Property Tax Advice (Pittsburgh, York, Lebanon: environment, relocation, real estate)

[ES86]

Hello. I am in the process of looking to buy a house and have been trying to compare tax rates for Allegheny and the other surrounding counties (Butler, Westmoreland, etc). I know that Allegheny has higher taxes, but how much higher? And, how much lower are the other counties?

Are they higher for property And income taxes?

I also heard about City of Pittsburgh property taxes. How high are these taxes? Is it better to avoid living in the City of Pittsburgh or are the City taxes not a big deal.


Thank you.

[guylocke]

I'm sure you will get a lot of help on these forums. I don't have exact numbers, but I am from Westmoreland County and I know I see flocks of people leaving Allegheny County each year and crossing the river to Westmoreland.

Butler and Armstrong are also definitely lower than Allegheny. Although recently I heard Cranberry Township (in Butler) is raising taxes, so I'm not sure if that is Cranberry specific or County- wide.

Depending how close you want to be to Pittsburgh, I might check out Greensburg, the capital seat of Westmoreland county. There are some really spectacular neighborhoods around there and the taxes are right.

[PghREA]

Allegheny County has the highest taxes. There isn't enough difference in the millage rates between the municipalities that make up the county to make "property taxes" a deciding factor for where you live.

Westmoreland, Butler, Beaver and Washington counties have lower property tax rates. But it is only a matter of time before those counties reassess.

[ES86]

What about income taxes? I know that City of Pittsburgh is 3%. But what are they outside of the City of Pittsburgh or in the other surrounding counties if we still working in the City of Pittsburgh, but living outside of it?

thank you.

[Hopes]

The suburban townships in Allegheny County generally have a 1% income tax. I believe the surrounding counties are the same.

I did some research on Washington County in another thread and discovered that the millage for school tax was higher in Peter's Township, Washington County, compared to Mt. Lebanon, Allegheny County.

We never got to the bottom of why people think the taxes are less there. Someone thought that perhaps the high millage was only applied to a percentage of the assessment value in Peter's Township. If it's not then the taxes are outrageous down there.

What I'm trying to explain is that simply looking at the millage rates might not give you an accurate idea of taxes. You need to call the actual counties and townships to ask how they actually apply the millage to calcuate the tax.

[trlstreet]

I guess it depends on where you will be working. If I was going to be working somewhere on the outside of Allegheny County I might consider the higher taxes. But if I were working anywhere in the city, the lower taxes would be a tradeoff w/ a longer commute.

I currently reside in York, Pa, which has a much higher property tax rate w/ none of the benefits that living in Pittsburgh brings. It gave me a different perspective on Pittsburgh taxes!

[JudyatPit]

We are going to have our first baby by the end of this year and we are also looking for our first home now.
Because of our first baby, there will be only one income for the rest of this year and the next one or two years and one income can not afford a good school district decent house at all!!!

I have some friends who live in their own houses in other cities. Their houses value increase from a bit to a lot. I've searched the estate market/history in Pit and realised owing a house here is like a luxary stuff like a car. It would be nice if you could keep the house value after 5, 10 or 20 years. To earn some , like a dream, not to mention the limited job opportunities here. The fact and truth is ppl are moving out , not moving in.

The property tax is high, and we are also afraid that they increase the income tax. I think the root is that the economic in Pit is not that ...

Anyway our plan is my husband to get a higher pay job in another city with more opportunities and we'll move out Pit then. The relocation package hopfully will cover our lose of selling house in a short time.

Besides the economic , the total environment of Pit like the spirits , ppl's minds ,etc is not that active , open and energy, not for young ppl. We once loved this city a lot, but this one-of -most -livable city maybe good for us when we retire.

[gallacus]

Here I go again with controversial articles, but the following is an article that describes that living downtown is cheaper than you may think. Granted, it is written by a magazine whose intent is promoting Pittsburgh, but never-the-less worth a look.

Pop City - Downtown Living - More Affordable Than You Think

As far as my own observations living on the South side, my taxes are not that bad. Houses here that are in the 300k range are only paying around 3500/yr in combined property/school taxes. When performing the calculations using the millage rates, you have to remember that these are applied to your house's assessed value by the city, not the sale value or your appraised value. While other people may want to offer their comments on this process, my house was assessed at less than a third of the sale value, so I am paying less than a third of what I expected when I used my sale value in the calculations.

To see what I am talking about, check out Allegheny County's Real Estate website and peruse the properties in the different neighborhoods, you can see what they are actually paying in taxes each year. There is a several million dollar house on Mt. Washington that pays less than $6000/yr in taxes.

http://www2.county.allegheny.pa.us/R...ate/search.asp

FYI: South Side is the 17th Ward

[Drover]

Originally Posted by PghREA

Allegheny County has the highest taxes. There isn't enough difference in the millage rates between the municipalities that make up the county to make "property taxes" a deciding factor for where you live.

I beg to differ. The total millage rates (city, county and school taxes combined) in Allegheny County can vary as much as 3,000 per year per $100,000 of assessed value. That can add up right quick. Also worth considering is whether or not you're actually getting your money's worth. I'd say in the cases of Duquesne and Wilkinsburg, where the combined rate is well over $5,000 per $100,000 of assessed value, the answer is clearly "no."

[bboy36win]

Originally Posted by gallacus

Allegheny County Assessment

Interesting page. I can't help but feel nosy when using it, though I know this is a matter of public record.

Anyway, one note: When you select a property and look at the taxes paid section (on the third tab, "Tax Information"), I believe the amount shown represents the county property tax paid in the respective years. The amount that the homeowner paid in school and city property taxes would have to be computed using the total assessed value (on the first tab, "General Information") times the appropriate millage rates, which are available on a different page on the Allegheny County website.

I'm pretty sure I have that right. (Please tell me if I don't).
Thanks.