Assessment and market value are not the same number.

File the Board of Assessment appeal form — postmarked on or before August 1 for an annual appeal taking effect the following tax year — with the non-refundable $75.00 filing fee per parcel (check to Bucks County Board of Assessment; no faxes). Submit market-value evidence such as comparable sales or an appraisal; a settlement sheet alone is not sufficient. Interim appeals follow the date printed on an assessment revision notice instead. Source: the county's residential appeal form.

Bucks County assessed values reflect a base-year system rather than current market prices, so assessments sit at a small fraction of market value and millage rates are correspondingly high. What matters for fairness is whether YOUR assessment is out of line relative to comparable properties — that ratio, not the raw number, is what an appeal examines.

Pennsylvania's homestead/farmstead exclusion reduces the assessed value used for the school tax bill on an owner-occupied primary residence. Apply through the Bucks County Board of Assessment — the filing deadline is March 1 — using the application posted on buckscountyboa.org. It stays in place until ownership or use changes.

Use the county's public property search at buckscountyboa.org (search by owner, address, or parcel). The record shows the current assessment used by all three taxing bodies. Pair it with the millage table on our taxes page to estimate the annual bill: assessed value × mills ÷ 1,000.

Compare your assessment against recent sales of similar homes run through the same assessment ratio. If your implied market value is meaningfully above what the home would sell for, the $75 filing fee can pay for itself many times over — school millage alone exceeds 120 mills in every district. If it's close, the board can also raise assessments on appeal, so gather evidence first.