The rate hasn’t moved since 2016
Philadelphia real estate tax is 1.3998% of assessed value: 0.6159% to the city and 0.7839% to the School District. The city says the rate hasn’t changed since 2016 and will stay the same for 2027. What changes is the assessment, and that’s where every property tax surprise in this city comes from.
On a house assessed at $300,000 the gross bill is $4,199 a year, or about $350 a month sitting in your escrow.
The Homestead Exemption: $100,000 off
If you live in the house, the Homestead Exemption removes $100,000 from the assessed value before the rate is applied. That’s worth up to $1,399 a year at the current rate, and the city has held the exemption at $100,000 since tax year 2025. There’s no income test. You apply once, and it stays as long as you own and occupy the house.
Apply by December 1 to get it for the coming year, or by October 1 to see it on the initial bill. Buyers who close between December 2 and 31 can still get it for that year. The application is on phila.gov, and it’s the best ten minutes you’ll spend as a new Philadelphia owner.
| Assessed value | Gross tax at 1.3998% | Taxable after Homestead | Net tax | Monthly in escrow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $200,000 | $2,800 | $100,000 | $1,400 | $117 |
| $300,000 | $4,199 | $200,000 | $2,800 | $233 |
| $400,000 | $5,599 | $300,000 | $4,199 | $350 |
| $500,000 | $6,999 | $400,000 | $5,599 | $467 |
LOOP, for people who’ve been here a while
The Longtime Owner Occupants Program caps the taxable assessment for owners who’ve lived in the house ten years or more and got hit with a big jump: an assessment up 50% or more in one year, or 75% or more over five years. You have to be current on taxes or in a payment plan, and household income has to be under 120% of area median. For 2026 that’s $103,350 for one person, $117,800 for two, $147,200 for four, and $194,350 for eight. The 2026 application deadline is September 30, 2026.
For a buyer this is mostly context. The seller’s bill may reflect relief you won’t qualify for on day one, so budget on the full assessment.
The ten-year abatement, as it works now
For new residential construction with an abatement application filed after January 1, 2022, the abatement covers 100% of the tax on the improvement value in year one, then drops ten points a year: 90% in year two, 80% in year three, down to 10% in year ten, then nothing. Land value is taxed the whole time. Residential rehab under Ordinance 961 still gets 100% for ten years on the improvement value. The application has to be filed within 60 days of the building permit, which is the developer’s job, so ask for proof it was done.
The 2025 state budget authorized a 20-year abatement for converting deteriorated commercial and industrial buildings to housing. As of June 2026 no Council bill had been introduced, so it isn’t a thing yet. Blog posts about a “Tax Abatement II” with 100% and 50% tiers describe something that doesn’t exist.
Here’s a Fishtown new build with $50,000 of land value and $400,000 of improvement value, before the Homestead Exemption:
| Year | Abated share | Taxable value | Annual tax |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 100% | $50,000 | $700 |
| 2 | 90% | $90,000 | $1,260 |
| 5 | 60% | $210,000 | $2,940 |
| 10 | 10% | $410,000 | $5,739 |
| 11 | 0% | $450,000 | $6,299 |
The escrow quoted on an abated new build is the lowest tax bill that house will ever have. Under the post-2022 rules it steps up every single year, and by year six the annual bill in this example is five times the year-one number. Have the lender show you the year-ten payment before you sign.
The 2027 reassessment
The city mailed tax year 2027 assessment notices on June 29, 2026. Citywide, the median residential assessment rose 3% against tax year 2025 (there was no reassessment for 2026), and the median bill goes up about $97. The averages hide the corners: nearly 6,000 homeowners saw increases over 50% compared with two years ago, concentrated in North Philadelphia and Kensington, where the median rose 15.3%. The 2025 revaluation before it had added about $330 to the average single-family bill.
If you’re buying now, the number on the seller’s 2026 bill isn’t the number for 2027. The First Level Review deadline is September 1, 2026, and the Board of Revision of Taxes appeal deadline is October 5, 2026. New values take effect January 1, 2027. The city isn’t on a fixed annual cycle, so nobody can tell you when the next one lands.
How lenders handle it
Lenders escrow the tax using the current bill for the address and divide by twelve. On an abated house that means the low year, and on a house with the seller’s Homestead Exemption it means a bill you’ll only match once you file your own. Ask the lender to run the unabated, post-exemption number for affordability, put it through the mortgage calculator, and file the Homestead application the week you close.
An abatement running out is also the most common reason a Philly owner calls about a refinance, because the payment jump feels like a rate change. It isn’t one, and a refinance won’t bring the abatement back, but it can change the rest of the payment.
Start with one call
Give us the address. We’ll connect you with a lender who knows what year-one abatement math looks like on a Fishtown new build and what a Kensington reassessment does to an escrow, and you’ll have the real number in front of you. Call us.