Property Tax Lawyers in California

The law of California, Pennsylvania says that everybody who owns real property has to pay taxes on it. The term "real property" refers to land and buildings, as well as anything fixed to the land, like trees and natural resources.

The property tax in California, Pennsylvania is simply a percentage of a piece of property's appraised value, paid to the state and/or local government on a periodic - typically annual - basis.

Federal authorities do not gather a property tax. Only state and local governments gather property taxes, as a general matter.

How Property Tax is Calculated in California, Pennsylvania

Typically, California, Pennsylvania property taxes are decided as a percentage of the property's value. Tax rates differentiate widely, but they normally run from less than 1% up to about 5%.

In order to impose this tax, the government of California, Pennsylvania initially has to decide the taxable value of a piece of property.

As you probably know, value is not always objective. For example, the owners of family heirlooms typically place far more value on them than their objective monetary value. So tax officials have to be careful to only use objective criteria in valuing property for tax purposes.

To that end, the California, Pennsylvania employees in charge of appraising land look at objective facts to measure value, like the size of the land and any buildings on it, the way in which the land may legally be utilized (zoning), and the health of the local real estate market.

How A California, Pennsylvania Property Tax Attorney Can Help.

The system of levying property taxes in California, Pennsylvania can get very complicated. Disagreements about property taxes, between the taxpayer and the tax authorities, can come up in various different ways. A taxpayer may believe that an error was made in calculating their property's taxable value, resulting in bigger tax bill. Additionally, the state or city government might allege that you have failed to pay your property taxes, while you believe that you have.

If you encounter a legal issue with your California, Pennsylvania property taxes, and don't handle it properly, unnecessary inconvenience and expense can result. If you have the advice of a skilled tax attorney in California, Pennsylvania, however, the odds of encountering such a problem will be small.