Nearly half of the municipalities in Berks County raised their property tax rates for 2026.
Each of the county’s 72 municipalities set their tax rates as part of their annual budgets, which had to be approved by the end of December.
Thirty-three of them enacted tax increases this year, while 37 kept them level. Two municipalities — Lenhartsville and New Morgan boroughs — did not respond to requests for their rates and do not make the information available on their websites.
The increases for 2026 range from 0.03 mill in South Heidelberg Township to 2.02 mills in Cumru Township.
A mill is $1 per every $1,000 of assessed value of a property. That means a 1 mill tax on a property assessed at $100,000 would equal $100.
That means the 0.03 mill increase in South Heidelberg would raise the tax bill on a property assessed at $100,000 by $3. And the Cumru increase would increase a tax bill by $202 on a home assessed at $100,000.
Along with South Heidelberg and Cumru, the other municipalities to raise taxes for 2026 are Bern Township, Birdsboro, Boyertown, Caernarvon Township, Centre Township, Reading, Colebrookdale Township, Douglass Township, Exeter Township, Fleetwood, Hereford Township, Kutztown, Leesport, Lower Alsace Township, Lower Heidelberg Township, Marion Township, Maxatawny Township, Mohnton, Mount Penn, Penn Township, Pike Township, Ruscombmanor Township, Shoemakersville, Sinking Spring, St. Lawrence, Tulpehocken Township, Upper Tulpehocken Township, Wernersville, West Reading, Womelsdorf and Wyomissing.
The lowest municipal tax rate in Berks for 2025 continues to be in Earl Township, which does not levy a municipal property tax because of host fees it receives from the Rolling Hills Landfill.
The other lowest rates in the county are Jefferson Township, 0.18 mill; Centre Township, 0.59 mill; Albany Township, 0.6 mill; Windsor Township, 0.6 mill; and Perry Township, 0.8 mill.
The highest rates in the county for 2026 are Reading, 19.217 mills; Mount Penn, 17.35 mills; West Reading, 14.5 mills; and Lower Alsace Township, 11.85 mills.
Municipal tax rates vary widely for a number of reasons. Factors like population density, average assessed property values, the number and types of businesses and the amount of services provided all impact the rate.
Some municipalities also levy property taxes for specific purposes such as road construction or to help fund local fire companies or ambulance services.