Homeowners in Lackawanna County can now get a clearer picture of how much they’ll owe in taxes next year, following a three-year property tax reassessment.

LACKAWANNA COUNTY, Pa. — It’s the number Lackawanna County residents have waited for and worried about. The new millage rate under the new Lackawanna County reassessment is set at 5.7-9.

“I would say to everyone, don’t panic. Let’s wait until your tax bill in late February or early March,” said Patrick Tobin.

Patrick Tobin is the director of the county’s assessment office.

“In 2025, as I’m sure people know, the millage rate as 89.98. That’s a drastic drop in millage rates. That’s because we went from 1968 values to values in 2026,” added Tobin.

In 2022, a group of residents sued the county, saying it was unfair that a reassessment had not been done for decades. As a result of that lawsuit, a judge ordered Lackawanna County to complete a reassessment by New Year’s Day of 2026.

“I’ve been with the assessment office for seven years. I was here approximately three weeks, and I said to myself, in the office in front of everyone, we desperately need a reassessment. It was a little bit of a dirty word at the time. But we finally got it done.”

To find out your new county tax, just multiply your new property assessed value by 0.00579 to see how much you will owe. By state law, the county can’t make any new tax revenue off the reassessment; it’s just adjusting what people owe based on their property values. 

“This was ultimately about fairness. I know if you’re taxes increase a little bit, you’re not going to think it’s very fair. But conversely, the people who see a reduction will think it’s fair,” said Tobin.

But Tobin knows not everyone will agree, with about 300 lawsuits piled up in his office, filed by those unhappy with their reassessment. 

“It’s very difficult in this job to make everybody happy all the time, and I know that. That’s part of the job. You have to take the good with the bad, but overall I think this is a positive for Lackawanna County, and it’s going to help us move forward.”