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An Ordinance of the County of Allegheny, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, amending and supplementing the Administrative Code of Allegheny County, Article 808, entitled “Taxation,” through the creation of a new §5-508.02, entitled “Tax Bill Disclosure Bill of Rights,” in order to establish mandatory best practices for the inclusion of information on County real estate tax bills.
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Whereas, the Second Class County Code, specifically 16 P.S. §3707(d), requires that the County Treasurer include the lot and block number of each property on the County’s annual tax bills for that property, but neither requires nor prohibits the inclusion of any additional information; and
Whereas, given the complexity of the property taxation system, it is the judgment of Council that the inclusion of additional information, including a delineation of all exemptions or abatements and other factors relevant to valuation and tax liability calculation, will aid our County taxpayers in understanding their bills more easily; and
Whereas, although most taxing bodies must provide at least 60 days from the date of taxpayers’ receipt of tax notices for payment of real property taxes at a discounted rate under the terms of the Commonwealth’s Local Tax Collection Law (specifically 72 P.S. §5511.10), Allegheny and Philadelphia Counties are expressly exempted from this statute; and
Whereas, the Second Class County Code, which does apply to Allegheny County, expressly grants “the power and authority to establish and fix the discount period and the rate of discount not less than two per centum” via legislative act, at 16 P.S. §4975; and
Whereas, it is the judgment of Council that the Local Tax Collection Law’s allowance of at least 60 days for taxpayers to avail themselves of the discounted tax rate is equitable and establishes a best practice for Pennsylvania counties; and
Whereas, the date of mailing the County’s property tax bills has become less standardized in recent years, which has necessitated repeated adjustments of the County’s discount period via individual legislative action in order to allow an appropriate discount payment window; and
Whereas, the Local Tax Collection Law (specifically 72 P.S. §5511.6) also delineates information that must be included in annual real estate notices, and expressly providing that:
“Such notice shall contain--(1) the date of the tax notice; (2) the rate or rates of taxation; (3) the valuation and identification of the real property of such taxpayer; (4) the occupation valuation of such taxpayer, if any; (5) the several amounts of real and personal property and personal taxes for which said taxpayer is liable for the current year; (6) the total amount of said taxes; (7) a statement that such taxes are due and payable; (8) a request for payment thereof; and (9) an example of the wording to whom the payment must be made, including the name of the account established under section 5.2, but not in the name of an individual only. A separate notice shall be issued for each parcel of real property of a taxable. Personal property and personal taxes may be included on any one of such tax notices. Such notice shall further designate a place and time where the taxes shall be paid and state the time during which an abatement of tax will be allowed, when full amount of tax will be collected, and when an additional percentage will be added as a penalty. Such notice shall be mailed or delivered to the last known post office address of each of said taxables.”; and
Whereas, the content of County tax bills has also become less standardized in recent years, and while the Local Tax Collection Law does not apply to Allegheny County, it is the judgment of Council that standardization of the information included in annual County real estate tax bills in a fashion patterned after the Local Tax Collection Law template will inure to the benefit of our residents by making their annual tax bills more understandable; and
Whereas, it is accordingly the desire of Council to establish a codified standard for tax bill mailing timeliness and a clear delineation of the results of late mailings, as well as a standardized form for tax bills such that taxpayers receive complete information and are not disadvantaged by late mailings;
The Council of the County of Allegheny hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1.
The preamble to this ordinance is hereby incorporated by reference.
Section 2.
The Administrative Code of Allegheny County, Article 808, entitled “Taxation,” is hereby amended and supplemented through the creation of a new §5-508.02, entitled “Tax Bill Disclosure Bill of Rights,” and comprised as follows:
ARTICLE 808
Taxation
§ 5-808.01. Tax bill disclosure bill of rights.
A. No later than January 31 of each calendar year, the Allegheny County Treasurer shall mail bills to the record owner(s) of each parcel subject to real estate taxation in Allegheny County. Each such bill shall include standardized information as follows:
1. The date of the tax notice;
2. The rate or rates of taxation;
3. The valuation and identification of the real property of such taxpayer;
4. The total amount of real property taxes for which said taxpayer is liable for the current year;
5. A statement that such taxes are due and payable;
6. A request for payment thereof;
7. Subject to the limitations contained within Subsection D, a notation explaining that a 2% discount is available for all County real property taxes paid before March 31, and a delineation of all penalties and fees that will apply to payments made after May 31; and
8. An example of the wording to whom the payment must be made, but not in the name of an individual only.
B. Each tax bill mailed pursuant to the terms of Subsection A shall include additional information, as follows:
1. An itemized listing of the nature and amount of every abatement, exclusion and exemption applied to each parcel in the tax year for which the bill is issued, including but not limited to the homestead/farmstead exclusion, the senior citizen tax assistance program, the residential visitability design tax credit, catastrophic loss, the clean & green program, any LERTA or TIF schedule, any exemption or abatement for nonprofit or government property owners, or any other abatement, exclusion or exemption that reduces the amount of taxes due on any parcel, regardless of whether such program was in place prior to or authorized after January 1, 2026;
2. The year of the last reassessment or appeal verdict which altered each assessed property’s value;
3. The change from the prior year’s tax bill for each property; and
4. The calculated values of the common level ratio and coefficient of dispersion most recently certified for Allegheny County by the State Tax Equalization Bureau.
C. A separate tax bill shall be issued for each parcel of real property. Such notice shall further designate all places and times at which the taxes shall be paid. Such notice shall be mailed or delivered to the last known post office address of each parcel owner.
D. In the event that any County tax bill is not mailed by January 31 in a given tax year, the Allegheny County Treasurer shall, within two business days, provide notice of the untimely mailing(s) to the Chief Executive, the President of Council, and the public via conspicuous posting on the Treasurer’s website. Such notices shall include the reason(s) for the untimely mailing(s) and an estimate of the date on which the last tax bill will be mailed, and shall be updated within two business days of the final tax bill mailing. In the event of any untimely tax bill mailing:
1. The discount payment deadline established in Subsection A.8. for that tax year shall automatically be deemed extended such that it falls 60 days from the date on which the last tax bill was mailed;
2. The face value payment deadline established in Subsection A.8. for that tax year shall automatically be deemed extended such that it falls 120 days from the date on which the last tax bill was mailed; and
3. The Treasurer shall provide an estimate of the revenue impacts of the revised payment schedule to the Chief Executive and President of Council no later than 30 days from the date on which the last tax bill was mailed, and shall provide revisions of such estimate quarterly throughout that tax year.
E. Upon receipt of payment, the Treasurer shall provide a written receipt to the payor.
1. The Treasurer may require that a self-addressed stamped envelope be included with payment in order to defray the cost of mailing such receipts, provided that notice of this requirement appears conspicuously in each year’s tax bill mailing. In the event that the Treasurer exercises this option, he/she shall not be required to provide written receipts to any taxpayer who does not provide such return envelope.
2. The Treasurer may also offer taxpayers the option of opting into receiving receipts via e-mail or other electronic means rather than receiving a paper receipt. All electronic receipts shall be provided free of any charge to the taxpayer.
Section 3.
The provisions of this Ordinance shall become effective on January 1, 2026.
SECTION 4 If any provision of this Ordinance shall be determined to be unlawful, invalid, void or unenforceable, then that provision shall be considered severable from the remaining provisions of this Ordinance which shall be in full force and effect.
SECTION 5 Any Resolution or Ordinance or part thereof conflicting with the provisions of this Ordinance is hereby repealed so far as the same affects this Ordinance.