Delaware County Property Taxes: How Your Bill Works and How to Lower It

Property taxes are the part of the Delco housing payment people underestimate most. Two houses at the same price, a mile apart, can carry tax bills that differ by thousands of dollars a year, and that difference lands in your monthly mortgage payment because your lender collects it in escrow. I've watched buyers fall in love with a house, run the numbers on the price, and never look at the tax line until the Loan Estimate shows up.

This page explains how the bill is built, why it varies so much, and the two things most homeowners can actually do about it. I'm a real estate agent, not a tax advisor or attorney, so think of this as how the system works, not advice on your specific bill. For that, talk to a tax professional or the county.

The Three Layers of a Delco Tax Bill

Every property in Delaware County is taxed by three different bodies, and each one sets its own rate:

Delaware County. Funds county government, courts, and services.
Your municipality. Your township, borough, or city. Funds police, roads, parks, and local services.
Your school district. Usually the biggest piece of the bill by a wide margin.

Each body's rate is expressed in mills. One mill is $1 of tax for every $1,000 of assessed value. Add up the county, municipal, and school millage for your address, multiply by your assessed value, divide by 1,000, and that's your annual bill (before any homestead exclusion).

A purely illustrative example: a house assessed at $300,000 in a place where the three rates add up to 30 mills would owe $9,000 a year. Those numbers are made up to show the math, not taken from any specific town. Actual millage rates are set every year and vary a lot across the county.

Why Your Neighbor One Town Over Pays Something Different

Because the school district is the biggest layer, the district line matters more than almost anything else. Delco has 49 municipalities and 15 school districts, and some districts cover one township while others cover several boroughs. Two houses can sit on the same street and land in different districts, which is one reason I wrote a whole post on figuring out which school district you're actually in.

So when you compare houses, compare the actual tax bills, not just the prices. The listing usually shows the annual taxes, and the county's real estate tax system lets you look up any address. A cheaper house with a higher tax bill can cost more per month than a pricier one with a lower bill.

School districts are also limited in how much they can raise taxes each year. Pennsylvania's Act 1 caps increases at a state index unless the district qualifies for an exception or voters approve more in a referendum. That keeps year-to-year jumps modest in most years, but it doesn't erase the gaps between districts.

The 2021 Reassessment and What Your Assessment Means

Delaware County completed a countywide reassessment, and the new assessed values took effect on January 1, 2021, according to the county. Before that, assessments hadn't been redone in decades, so plenty of homeowners saw their assessment change significantly, up or down, compared with their neighbors.

A few things about your assessment that confuse people:

It isn't what your house would sell for today. Assessments were set as of the reassessment and don't move with the market every year. A house that sold for well above its assessment doesn't automatically get reassessed.
Improvements can change it. Work that adds square footage, like an addition or a finished space, can trigger an interim assessment. My page on whether to refinance, renovate, or move covers what to ask before you build.
Taxing bodies can appeal too. Under the county's assessment rules, school districts and other taxing bodies can file appeals, not just owners. If you buy a house for far more than its assessed value, it's worth knowing that an appeal from the district is possible.

The Homestead Exclusion: Make Sure You Filed

This is the easy money, and a lot of new buyers miss it. If the house is your primary residence, you can apply for the homestead exclusion, which lowers the assessed value the school district taxes you on. It only reduces the school portion of the bill, not the county or municipal portion, and how much it saves depends on your district.

Here's how it works, per the county's homestead page:

Who qualifies: owners for whom the house is their permanent home. Generally that means the address where you live, vote, and have your driver's license.
Where to get the form: your school district. There's no fee.
Deadline: March 1. Applications are accepted from December 15 through March 1 for the following tax year, so if you close in the fall, file that winter.
Check your status: look up your address in the county's real estate tax system, which shows your homestead status for the current and next school bill.

If you bought recently and aren't sure the previous owner's homestead status carried over to you, check. It's tied to the owner, not the house.

