Bought in the North Allegheny area recently? Do this math before September 1
Allegheny County's assessment ratio dropped again for 2027, and it quietly changed who benefits from a tax appeal. One number tells you whether you're overpaying — or whether the school district is about to come after your assessment. The deadline is September 1, 2026.
If you bought a house in McCandless, Franklin Park, Marshall Township, or Bradford Woods in the last couple of years, there's a five-minute calculation worth doing before September 1, 2026. It's the deadline to file a property assessment appeal for the 2027 tax year, and this year the math has shifted in a direction most homeowners don't expect.
Why Allegheny County assessments are strange
Allegheny County hasn't done a countywide reassessment since 2012. Your assessed value is still anchored to what your house was thought to be worth that year — which, for most of the North Hills, is well below what it would sell for today.
To bridge that gap, Pennsylvania publishes a Common Level Ratio (CLR) each year: the figure that converts a property's current market value into a taxable assessed value. If a house is worth $600,000 today and the CLR is 49.3%, its "fair" assessment under the current system is about $295,800.
Here's the part that changed. The CLR has been falling:
- 2026 tax year: 50.14%
- 2027 tax year: 49.3%
A lower ratio means a lower taxable assessment for the same sale price. That's good for owners — and it's precisely why school districts have gotten more aggressive on the other side of the ledger.
The one number that matters
Take what you paid for your house. Multiply by 0.493. Compare that to your current assessed value — you can look it up free on the county's real estate portal.
- Assessment is higher than that number? You are likely over-assessed and paying more than the current formula says you should. An appeal is worth investigating.
- Assessment is lower than that number? You're in the zone where a school district has a financial incentive to appeal your property and raise it.
That second scenario is what people around here call the "newcomer appeal." Districts scan recent sales and appeal properties whose carried-over assessment sits well below what the buyer actually paid. It's legal, it's common, and it's been happening in this county for over two decades — between 2015 and 2021, districts across Allegheny County roughly tripled the number of appeals they filed.
What it's worth in real dollars
Millage in the North Allegheny district for the 2026 county tax year, adding school, municipal, and county together:
| Municipality | Municipal | School | County | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| McCandless | 1.236 | 19.74 | 6.43 | 27.406 |
| Marshall Township | 1.42 | 19.74 | 6.43 | 27.590 |
| Franklin Park | 2.59 | 19.74 | 6.43 | 28.760 |
| Bradford Woods | 3.375 | 19.74 | 6.43 | 29.545 |
Say you bought in Marshall Township for $700,000. At the 2027 ratio, the formula assessment is $700,000 × 0.493 = $345,100.
- If you're carrying an assessment of $420,000, you're $74,900 above the line. At 27.59 mills that's roughly $2,066 a year you may not owe.
- If you're assessed at $300,000, you're $45,100 below it. If the district appeals and wins, your bill goes up about $1,244 a year.
Same house, same purchase price. Which side of that line you're on is worth knowing before someone else does the math for you.
The honest caveat
An appeal is not free money, and I'd be doing you a disservice to pitch it that way.
Filing opens your assessment to review, and the board can move it in either direction. If you're already sitting comfortably below 49.3% of market value, filing an appeal can invite exactly the increase you were hoping to avoid. That's the main reason to run the number before you file rather than filing on principle.
There's also a live legal question here. Appealing properties specifically because they recently sold raises real concerns under the Pennsylvania Constitution's Uniformity Clause, and that argument has been fought over in this county for years. Where it lands is above my pay grade — I sell houses, I'm not an attorney — but it's a reason to talk to one who does assessment work rather than winging it.
A wrinkle specific to Wexford
"Wexford" is a mailing address, not a municipality, and it does not tell you your school district.
A Wexford 15090 address can sit in Marshall Township or McCandless — North Allegheny — or in Pine Township, which is Pine-Richland. Different district, different millage, different budget, different appeal posture. I've watched buyers assume the zip code settled the question and be genuinely surprised at closing.
If you're not certain which district and municipality your deed actually falls in, check before you do any of the math above. Every number in this post changes depending on the answer.
What to actually do
- Look up your current assessed value on the Allegheny County real estate portal.
- Multiply your purchase price by 0.493.
- Compare. If your assessment is meaningfully higher, talk to an assessment attorney about appealing before September 1.
- If it's meaningfully lower, know that you may hear from the district, and understand what that would cost you.
Filing is free, and appeals can be submitted online, by email, by mail, or in person.
If you want help finding recent comparable sales on your street to see where you actually stand, send me your address. Pulling comps is the part I'm genuinely useful for, and it costs you nothing.
Sources: Pietragallo Gordon Alfano Bosick & Raspanti (2027 CLR of 49.3%, September 1, 2026 deadline) · Allegheny County Treasurer (2026 municipal and school millage) · Allegheny Institute for Public Policy (2026 appeal volume) · PublicSource (district appeal history and Uniformity Clause questions).
This is general information about how the assessment system works, not legal or tax advice, and it is not a valuation of any particular property. Millage rates change — North Allegheny's 2026–27 budget raises the school levy to 20.4309 mills — so confirm current figures with the county and your municipality before relying on them. For an actual appeal, consult an attorney who handles Allegheny County assessments.