If your assessment feels too high, you have a real, time-limited path to challenge it. Here's exactly how the Philadelphia appeal process works, start to finish.
Your assessed value is a mass-appraisal model's estimate of your property's market value, produced by the Office of Property Assessment (OPA) — not a guaranteed-accurate figure. Mass appraisal applies a standardized model across hundreds of thousands of parcels at once, which means it can miss recent comparable sales, condition issues specific to your property, or errors in the underlying property record like incorrect square footage or unit count.
Compare your assessed value against recent, genuinely comparable sales nearby — similar size, age, condition, and location, sold within the past year or two if possible. A meaningful gap between your assessment and what similar properties actually sold for is the core of any appeal. The more comparable the sales, the stronger the case.
Proximity matters, but so does similarity in size, age, construction type, and condition. A recently renovated property a block away is a weaker comparable than an unrenovated property of similar age and size, even if it's slightly farther.
Philadelphia offers a First Level Review (an informal request that OPA reconsider your assessment) and a formal appeal to the Board of Revision of Taxes (BRT), which has its own filing deadlines and evidentiary format each year. A First Level Review is generally faster and less formal; a BRT appeal is the more structured path if the informal review doesn't resolve the issue.
The people who win appeals aren't the ones with the strongest case — they're the ones who actually file, with the right comparables, before the deadline.
A strong appeal packet includes comparable sales data, photos or documentation of any condition issues affecting value, and a clear, specific statement of the value you believe is accurate — formatted the way the Board expects rather than as an informal letter.
Appeal deadlines are strict and typically fall shortly after assessment notices go out each year. Missing the window usually means waiting until the next assessment cycle, which could mean another full year of paying based on a number you believe is wrong.
Depending on the path you choose, you may receive a written response adjusting or upholding your assessment, or be scheduled for a hearing where you can present your evidence directly. Understanding which outcome to expect helps you prepare accordingly.
It pulls your live OPA record, compares it against real comparable sales automatically, tells you whether an appeal is likely worth filing, and generates a BRT-ready packet — so steps 2 through 5 take minutes instead of a weekend of manual research.
It depends entirely on the gap between your assessment and actual market value — there's no universal number, which is exactly why checking your specific property matters.
No, property owners can file a First Level Review or BRT appeal themselves. Some owners do hire representation for complex commercial properties or large portfolios.
You'll generally need to wait for the next assessment cycle, so checking early is worth the few minutes it takes.
Yes, in principle — but it only makes sense to appeal when there's a genuine, evidence-backed gap between your assessment and market value.
It's uncommon for a routine appeal to result in an increase, but the review process does consider the full record, so it's worth being confident in your comparables before filing.
For the bigger picture, see our Property Intelligence Guide.