2008 Luzerne County Countywide Reassessment

Luzerne County is in the process of reassessing all commercial and residential properties located within Luzerne County for the first time since the early 1960s.  The purpose of this reassessment process is to attempt to accurately value all such properties for real estate tax assessment purposes for the 2009 tax year and thereafter.  Specifically, the higher the assessed value of a property, the greater the amount of school, county and municipal real estate taxes that the property's owner will have to pay.  Because the amount of real estate taxes a property owner will have to be pay is directly based upon the property's assessed value, the property's owner should make sure that the property's assessed value is accurate.  Although some owners may see their real estate taxes remain the same as a result of this process, many other property owners whose properties have not been reassessed since the early 1960s are expected to see their real estate taxes increase substantially.

Currently, Luzerne County anticipates that it will be sending reassessment notices to all property owners in Luzerne County commencing in April of 2008.  Although details are still being finalized, it is anticipated that all property owners will be given a period of thirty days within which to have an informal meeting with representatives of the reassessment company to correct any errors or discrepancies in a property's reassessment.  If the informal meeting fails to address any errors or discrepancies to the owner's satisfaction, the owner can file a formal appeal with the Luzerne County Board of Assessment Appeals within this initial thirty day period.  However, owners should be aware that any appeals that are filed with the Board after this thirty day appeal period has expired will not be effective for the 2009 tax year even if the owners had an informal meeting with the reassessment company within this thirty day appeal period.  If an owner does file a timely appeal with the Board, a hearing will then be scheduled before members of the Board at which the owner could present evidence as to the property's fair market value.  If the owner is not satisfied with the Board's decision, the owner could then appeal the Board's decision to the Court of Common Pleas.

We here at Rosenn, Jenkins & Greenwald, L.L.P. have successfully represented both residential and commercial landowners in the filing and prosecuting of tax assessment appeals for many years.  This experience enables us to effectively and professionally represent property owners in all aspects of the countywide reassessment process.  For this reason, we would welcome the opportunity to answer any questions that you may have regarding the countywide reassessment process or your property's tax assessment.