Appealing Your Assessment

If you think your assessment is too high compared with what your house is worth, you can appeal it to the Delaware County Board of Assessment. Based on the Board's rules and regulations:

Annual appeal deadline: August 1 of the year before the tax year you're appealing. It must be hand-delivered or postmarked by that date. Fax and email aren't accepted.
Fee: $50 for a residential annual appeal, non-refundable.
Interim assessments: if you get a notice that your assessment changed, you have 40 days from the date on the notice to appeal, with no fee.

Be honest with yourself before you file. An appeal opens your assessment to review, and the result can go up as well as down. The Board compares your assessment to your house's market value, adjusted by a state ratio, so the evidence that matters is recent sales of truly comparable houses. Many homeowners hire a tax appeal attorney or an appraiser for this. If you want to know what comparable houses near you have sold for, that part I can help with.

When the Bills Come and How Buyers Pay Them

In most Delco towns, county and municipal bills go out early in the year, and school bills go out around July 1. Each bill usually has a discount period for paying early, a face period, and a penalty period after that. Dates and who collects vary by municipality, so check with your local tax collector.

If you have a mortgage with an escrow account, your lender pays the bills and spreads the cost across your monthly payment. Two things catch new buyers off guard:

Proration at settlement. Taxes are split between buyer and seller at closing based on who owns the house for which part of the tax year. If the seller already paid a full year's bill, you'll reimburse them for your share on the settlement statement.
The escrow catch-up. Lenders set your escrow based on the current bill. If your taxes go up, or the first estimate was low, your payment can rise at the annual escrow review. Ask your lender which bill they used to set it.

To see how taxes change the full monthly payment, look at my page on Delaware County mortgage rates, which walks through a payment with the tax piece included.

Help for Older Homeowners

Pennsylvania's Property Tax/Rent Rebate Program gives a yearly rebate to qualifying older homeowners and renters and some homeowners with disabilities, with income limits. It's run by the state Department of Revenue, and it's worth checking if you or a parent might qualify. Some municipalities and school districts have their own programs too, so ask your tax collector.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why are Delaware County property taxes so high?

Pennsylvania relies heavily on property taxes to fund schools, and the school district portion is usually the largest part of a Delco bill. How high yours is depends mostly on which school district and municipality you're in, which is why bills vary so much across the county.

Will my taxes go up if I buy a house for more than its assessed value?

Not automatically. In Pennsylvania, a sale doesn't trigger a new assessment by itself. But school districts and other taxing bodies are allowed to appeal assessments, so a purchase price well above the assessment can draw one. Ask your agent or attorney how common that's been in the district you're buying in.

How do I apply for the homestead exclusion?

Get the application from your school district and file it by March 1. There's no fee. It only lowers the school portion of your bill, and it only applies to your primary residence.

When is the deadline to appeal my assessment?

August 1 for a regular annual appeal, which applies to the following tax year. If you received a notice of a changed assessment, the deadline is 40 days from the date on that notice.

Which Delco towns have the lowest property taxes?

It changes as millage rates are set each year, and the lowest rates don't always mean the lowest bills, because assessments differ too. Compare the actual annual tax on the specific houses you're considering. Each town and school district page on this site is a good starting point for the area itself.

Questions About a Specific House?

If you're comparing houses in different towns, send them to me and I'll put the actual tax bills side by side with the rest of the monthly payment. Get in touch here. If you're thinking about selling, start with the home valuation page, and for the bigger picture, read my Delaware County housing market update.

More guides: mortgage rates, refinance, renovate, or move, and the full list of Delaware County real estate guides.

This page explains how Delaware County property taxes generally work and is not tax, legal, or financial advice. Deadlines, fees, and rules come from the county sources linked above and can change; confirm them with the Delaware County Board of Assessment, your school district, or your local tax collector. For advice on your own situation, consult a tax professional or attorney.

Ben Hill
Licensed Real Estate Agent in Pennsylvania and Delaware | Premier Property Sales and Rentals | 192 Saxer Avenue, Springfield, PA 19064 | 484-442-0295