How to Appeal Property Taxes in Delaware County, Pennsylvania (2026 Guide)

To appeal in Delaware County in 2026, use the county’s 2027 Annual Assessment Appeal form and get it postmarked by Saturday, August 1, 2026 or hand-delivered by the last county business hours before then to the Delaware County Board of Assessment Appeals, Government Center Building, 201 W. Front St., Media, PA 19063. Delaware County does not accept emailed, faxed, or electronic appeal filings; a residential annual appeal costs $50.

How assessments work in Delaware County

Delaware County is still operating from the countywide reassessment that became effective for the 2021 tax year. The county says the reassessment project began after a 2017 court order, was completed in 2020, and produced new base-year valuations effective in 2021. That matters because your taxable assessment is not automatically reset to your current Zillow value every year; it generally stays on the roll until a countywide reassessment, an interim change, a correction, or a successful appeal.

For 2026 filings, the county’s annual appeal cycle is really for the 2027 assessment year. The Board’s rules say annual appeals are due August 1 of the year preceding the year on appeal. The current residential form is titled “2027 Annual Assessment Appeal — County of Delaware” and states: “Deadline to Appeal: August 1, 2026.”

Delaware County taxes are computed from assessed value. The Treasurer’s current-year tax page gives the county formula as: assessment × county millage rate. For 2026, Delaware County’s adopted budget page states a county property tax rate of 4.609 mills. One mill equals $1 per $1,000 of assessed value, so the county-only tax on a $300,000 assessment is about $1,382.70 before discount/penalty timing. Your full bill also includes your municipality and school district, which often make up most of the total bill.

Also note the Common Level Ratio: the Recorder of Deeds posted that Delaware County’s new 2026–27 CLR factor is 1.83 for documents dated July 1, 2026 or later. Homeowners sometimes use CLR as a reality check against recent sale prices, but at the Board level you should focus on competent proof of fair market value and assessment uniformity.

Whether you should appeal

Appeal if you can show the county’s value is too high, your property data is wrong, or similar homes are assessed more favorably. Do not appeal just because the tax bill is painful; the Board is reviewing assessment, not your ability to pay.

Good Delco evidence usually includes one or more of these:

• A recent arms-length sale of your own property, ideally within one year of the valuation date.
• A Pennsylvania-licensed appraisal. The Board’s rules say an appraisal is not strictly required, but is “strongly recommended.”
• Three to five very similar comparable sales near your home, adjusted for size, condition, location, and date.
• Proof the county record is wrong: finished basement counted when it is not finished, wrong square footage, wrong number of baths, old garage removed, flood/plain or condition issue not reflected, etc.

Do the math before filing. Example: suppose your Delaware County assessment is $425,000, but a recent appraisal and nearby sales support $390,000. The reduction would be $35,000. Using only the 2026 county rate of 4.609 mills, annual county-tax savings would be:

$35,000 × 0.004609 = $161.32 per year

That county-only savings does not include school or municipal taxes. If your combined local + school + county millage is much higher, the real annual savings could be several times larger. But the appeal can also result in the assessment being lowered, raised, or left the same, so do not file with weak evidence.

I found no official Delaware County publication giving current appeal “success rates,” median reductions, or average homeowner savings. Treat any law-firm or tax-consultant success-rate claims as marketing unless they show public records behind the number.

Step-by-step how to file

1. Find your folio number and current assessment. Use the Delaware County Real Estate Tax System linked from the county’s Board of Assessment page. Your folio/property ID looks like the county’s example format: 34-00-05432-01.

2. Choose the correct form. For an owner-occupied house, duplex, triplex, or four-unit residential property, use “2027 Residential Application” / “2027 Annual Assessment Appeal — County of Delaware.” Commercial property uses the commercial form. Exemption appeals use the exemption form. A separate form is required for each folio.

3. Fill in the essentials. Include folio number, owner name, mailing address, phone number, appealed property address, municipality, reason for appeal, and your opinion of value. The form must have an original signature from the owner or a Pennsylvania-licensed attorney. LLCs and corporations must be represented by a Pennsylvania attorney; trusts should include proof of authority.

4. Attach the fee. Residential annual appeals require a $50 processing fee. The form says to make the check or money order payable to Treasurer of Delaware County and that there must be a separate payment for each appeal. The Board rules list $100 for commercial and exemption annual appeals. Interim and reassessment appeals do not require a fee under the rules.

5. File by mail or in person only. Delaware County states: do not fax appeal forms; email/facsimile/electronic filings are not acceptable. Mail or hand-deliver to:

   Delaware County Board of Assessment Appeals
   Government Center Building
   201 West Front Street
   Media, PA 19063

   The Board page says appeals must be mailed or hand-delivered no later than the due date, and timeliness is determined by postmark or the Assessment Office date-stamp. Because August 1, 2026 is a Saturday and county offices are generally open Monday–Friday, hand-deliver by Friday, July 31, 2026, 4:30 p.m. if you do not want to rely on USPS. If mailing, go to a post office counter and request a manual postmark, certificate of mailing, certified/registered mail, or counter-purchased postage.

What happens after

The proper appeal authority is the Delaware County Board of Assessment Appeals. The Board’s rules say notice of the hearing date will be sent to the owner, appellant, attorney listed, and taxing districts at least 20 days before the hearing. The form says all hearings will be held in person, with reasonable accommodations available on timely request; the Board rules also reserve the ability to hold virtual or telephone hearings.

At the hearing, the assessment is presumed correct. You, the appellant, have the burden to bring competent, credible evidence. A homeowner may present their own appeal, or a Pennsylvania attorney may do it. A non-attorney tax consultant or real estate agent cannot present the appeal for you, though an appraiser can appear as a witness. If you do not appear, the rules say the appeal will be dismissed as abandoned.

Bring three copies of any appraisal if you did not already submit it. Be concise: identify the property, state the current assessment, state your requested value, then walk through your best evidence. Avoid arguing that taxes are high countywide; the Board needs valuation evidence for your specific folio.

After the hearing, the Board mails the result to the relevant parties. If you disagree, the county’s Board page says an appeal from the Board’s decision must be made within 30 days from the Board’s issuance of findings to the Delaware County Court of Common Pleas through the Office of Judicial Support. The court appeal has a separate filing fee; the county says to call OJS at 610-891-4388 for details.

Local tips

Check your Homestead/Farmstead status even if you do not appeal. Delaware County says homestead reduces the assessed value used for school property tax, applies to a dwelling used as the owner’s permanent home, and must be requested through your school district during the December 15–March 1 enrollment period. Completed applications go to the Board of Assessment, c/o Homestead Coordinator, 201 W. Front St., Media, PA 19063, and there is no application fee.

If you are age 65+, a widow/widower age 50+, or disabled age 18+, check Pennsylvania’s Property Tax/Rent Rebate program. For 2025 rebates, the state lists income limits up to $48,110 and a deadline of December 31, 2026. This is not an assessment appeal, but it may put cash back in your pocket.

Finally, remember that a Delco appeal opens the property to revaluation. File when your evidence is strong enough that you would be comfortable showing it to the Board and, if necessary, a judge.