Pennsylvania Supreme Court Releases Decision in Tax Assessment Appeals Case
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05.22.26
On May 19, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court released its decision in the Marchwood case, which substantially limits the Court’s prior Valley Forge holding that imposed a uniformity requirement on School District appeals. In Marchwood, the School District hired an appraiser to look at both recent sales and all district properties to ascertain those properties where reassessment could yield at least $10,000 of additional tax revenue. The appraiser prepared a list of properties that he believed met the criteria, including several single-family residences. Only some of the identified properties were appealed, and no single-family residence was appealed. A panel of the Commonwealth Court (an intermediate appellate court in PA) found that the School District violated Valley Forge.
The Supreme Court reversed, allowing a $10,000 in tax threshold that eliminated most single-family residences, not requiring the School District to appeal every property that met the threshold, and finding no uniformity violation in the School District’s appealing only those properties that would yield the greatest revenue even if, as a result, no single-family residences were appealed. The Court noted that single-family residences were reviewed, and at least one had been appealed in a prior year. The Court ruled that the School District could appeal only the juiciest cases. The Court did not rule on whether appeals of only recent sales violate uniformity because that was not the method used by the School District in question. In addition, the Court did not rule on the taxpayer’s contention that the State Constitution’s uniformity clause was violated because there were many different appeal policies utilized by various school districts in Chester County, where Marchwood is located. As that issue was not addressed by the Commonwealth Court, the Supreme Court remanded the case for consideration of this last argument.
The decision included two spirited, dissenting opinions joined in by three justices, which strenuously argued that the decision violates the State Constitution’s uniformity requirement and the Court’s precedent. Alas, three votes do not carry the day with a seven-member court.
As many know, Philadelphia is required by state law to revalue properties annually by March 31, and the City has missed this deadline again. We are being told to expect new 2027 value letters to be mailed by June 15. You should keep an eye out for them and file an appeal with the city’s Board of Revision of Taxes by October 5 if the new valuation exceeds fair market value. Do not assume your old value did not change. If you do not receive a letter, you can verify your 2027 valuation online. Be advised that if you file for a first-level review, that does not preserve your right to appeal if you are unhappy with the result of that review. Our tax assessment group is available to help clients file appeals.
As a heads-up, property owners should be aware that, later this year, Philadelphia’s Revenue Department will ask City Council to provide separate valuations of cell towers for purposes of imposing Use and Occupancy Tax. There has been confusion among landlords regarding the impact of cell tower leases on realty assessments for purposes of assessed values as well as Use and Occupancy Tax.
As usual, outside of Philadelphia, the typical deadline for filing appeals of real estate values is August 1, but you should always double-check your county’s rules. We can help with these appeals for over-assessed properties.
To discuss assessment issues, please reach out to any member of our assessment team, including Larry Arem, Glenn Weiner, Michael Phillips, Matt McHugh, Leonard Altieri or Andrea Sálomon.
Author Larry Arem is a partner in the tax practice group at Klehr Harrison.