Philadelphia Property Tax: Double-check before you pay!

Submitted by douglas_in_philly t3_zyc7jz in philadelphia

Friends,

A couple of weeks ago, I received my property tax ("Real Estate") bill in the mail. It listed the amount due, and also had a section marked "Reductions," with nothing listed. I wasn't sure if the "Homestead Exemption" would be a reduction, but knew I'd applied for it. I looked back at my emails, and saw that I'd submitted my application for the exemption on November 5th. I then went to the web site referenced in that email, and saw that my application had been "processed" two days later, on November 7th. It wasn't clear from anything on the web pages I saw whether it had been approved.

I then went to the City of Philadelphia's "Property" web page, and searched for my property, to see if I could see anything there about the exemption. It showed my property tax to be the same as what was on the bill I'd received. But it had a section about how the Homestead Exemption could reduce one's bill, and then when I selected the $80,000 option from the drop-down menu (there was a $45,000 and an $80,000 option--not really sure what determines which to select), it showed that were I be eligible for the exemption, my estimated property tax would be about $1,100 less than my bill shows.

I then went to the property tax payment page, and when I searched for my property there, it showed an amount that was within about a dollar of that reduced amount. So I assume that the Homestead Exemption actually was approved, and a reduction was made to my bill. But the bill I received in the mail doesn't reflect it, and if I were to have sent a check for that amount, I'd have been paying about $1,100 more than I had to.

So all of that to say: go to the payment page on the City's property tax web site, and make sure that you only pay what is shown there.

   Doug

UPDATE: Just got a letter from the city yesterday (2022-04-03) stating that I had been approved for the homestead exemption. Now to see if they send a revised property tax bill.

34

Comments

You must log in or register to comment.

dotcom-jillionaire t1_j253div wrote

call the department of revenue and talk to them to confirm your exemption status and how to deal with your bill, (215) 686-9200.

this kind of happened to me a few years ago. turns out the system for property information and system for property tax information are (surprise) out of sync with each other and might not show the most up to date info.

21

douglas_in_philly OP t1_j253s3p wrote

Thanks for the tip. In my experience, calling any city office is a royal PITA. Endless holds, endless transfers, disconnects, etc. Has your (or others') experience been different?

5

dotcom-jillionaire t1_j25gww9 wrote

i'm not sure what magic i was able to pull off, but when i called 3 or 4 years ago (pre pandemic, but around this time of year) my call was picked up immediately and the worker was really helpful. i was able to confirm i was registered even though property.phila.gov said otherwise and i was also able to correct my name on the property record, they put an incorrect middle initial on my record.

with it being 2 days before 2023 and the whole shitshow over property tax increases it's not surprising they're being swamped with calls right now

3

aintjoan t1_j265ly1 wrote

The Property office is run by some very, very helpful people. I have never had to wait more than a minute to get a human on the phone, and they have always been able to answer my question (albeit not always with the answers I want, but they are helpful and knowledgeable).

3

samsaraesque t1_j25f2fo wrote

I called the 686 9200 two weeks ago, and chose the leave-your-number-we'll-call-you-back option rather than wait in the queue. They called me back yesterday.

1

MoreShenanigans t1_j272b73 wrote

first time homeowner here. I got that mail, but assumed it was just an fyi and that my property tax would be paid by my mortgage servicer. Is that not the case, is it that the mail is just the difference between what I owe and what the mortgage servicer paid?

I'll be contacting my mortgage servicer and the city to be sure. But curious what the set up for other folks is

2

idunno2468 t1_j27p67e wrote

your mortgage should be paying everything. but if you havent applied for the homestead exemption though make sure you do that, its not automatic but only need to apply once!

4

douglas_in_philly OP t1_j288l99 wrote

I don’t recall my mortgage ever including the payment of property taxes. Isn’t it always the responsibility of the home owner to pay them?

1

Brahette t1_j28gb5k wrote

No, your mortgage servicer usually has the money in escrow. They pay the property taxes each year and your monthly payment to them may go up (or down) depending on how much the taxes are that year. You may want to double check with your servicer because you may have been paying the property taxes twice. I have never had to pay my taxes myself.

6

idunno2468 t1_j29jnra wrote

My lender wanted to charge me extra points to pay property taxes and insurance myself. So it’s possible to have a loan that doesn’t include escrow, but not very common

1

MoreShenanigans t1_j29dxyt wrote

Thanks, I've had that in my to-do list forever but haven't gotten around to it. Definitely need to knock that out soon

1

Brahette t1_j251nfu wrote

You should be able to easily find out if it's been approved on the property website you linked. Scroll down to the section where it says "Valuation History" and if there is an amount under "Exempt Improvement" that means it was approved.

1

douglas_in_philly OP t1_j253mmk wrote

Yeah, I had noticed that. It's the same $80,000 amount. It would be nice if it in some way labeled it as related to the Homestead Exemption, though. LOL...I swear to God....this city! LOL

1

Brahette t1_j255y2a wrote

I had a nightmare experience trying to get the exemption this year so I feel your pain lol

1

Mehndeke t1_j25hvr4 wrote

I had my homestead exemption disappear when they reassessed my home for tax purposes. Yeah, that got an appeal plus several phone calls, where I was put on hold until I was told by an automated voice to leave a message.

After several weeks, I think, *think* it's worked out. But I'm not paying my tax bill until I see it applied.

1

douglas_in_philly OP t1_j265j24 wrote

Interesting you should mention that, because I am positive that I had applied for (and been approved for) the homestead exemption a number of years ago, but looking at the property website, it doesn’t appear on the prior years’ tax amounts as a reduction. When I filled out the application back in November, it was only because I saw someone post about it, and thought there’d be no harm in submitting the form.

1

Mehndeke t1_j266nz1 wrote

It's supposed to be a once and done thing when you buy your house. But this is Philly, and Philly government. So...

2