$900 Million  Available to Cut Property Taxes for Millions of Pennsylvanians Over the Next Five Years.

Today, Governor Josh Shapiro’s Administration formally certified that a record $900 million will be available for statewide property tax relief through the Department of Education and local school districts. As is required by Act 1 of 2006, Secretary of the Budget Uri Monson certified that this record amount of relief is sustainable for at least the next five years – and local districts will be required to pass this funding on to local taxpayers.

For the past several years, the Property Tax Relief Fund has been robust enough to provide $750 million in statewide property tax relief. However, thanks to strong revenues and conservative projections from the Office of the Budget, the Shapiro Administration is able to make available a historic amount of state funding for property tax relief. Today’s announcement means that an additional $150 million will be available per year, for each of the next 5 years to help cut taxes and lower costs for Pennsylvanians.

In accordance with Act 1 of 2006, school districts are required to pass 100 percent of this funding on to its taxpayers. Often, that is done by increasing the homestead exemption, which lowers property taxes by reducing the taxable assessed value of the home. For example, if a home is assessed at $50,000 and the homestead exclusion is $5,000, then the homeowner only pays taxes on an assessed value of $45,000. School districts often use the funding announced by the Shapiro Administration today to increase the homestead exclusion, which in effect, means homeowners have a smaller tax burden and are required to pay less in property taxes.

The Pennsylvania Department of Education will notify each school district of its property tax reduction allocation no later than May 1, 2024, which will allow every school district to reduce the property tax burden on its citizens. The amount allocated to each school district will be available at education.pa.gov at that time.

“As I’ve traveled across Pennsylvania, I’ve heard from so many homeowners who are struggling with the burden of high property taxes – and that’s why I’ve been focused on cutting costs and delivering real relief for them,” said Governor Josh Shapiro. “Thanks to our smart, sound fiscal management, we are providing a record amount of property tax relief to millions of homeowners all across our Commonwealth, and I will continue working to bring people together in Harrisburg to cut costs and keep putting more money back in Pennsylvanians’ pockets.”

In addition to $900 million for statewide property tax relief, the Shapiro Administration also certified that $175.6 million is available to support the historic expansion of the Property Tax/Rent Rebate program. Last year, Governor Shapiro and legislative leaders in both parties worked together to expand the program and pass the largest targeted tax cut for seniors in nearly two decades.

Today’s announcement builds on the Shapiro Administration’s strong record of sound fiscal management and work to cut costs and lower taxes for Pennsylvanians. Thanks in part to those policies, all three major credit rating agencies affirmed the Commonwealth’s responsible budgetary management. In December, Secretary Monson announced that the Commonwealth conducted a successful bond sale of approximately $1.3 billion in new GO Bonds, saving taxpayers nearly $100 million on debt service savings over the life of the bonds – and in January, Secretary Monson released the Commonwealth’s first-ever debt management policy, providing the Commonwealth and the public with predictable, consistent policies.

In addition to expanding the Property Tax/Rent Rebate program in his first year, Governor Shapiro secured a major expansion of the Pennsylvania Child and Dependent Care Enhancement Tax Credit, helping to make childcare more affordable for over 200,000 Pennsylvania families and increasing the maximum state credit from $630 to $2,100 for Pennsylvania families.

In his 2024-25 budget proposal, Governor Shapiro called for further action to deliver real relief for Pennsylvanians, including:

• $50 million for the Whole Home Repairs program, to continue to provide direct assistance to homeowners and keep more families in their homes.
• $4 million for medical debt relief for low-income Pennsylvanians and calls for healthcare providers to implement transparent practices to limit medical debt from being incurred in the first place.