When the informal route doesn't fix your number — or when you'd rather go straight to a body that can hold a hearing — the formal appeal to the Board of Revision of Taxes is your path. It's more structured than a First Level Review, but it is entirely doable on your own.
The Board of Revision of Taxes (BRT) is an independent board that hears formal challenges to Philadelphia property assessments. It's separate from the Office of Property Assessment (OPA), the agency that sets your value in the first place. That independence is the point: a BRT appeal asks a different set of eyes, outside OPA, to weigh your evidence and decide whether the assessed value should stand.
Because it's formal, the BRT process has a required petition, a firm deadline, and — unlike the informal review — the possibility of a hearing where you present your case in person. It sounds intimidating. In practice, a residential appeal is a calm, records-driven conversation about what your home is really worth.
You don't have to choose one forever. Many owners file an informal First Level Review first because it's quick and free, then escalate to a BRT appeal if OPA declines to move. Others skip straight to the BRT. The two are independent tracks with independent deadlines, so the practical rule is simple: don't let a pending First Level Review lull you into missing the BRT window.
The Board isn't looking for eloquence. It's looking for comparable sales that say your assessment is out of step with the market — and an owner who can point to them clearly.
The formal BRT appeal deadline is generally the first Monday in October of the year before the tax year. Treat that as a strong guideline, not gospel: the exact date can be adjusted, so confirm it on your assessment notice or the Board of Revision of Taxes website for the current year before you plan around it. This is the single most important date in the whole process — miss it and you generally wait a full cycle.
The Board sets the format. Use its current official appeal petition rather than an informal letter of your own — a formal appeal filed on the wrong paperwork can be rejected on procedure alone. The petition asks for your parcel identification, owner details, the value you're contesting, and the value you're requesting.
This is where appeals are won or lost. A strong packet centers on comparable sales — recent sales of genuinely similar homes near you, matched on size, age, type, and condition. Add documentation of any condition problems that drag your value down, and flag any factual errors in your OPA record such as wrong square footage or an incorrect unit count. Close with the specific value you're requesting and a one-paragraph explanation of how your evidence supports it. Our evidence guide breaks down each category, and the appeal packet walkthrough shows how it all fits together.
Submit the completed petition and supporting evidence the way the Board's instructions specify, on or before your confirmed deadline. Keep a full copy of everything. If you're mailing, use a tracked option so you can prove it arrived on time.
The Board schedules a hearing. Prepare by organizing your comparables in the order you'll present them, tabbing your strongest sales, and rehearsing a two-minute version of your case. You'll state what your property is assessed at, show what similar homes sold for, note any condition or record issues, and ask for your requested value. Stay factual and let the comparables do the arguing. If you want to know exactly who's in the room and how the session flows, read what to expect at a BRT hearing.
After the hearing, the Board issues a written decision. If it lowers your value, the change flows through to your tax bill. If you disagree with the outcome, you generally have a further right of appeal to the Court of Common Pleas within the time the law allows — a step most residential owners never need, but one worth knowing exists.
The formal appeal is procedure plus research. The procedure you can follow from the list above; the research is the part that makes people reach for a paid consultant. TaxAssessmentIQ handles that half — it pulls your live OPA record, finds real comparable sales, tells you whether the gap is worth the filing, and assembles a BRT-ready packet you can drop into the petition. You keep control and file it yourself, keeping 100% of any savings. No tool can guarantee an appeal will win, but showing up with tight comparables and the right value is what a winning appeal looks like.
The formal BRT appeal deadline is generally the first Monday in October of the year before the tax year. Because it can shift, confirm the exact date on your assessment notice or the Board of Revision of Taxes website for the current year before you rely on it.
A First Level Review is an informal reconsideration handled inside the Office of Property Assessment and decided on paper. A BRT appeal is a formal petition to the independent Board of Revision of Taxes and can include a hearing where you present evidence.
No. Owners can file and present a residential BRT appeal themselves. Some people hire representation for complex commercial properties or large portfolios, but a straightforward home appeal does not require a lawyer.
Bring your comparable sales, any documentation of condition problems or record errors, and a clear statement of the value you are requesting. Organize it so you can walk through your case step by step.
Yes. If you disagree with the Board's decision, you can generally take the matter to the Court of Common Pleas within the time the law allows. Most residential owners do not need to go that far.
TaxAssessmentIQ gives you a free, honest verdict from the City's own recorded sales — just enter your address, no sign-up and no account. If your home looks over-assessed, you can get a ready-to-file appeal packet for a flat, one-time price, backed by a money-back guarantee. If it isn't worth filing, we tell you that too — for free, before you pay anything.