Tax Appeal – New Construction, Chester County

New Construction Assessment 
Chester County assesses the value of your home when it is built.  Until the house was constructed, only the land was assessed for tax purposes.  About 8-12 weeks after the Settlement of your new construction home, the Chester County tax assessment office determines the total “Assessed value” of your home – which includes the building. They send the homeowner a notice of Assessment in the mail.

The Math 

When you receive that Assessment, you want to confirm if your property assessment is fair – because you have a time-bound opportunity to appeal the valuation. Every year, the county decides on a Common Level Ratio (CLR) which determines the relationship between the Market value and the Assessed value of a property.  Currently,  in February 2024, the Chester County CLR is 36%.  This simply means that if the assessed value of your property (building and land) is $100k, its fair market value is about $278k. (100/.36)  Once you know the fair market value, it is easy to calculate the assessed value and vice versa.  You know what you paid for your new construction home, just do the math. This is important to get right – of course, you do not want to appeal your Assessment if it is fair or low!

Timeline

There is a strong probability that your assessment is too high, so you should appeal it. The letter may have the info on how to make the interim appeal, but you can also get more info on the website.  Remember there is typically a 40 day time limit to making this appeal – and your letter will state the last date before which they will consider this Interim Appeal.  If you miss this – it becomes a regular appeal and you have to wait for the window between May 1-Aug 1 of the year, when Chester County tax assessment office will consider all appeals.

Process

You can download The Tax Appeal Form from the website.  There is a $25 fee, and you are required to send a copy of your ALTA Settlement sheet, which shows the purchase price of your home.  The form explains the rest of the process, or if you have further questions, the assessment office is also very helpful – you may contact them at

313 W. Market St., Suite 4202
West Chester, PA 19380-0991
Phone: 610-344-6105
Fax: 610-344-5902

Office Hours: M-F – 8:30AM- 4:30PM

All taxes are calculated based on the Millage rates – the Chester county millage rates are available here.  Once your home’s assessed value is correct, all calculations are based on that value – so no need to worry about Millage rates etc. that math happens automatically.

Very Important

Soon after getting the Notice of Assessment, the new construction homeowner will get an INTERIM tax bill. YOU have to pay this Interim Tax bill.  Most homeowners have escrowed their taxes with the lender at the time of purchase, so they assume that the Lender will take care of the taxes. However, this is one tax bill that the homeowner is responsible to pay directly! The escrowed amounts are for the next cycle of tax bills. Check the dates on your ALTA Settlement sheet for clarity. Call your Realtor or title co that did the Settlement, and they should be able to explain if this is confusing.

Remember to fill out the Homestead Tax relief form for additional annual savings!