How Actual Value Initiative will affect Northeast Philadelphia

PlanPhilly staff

June 15, 2012

(A sampling of projected property tax rate changes in Northeast Philadelphia, based on data complied by PPIIN.)

To help balance its budget, the City of Philadelphia is looking to AVI, or, Actual Value Initiative.

The move would base property tax assessments on perceived market values, which means taxes for just about all residents are going to change.

To help determine how AVI will affect neighborhoods around the city, the Philadelphia Public Interest Information Network has compiled data to break down who is expected to pay more and less in property taxes.

City Council reached a deal last night that gives $40 million to the School District of Philadelphia and delays the implementation of AVI for one year. But the Nutter Administration has not yet weighed in on the plan, which is more than $50 million short of what the district had asked for.

Use this map to enter your address and see what your expected property tax will be with AVI.

“In the Northeast, we examined 992 property sales,” PPIIN CEO Neil Budde explained. “Without taking into consideration a Homestead Exemption, 29 percent would pay less tax with a 1.8 percent rate and 71 percent would pay more.”

Homeowners have until July 31 to apply for the exemption, which provides a reduction on their reassessment.

According to the PPIIN data, with a $30,000 Homestead Exemption, nearly 9 percent of residents would pay no tax, while 47 percent would pay less. “Only 44 percent would have taxes rise if the Homestead Exemption is approved at $30,000 level,” Budde said.

Only a handful of the 992 properties examined – one each in Holmesburg and Rhawnhurst, and two in Somerton – have an anticipated $3,000 or more tax increase.

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