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(Current through June 2024)
When preparing and filing a Pennsylvania realty transfer tax affidavit, it is necessary to report both the assessed value of the property and the “common level ratio factor,” which is based on the average ratio between the assessed value and fair market value of real estate in that county. If the transfer is not exempt from tax, the tax is based on the greater of (a) the actual consideration for the transfer and (b) the product of the assessed value and the common level ratio factor.
The product of the assessed value of a property and the common level ratio factor for the county is also commonly accepted by the Department of Revenue for inheritance tax purposes when the property is not sold but distributed to beneficiaries.
The common level ratios are calculated by the State Tax Equalization Board based on sales data, and both the common level ratios and factors based on the common level ratios are published each year in the Pennsylvania Bulletin. (The common level ratio factors are the mathematical reciprocals of the common level ratios.)
The table below shows the latest available factors (which are usually published each year in June) and the factors for the previous four years. The factor to apply to a particular transfer is based on the date the document is “accepted,” which is rebuttably presumed to be the date specified in the body of the document as the date of the instrument. (See 61 Pa. Code § 91.102, relating to acceptance of documents.) When two factors are provided in the table for a range of dates, the second one is a revised factor reflecting a change in the assessment ratio or assessment base, and is effective from January 1 of the second year.
| County | 7/1/20 | 7/1/21 | 7/1/22 | 7/1/23 | 7/1/24 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adams | 0.96 | 1.04 | 1.14 | 1.19 | 1.29 |
| Allegheny | 1.14 | 1.23 | 1.57 | 1.83 | 1.90 |
| Armstrong | 3.62 | 2.54 | 2.46 | 2.20 | 2.67 |
| Beaver | 5.52 | 6.06 | 6.76 | 6.80/1.00[19] | 1.00 |
| Bedford | 1.22 | 1.31 | 1.39 | 1.58 | 1.69 |
| Berks | 1.78 | 1.92 | 2.22 | 2.51 | 2.75 |
| Blair | 1.04 | 1.07 | 1.16 | 1.10 | 1.18 |
| Bradford | 3.86 | 3.80 | 4.33 | 4.78 | 5.00 |
| Bucks | 11.24 | 12.05 | 13.70 | 14.93 | 15.87 |
| Butler | 11.63 | 12.66 | 14.08 | 15.38 | 15.63 |
| Cambria | 5.32 | 5.68 | 6.06 | 6.99 | 7.75 |
| Cameron | 3.52 | 3.38 | 4.18 | 4.95 | 4.93 |
| Carbon | 2.96 | 3.33 | 4.12 | 4.81 | 5.03 |
| Centre | 4.13 | 4.29 | 4.67 | 5.41 | 5.65 |
| Chester | 2.13 | 2.22 | 2.53 | 2.78 | 2.95 |
| Clarion | 2.92 | 2.98 | 3.44 | 3.89 | 7.69 |
| Clearfield | 8.20 | 8.70 | 9.90 | 7.52 | 11.49 |
| Clinton | 1.28 | 1.36 | 1.57 | 1.71 | 1.82 |
| Columbia | 4.76 | 5.18 | 5.78 | 6.25 | 6.67 |
| Crawford | 3.85 | 4.13 | 4.69 | 5.24 | 5.56 |
| Cumberland | 1.08 | 1.14 | 1.17 | 1.24 | 1.36 |
| Dauphin | 1.57 | 1.69 | 1.91 | 2.15 | 2.31 |
| Delaware | 2.00/1.00 | 1.00 | 1.37 | 1.52 | 1.63 |
| Elk | 3.70 | 3.68 | 3.98 | 4.55 | 4.63 |
| Erie | 1.16 | 1.23 | 1.41 | 1.58 | 1.72 |
| Fayette | 1.70 | 1.79 | 1.93 | 2.04 | 2.14 |
| Forest | 5.56 | 6.76 | 6.85 | 6.25 | 7.58 |
| Franklin | 9.09 | 9.43 | 10.53 | 11.63 | 12.20 |
