Departments

Finance

Board of Assessment

Property Tax Relief Application Process
Act 1 Frequently Asked Questions

Who can apply for property tax relief?
District residents who live in owner occupied properties can apply for property tax relief. Relief is not applicable for rental properties or business properties.

Why is it necessary to apply?
Property tax relief for owners of homesteads or farmsteads will not come automatically. The owners must apply to have their property designated as homesteads or farmsteads - and be approved - in order to qualify.

How and when must property owners apply?
The school district is required to send all district residents an application along with instructions and a notice of the submission deadline. The application must be submitted to the county assessor by March 1.

How will property owners know when applications are approved?
Within 30 days of the March 1st deadline, the county assessor will mail a notice indicating whether or not the application has been approved. The county assessor will notify any property owner previously approved for a homestead/farmstead exclusion on the need to re-apply.

Is there a fee to apply?
No, there is no fee for the filing or review of the application.

If an application is denied, is it possible to appeal?
Yes. Property owners who disagree with the decision of the assessor may appeal to the board for a review of the decision. Appeal must pertain to application filing, deadlines, reapplication or the definition of a property as "homestead property" or "farmstead property."

How exactly will the reductions work on tax statements?
All eligible and qualified property owners in the district will receive a credit known as a homestead/farmstead exclusion. The exclusion will show up on a school tax bill as a separate line item under the original assessed value of the property. The exclusion will then be subtracted from the original value to produce a new net assessment.

To compute taxes due, the district millage, or tax rate, will be applied to the new, reduced value of a property. Therefore, the actual property tax reduction will be the difference between the tax rate applied to the new reduced assessment and the tax rate applied to the unreduced assessment.

Will it be necessary to re-apply for a homestead/farmstead every year?
No. The county assessor cannot require previously-approved property owners to re-apply more than once every three years. It will be up to each individual county to establish rules for re-application.

Residents who move will have to re-apply to have new homesteads or farmsteads qualify for property tax reduction.

What happens to my homestead status if I record a new deed?
Any new deed recorded will automatically remove your property from homestead or farmstead.  The new property owner will automatically be mailed an application, which must be filed at the Board of Assessment, from your school district at the end of the year.

How does property tax relief work for "mixed use" properties?
For properties that contain both residential and non-residential portions, 50% or more of the total property must be residential in order for it to be eligible for a homestead exemption. This percentage is determined on the basis of square footage.

How do we contact the county assessment office for more information?
Bucks County Board of Assessment office
55 East Court Street
Doylestown, PA 18901
215-348-6219

Who is the district contact for more information?
Bensalem School District - 215-750-2800
Bristol Borough School District - 215-781-1010
Bristol Township School District - 215-943-3200
Centennial School District - 215-441-6000
Central Bucks School District - 267-893-2000
Council Rock School District - 215-944-1000
Morrisville School District - 215-736-2681
Neshaminy School District - 215-752-6422
New Hope/Solebury School District - 215-862-2552
Palisade School District - 610-847-5131
Pennridge School District 215-257-4594
Pennsbury School District - 215-428-4100
Quakertown School District - 215-529-2000

I f you have any further questions concerning this legislation you may contact your state legislator:

District 18 Gene DiGirolamo 215-750-1017
Townships of Bensalem and Lower Southampton (PART,District West[PART,Divisions03 and 07])

District 29 Bernard T. O'Neill 215-441-2624
Townships of Buckingham (PART,Districts Lower, Middle and Upper [PART,Division 02]), Solebury, Upper Southampton (PART,Districts North [PART,Division 04]), South [PART,Division 02] and West), Warminster (PART,Districts 01,02,03,04,05,07,09,10,11,13,14,16,and 17) and Warwick (PART, Districts 01,03, and 04) and Borough of New Hope.

District 31 David J. Steil 215-968-3975
Townships of Lower Makefield, Newtown, and Upper Makefield (PART, District 02) and the boroughs of Newtown and Yardley.

District 140 John T. Galloway 215-781-2451
Townships of Bristol (PART, Ward 05 {PART, Divisions 01 and 02]), Falls and Middletown (PART, District Lower [PART, Division 07]) and the boroughs of Bristol, Morrisville and Tullytown.

District 141 Anthony J. Melio 215-943-8669
Townships of Bristol (PART, Wards 01, 02, 03, 04, 05 [PART, Divisions 03 and 04], 06, 07, 08, 09, 10, and 11) and Middletown (PART, District Lower (PART, Divisions 03, 04, 06, and 09]).

District 142 Christopher King 215-752-6750
Townships of Lower Southampton (PART, Districts East and West [PART, Divisions 01, 02, 04, 05, and 06]) and Middletown (PART, Districts Lower [PART, Divisions 01, 02, 05, 08, 10, 11, 12, and 13] and Upper) and the boroughs of Hulmeville, Langhorne, Langhorne Manor, and Penndel.

District 143 Marguerite Quinn 215-489-2126
Townships of Bedminster, Bridgeton, Buckingham (PART, District Upper [PART, Divisions 01 and 03]), Doylestown, Durham, Nockamixon, Plumstead, and Tinicum and the boroughs of Doylestown and Riegelsville.

District 144 Katharine M. Watson 215-674-0500
Townships of Hilltown, New Britain, Warminster (PART, Districts 06, 08, 12, and 15) and Warrington and boroughs of Chalfont, Dublin, New Britain, Silverdale, and Telford (Bucks County portion).

District 145 Paul I. Clymer 215-257-0279
Townships of East Rockhill, Haycock, Milford, Richland, Springfield, and West Rockhill and the boroughs of Perkasie, Quakertown, Richlandtown, Sellersville, and Trumbauersville.

District 178 Scott A. Petri 215-364-3414
Townships of Northampton, Upper Makefield (PART, Districts 01 and 03), Upper Southampton (PART, Districts East, North [PART, Divisons 01, 02, and 03] and South [PART, Divison 01]), Warwick (PART, District 02), and Wrightstown and the Borough of Ivyland.