year savings exceed appraisal cost, it is almost always worth getting one. For properties with large gaps between assessed value and market value, the savings over multiple years can be substantial.
If you purchased the property within the past 12 to 24 months in an arm's-length transaction and the sale price was below the current assessed value, your settlement statement or deed is powerful evidence. A willing-buyer, willing-seller transaction at market represents the purest available evidence of fair market value. Bring your HUD-1 settlement statement or a copy of the recorded deed to your hearing or FLR submission.
If your property has meaningful physical issues that a typical buyer would discount, document them. Useful evidence includes:
Open violations are particularly useful because they are part of the public record and the city's own data. A property with multiple open housing code violations is objectively harder to sell and would trade at a discount to an identical property in clean compliance. If your property has open violations, pull the complete record before your appeal. You can look up violation history for any Philadelphia address through the city's L&I property search or through a Flagstone report, which consolidates OPA, L&I, and permit data in one place.
As noted above, if OPA's property record contains factual errors, document the discrepancy. If OPA has your property listed at 1,400 square feet but it is actually 1,150 square feet, submit evidence of the correct figure: a floor plan, a survey, or measurements from a recent appraisal. Factual corrections can sometimes produce larger reductions than comparable sales arguments, especially if the error has been compounding across multiple reassessment cycles.
Philadelphia assessment appeals succeed when the evidence demonstrates a clear, credible gap between the OPA assessed value and actual market value. The most successful appeals share common characteristics:
| Ground for Appeal | Evidence Required | Strength |
|---|---|---|
| Assessed value exceeds recent sale price (arm's-length) | Settlement statement or deed | Very Strong |
| Comparable sales show lower price per sq ft than assessment implies | Table of 3 to 5 comparable sales with addresses, dates, prices, sq ft | Strong |
| Certified appraisal below assessed value | PA-certified residential appraisal report | Very Strong |
| Factual error in OPA property record | Floor plan, survey, or prior appraisal showing correct data | Strong (if verifiable) |
| Significant physical condition issues | Photos, contractor estimates, inspection report, open L&I violations | Moderate (best combined with comps) |
| Neighborhood market softening | Multiple recent sales in the same block at lower values | Moderate (requires solid data) |
For residential properties, most owners can handle both the FLR and the BRT appeal without professional representation. OPA typically does not oppose residential appeals, and BRT hearing officers are experienced in working with pro se (unrepresented) filers. If your evidence is clear and your comparables are solid, you are well-positioned to succeed on your own.
Consider engaging a tax appeal attorney or consultant for:
Tax appeal practitioners commonly work on contingency, taking 25 to 40 percent of the first year's tax savings. For a residential property, run the math: if your potential annual savings are $800, a 33 percent contingency means the attorney earns $264 if you win. At that scale, handling it yourself is almost always the better choice.
OPA updates your assessed value in the city's property database. If your appeal was resolved before taxes were billed, the reduced value will appear on your next tax bill. If you have already paid at the higher assessment, you may be eligible for a credit or refund from the Revenue Department. Keep your FLR confirmation letter or BRT decision letter and follow up if a credit does not appear within 60 to 90 days.
A reduced assessment holds until the next OPA reassessment cycle. OPA can reassess annually, and properties in appreciating neighborhoods may see values increase again even after a successful appeal. Some owners in over-assessed neighborhoods treat the appeal process as an annual routine.
A denial at the FLR level does not foreclose a BRT appeal, assuming you filed one before the deadline. A denial at the BRT level gives you 30 days to file in the Court of Common Pleas if you believe the decision was incorrect. If you choose not to appeal further, the next option is to wait for the next OPA reassessment cycle and re-evaluate the market evidence at that time.
Flagstone consolidates OPA assessment data, sale history, L&I violation records, and permit history for any Philadelphia address into one free report. Before you file, know exactly what OPA has on file and what condition issues support your case.
Run a Free Report| Step | Action | Where / Resource |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Look up your OPA record and check for factual errors (sq ft, beds, condition grade) | property.phila.gov |
| 2 | Apply for Homestead Exemption if you live in the property as primary residence | property.phila.gov → Homestead Exemption |
| 3 | Pull violation and permit history to support a condition argument | Flagstone free report or li.phila.gov |
| 4 | Gather 3 to 5 comparable sales from the past 12 to 24 months | Zillow, Redfin, atlas.phila.gov |
| 5 | Build a comparables table: address, sale date, price, sq ft, price per sq ft | Spreadsheet or simple document |
| 6 | File First Level Review with OPA (free, online) | property.phila.gov → First Level Review |
| 7 | File BRT appeal before the first Monday in October | BRT: 601 Walnut St, Suite 325E, Philadelphia |
| 8 | Consider a licensed appraisal if tax savings justify the cost ($350 to $600) | PA-certified residential appraiser |
| 9 | Attend BRT hearing with printed, organized evidence package | Per BRT hearing notice (mailed) |
| 10 | Follow up with Revenue Department if a tax credit or refund is owed after a win | Philadelphia Revenue Department |