Property Tax Lawyers in Erie County

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

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

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

How Property Tax is Calculated in Erie County, Pennsylvania

Most often, property taxes in Erie County, Pennsylvania are simply a set percentage of the property's value. Across the country, state authorities impose a wide range of different tax rates. The highest rates in the country are in the area of 5% of the property's value, and the lowest are less than 1%.

To collect the property tax, the authorities of Erie County, Pennsylvania have to first determine the value of a particular piece of land.

As you probably know, value is not always objective. For instance, the owners of family heirlooms usually 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 this end, the Erie County, Pennsylvania appraiser will look at things like the state of the real estate market, the size of the land, the presence of additions to the land such as buildings, and the way in which the property is zoned.

How A Erie County, Pennsylvania Property Tax Attorney Can Help.

Property tax law in Erie County, Pennsylvania is not always simple. Legal disagreements about property taxes can arise from almost any example. For instance, you might have reason to suspect that the taxable value of your home was overestimated, creating a bigger property tax bill. And, the government might claim that you have underpaid your property taxes, while you think that you have paid the proper amount.

If you are affected by one of these, or any other, property tax legal issues in Erie County, Pennsylvania, you should deal with it properly. If you fail to do so, a relatively minor issue can become much more expensive and inconvenient than it might otherwise have been. So, the assistance of a good tax attorney in Erie County, Pennsylvania is highly useful in avoiding these issues in the first place, or handling them if they do arise.