{"id":57389,"date":"2025-12-10T15:17:08","date_gmt":"2025-12-10T15:17:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/57389\/"},"modified":"2025-12-10T15:17:08","modified_gmt":"2025-12-10T15:17:08","slug":"property-taxes-could-rise-in-pennsylvania","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/57389\/","title":{"rendered":"Property Taxes Could Rise in Pennsylvania"},"content":{"rendered":"

Homeowners in several Pennsylvania counties could see higher property tax bills <\/a>next year as local authorities say increases are needed to avoid layoffs and cuts to key services.<\/p>\n

Why It Matters<\/p>\n

Between 2019 and 2024, property taxes surged by 30 percent nationwide, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy<\/a>, as values for all properties ballooned due to a surge in demand and a lack of supply.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Together with higher homeowner insurance premiums, homeowners association (HOA) fees, and elevated borrowing costs, higher property tax bills have felt like the final straw for many U.S. homeowners\u2014so much so that lawmakers across the country, especially in GOP-led states\u2014are considering slashing them significantly or even eliminating them.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

What To Know<\/p>\n

Property taxes in Pennsylvania are higher than the national average<\/a>, though they vary from county to county. According to SmartAsset<\/a>, the average annual property tax in the state is $7,045, for an average tax rate of 1.409 percent. The national average annual property tax is estimated at $4,495, for an average rate of 0.899 percent.<\/p>\n

Effective property tax rates on a county basis in Pennsylvania range from 0.83 percent to 2.05 percent, according to the website.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Some of these counties, including Dauphin, York and Lancaster, may soon face a property tax increase as local authorities say hikes are needed to deal with inflation and rising costs, including that for health insurance.<\/p>\n

Homeowners in Dauphin County might face a 15 percent hike, while York County is considering a 14 percent increase and Lancaster County a 10 percent one. Delaware County is looking into an even higher 19 percent hike, which authorities say will produce $268 million in revenues and will help them close a structural deficit.<\/p>\n

But the highest property tax hike is being considered in Pittsburgh, where City Councilor Barbara Warwick said that increasing the tax by 30 percent next year is the only way to close the budget\u2019s gap.<\/p>\n

The proposal would cost owners of $100,000 homes in Pittsburgh slightly over $20 more each month, or $242 a year.<\/p>\n

What People Are Saying<\/p>\n

Kyle Kopko, executive director of the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania, said in a statement reported by WGAL8: “Just because of all these different factors coming together at just the right time, I think many counties really see no other alternative.”<\/p>\n

He added: “We\u2019re [\u2026] having an older workforce, just generally speaking, not only within government but across the entire Commonwealth. So as that workforce ages, they\u2019re going to have distinctive medical needs. Prescription drugs are really what we\u2019re hearing is one of the largest drivers of that increase in health care premiums.<\/p>\n

“”How do you balance that? Well, it\u2019s either through cuts, which a lot of people don\u2019t want to do because they still want to have high-quality services from their governments, or it leaves tax increases as the next line of defense.”<\/p>\n

Warwick said in a statement reported by Pittsburgh\u2019s NPR news station 90.5 WESA: “Times are tough for everyone right now, but after 11 years without a tax increase, the city needs additional revenue in order to keep providing the core services that our residents deserve and depend on.”<\/p>\n

She added: “It is our responsibility to fill these budgetary gaps without cutting the things that make Pittsburgh such a special place to live.”<\/p>\n

Pittsburgh Councilor Anthony Coghill said: “I\u2019m not a fan [of the tax hike]. We\u2019ve dumped hundreds of millions of dollars into affordable housing, and then we’re going to raise taxes? That will make the city less affordable.”<\/p>\n

What Happens Next<\/p>\n

If implemented, many of the property tax hikes suggested by county authorities in Pennsylvania would come on top of previous increases introduced last year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Homeowners in several Pennsylvania counties could see higher property tax bills next year as local authorities say increases…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":57390,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[4736,8975,28,30,29,18524,2261,31094],"class_list":["post-57389","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pennsylvania","tag-housing","tag-housing-market","tag-pennsylvania","tag-pennsylvania-headlines","tag-pennsylvania-news","tag-property-tax","tag-tax","tag-u-s-economy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57389","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57389"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57389\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/57390"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57389"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57389"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57389"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}