The Break On Your Tax Bill
53 Pa.C.S. 8584 — a homestead exclusion application by March 1, and 53 Pa.C.S. 8586 — a limit of one-half the median
March 1. An owner seeking to have property approved as homestead property files an application with the assessor not later than March 1 of each year. In a city of the first class, the deadline is a date the governing body sets, no later than December 1 of the year before the exclusion first applies.
Notice of the deadline. The assessor gives sufficient public notice of the applications and the filing deadlines, and makes applications available at least 75 days before the deadline, or 60 days in a city of the first class.
How large it can be. No governing body authorizes a homestead exclusion larger than one-half of the median assessed value of homestead property in the political subdivision, and a governing body may not raise its millage rate to pay for the exclusions.
Other exemptions and credits, and the forms and proof the assessor asks for, are set out in other sections that are not on this page. Whether a particular home qualifies is a question for the assessor's office or a licensed Pennsylvania attorney.
Sources for this section (2)
- 53 Pa.C.S. 8584 — Homestead exclusion applications and the March 1 deadline
- 53 Pa.C.S. 8586 — Limit on the homestead exclusion
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Pennsylvania attorney.