Pro-Housing Pittsburgh

Introduction

In 2024, the Pennsylvania General Assembly passed the Longtime Owner-Occupant Property Tax Relief Act, which allows municipal governments in Allegheny County to provide an exemption or deferral if homeowners experience property tax increases due to the growing value of their home, if that homeowner has owned and lived in the home a long enough period of time (usually 10 years).

The motivation at the time was that homeowners in certain neighborhoods, primarily in the City of Pittsburgh, were experiencing rapidly growing home values as the city was revitalizing. While this is overall a financial boon for a homeowner, the owner may theoretically experience a shock increase in their tax bill when the home is reassessed. If it did occur and the homeowner does not have the income to afford the increased tax bill, they may be financially forced to sell their home sooner than they would have otherwise, potentially leading to neighborhood displacement.

Allegheny County Councilmember Dan Gryzbek introduced legislation for the county’s version of Long-time Owner Occupant Property Tax Relief Program (‘LOOP’), which was recently approved by county council. Legislation has been introduced in the city of Pittsburgh to implement the city’s version of Long-time Owner Occupant Property Tax Relief Program (‘LOOP’), which would permit certain homeowners to claim an exemption. Additionally, the Pittsburgh Public School District may also consider participating in the future with their own similar LOOP programs.

Reassessments

While we are overall quite favorable towards using tax policy to help improve housing in Pittsburgh, LOOP is a program that we believe must be treated with care. Before dealing with the implications of LOOP, however, we should set some basic understandings about what happens during a reassessment.

Let’s address the most common misconception up front: just because your home increases in value during a reassessment does not mean your property taxes will go up. The vast majority of homes in Pittsburgh have increased in value dramatically since the last reassessment in 2012, with the median home likely being worth roughly double what it was then. Under state law, when a reassessment occurs, the property tax rate (called the millage rate) must be automatically adjusted so that the overall amount of property taxes collected remains the same. So while you might expect your property taxes to double if your home value doubles, in reality, if everyone’s home doubles, then your taxes will stay the same. In order for a homeowner to experience a shock property tax increase, their home value needs to have grown even more dramatically than everyone else's.