Many York County nonprofits benefit from real estate tax exemption for properties owned and used by in furtherance of their missions. These exemptions can often save a nonprofit from six figures or more in annual tax expense that can otherwise be allocated to achieving the nonprofit’s mission.

However, these exemptions are not without limitations structured by Pennsylvania statute and case law. The York County Tax Assessment Office has begun efforts to identify those potential limitations and scale back the amount of exemptions for nonprofits within the County. As a result, the Assessment Office has sent out a large number of change in assessment notices to nonprofits which alter the extent of the exemption and/or the assessed value of the property.

Nonprofits will only have forty (40) days from the mailing date of the notice of reassessment to appeal the decision. There are many factors to weigh in the decision to appeal the notice of reassessment, which requires a fact-specific inquiry based on Pennsylvania statute and case law.

If deciding to appeal, you are required to timely submit an appeal form to the York County Board of Assessment Appeals and meet the criteria under Pennsylvania law and statute, like the Purely Public Charity Act, 10 P.S. § 371, et seq. during a hearing.

If you are a nonprofit owning property in York County, be on the lookout for a notice of reassessment and be aware of the impending appeal deadline. If you have questions about the reassessment, appeal process, factors to consider before appealing, or any other questions related to real estate tax exemption, please contact Justin A. Tomevi or Katelyn Rohrbaugh Lewis.