| Fulton | 3.08 | 3.29 | 3.76 | 4.35 | 4.37 |
| Greene | 1.91 | 2.04 | 2.19 | 2.58 | 2.39 |
| Huntingdon | 5.56 | 5.71 | 6.54 | 7.19 | 7.35 |
| Indiana | 1.01 | 1.02 | 1.06 | 1.11 | 1.10 |
| Jefferson | 3.12 | 3.13 | 3.66 | 3.92 | 4.27 |
| Juniata | 8.00 | 9.09 | 9.35 | 9.90 | 10.87 |
| Lackawanna | 10.75 | 10.87 | 12.20 | 14.71 | 16.13 |
| Lancaster | 1.20 | 1.28 | 1.47 | 1.66 | 1.77 |
| Lawrence | 1.36 | 1.45 | 1.67 | 1.86 | 1.97 |
| Lebanon | 1.14 | 1.22 | 1.39 | 1.59 | 1.70 |
| Lehigh | 1.28 | 1.38 | 1.57 | 1.76 | 1.88 |
| Luzerne | 1.05 | 1.12 | 1.32 | 1.44 | 1.15 |
| Lycoming | 1.54 | 1.64 | 1.79 | 1.95 | 2.04 |
| McKean | 1.18 | 1.24 | 1.24 | 1.74 | 1.81 |
| Mercer | 6.10 | 6.49 | 6.99 | 7.69 | 8.20 |
| Mifflin | 2.86 | 3.28 | 3.51 | 3.91 | 4.31 |
| Monroe | 1.00 | 1.31 | 1.65 | 1.78 | 2.00 |
| Montgomery | 2.13 | 2.24 | 2.53 | 2.82 | 3.04 |
| Montour | 1.58 | 1.64 | 1.81 | 1.98 | 2.13 |
| Northampton | 3.68 | 4.00 | 4.61 | 5.51 | 5.49 |
| Northumberland | 6.94 | 7.14 | 8.20 | 9.17 | 9.09 |
| Perry | 1.14 | 1.21 | 1.41 | 1.51 | 1.63 |
| Philadelphia | 1.06 | 1.07 | 1.08/1.00 | 1.00 | 1.07 |
| Pike | 5.95 | 6.71 | 8.26 | 9.62 | 9.80 |
| Potter | 3.95 | 4.22 | 4.37 | 5.56 | 5.71 |
| Schuylkill | 3.06 | 3.12 | 3.82 | 4.37 | 4.88 |
| Snyder | 7.09 | 7.52 | 8.40 | 9.52 | 9.52 |
| Somerset | 3.45 | 3.68 | 4.24 | 4.74 | 4.88 |
| Sullivan | 1.68 | 1.71 | 1.81 | 1.96 | 2.21 |
| Susquehanna | 3.89 | 3.95 | 4.52 | 5.10 | 4.61 |
| Tioga | 1.66 | 1.72 | 1.94 | 2.12/1.00[19] | 1.00 |
| Union | 1.52 | 1.60 | 1.80 | 1.92 | 2.01 |
| Venango | 1.32 | 1.37 | 1.52 | 1.74 | 1.79 |
| Warren | 4.41 | 4.83 | 5.26 | 5.88 | 6.45 |
| Washington | 1.17 | 1.15 | 1.19 | 1.33 | 1.39 |
| Wayne | 1.23 | 1.39 | 1.75/1.00 | 1.00 | 1.33 |
| Westmoreland | 7.63 | 8.13 | 9.09 | 10.00 | 10.75 |
| Wyoming | 6.10 | 6.37 | 7.04 | 7.46 | 8.47 |
| York | 1.24 | 1.32 | 1.52 | 1.76 | 1.87 |
[16] Adjusted by the Department of Revenue to reflect a county assessment base change effective 1/1/2021. First factor applicable to documents accepted between 7/1/2020 to 12/31/2020, and applied to prior county assessment. Second factor applicable to documents accepted between 1/1/2021 and 6/30/2021 and applied to new county assessment. 51 Pa.B. 1283 (3/6/2021).
[17] Adjusted by the Department of Revenue to reflect an assessment base change effective January 1, 2023. The first factor applies to documents accepted from July 1, 2022, to December 31, 2022. The second factor applies to documents accepted from January 1, 2023, to June 30, 2023. 53 Pa.B. 1033 (2/18/2023).
[18] Adjusted by the Department of Revenue to reflect an assessment base change effective January 1, 2023. The first factor applies to documents accepted from July 1, 2022, to December 31, 2022. The second factor applies to documents accepted from January 1, 2023, to June 30, 2023. 53 Pa.B. 1888 (4/1/2023).
[19] Adjusted by the Department of Revenue to reflect an assessment base change effective January 1, 2024. The first factor applies to documents accepted from July 1, 2023, to December 31, 2023. The second factor applies to documents accepted from January 1, 2024, to June 30, 2024. 53 Pa.B. 8195 (12/30/2023).
