Office of Property Assessment
| Office of Property Assessment (OPA) | |
|---|---|
| Type | City agency within the Finance cluster |
| Led by | Chief Assessment Officer James Aros Jr. (as of June 2026) |
| Properties valued | More than 580,000 |
| FY27 General Fund | $21.97 million (adopted) |
| Appeals body | Board of Revision of Taxes (after OPA First Level Review) |
| Address | 601 Walnut St., Suite 300 W., Philadelphia, PA 19106 |
| Website | phila.gov/departments/office-of-property-assessment; property.phila.gov |
The Office of Property Assessment (OPA) determines what every piece of property in Philadelphia is worth for tax purposes. Those market values, multiplied by the combined City and School District real estate tax rate, produce the bills that Revenue mails each year, so OPA's work underpins a large part of the budget for both the City and the School District of Philadelphia. The office reports to the Director of Finance. Its Chief Assessment Officer as of June 2026 was James Aros Jr.[1]
1 What OPA does
OPA values more than 580,000 properties using computer-assisted mass appraisal (CAMA) technology, imagery and market data.[1] It maintains the public property database at property.phila.gov, which shows ownership, sales history, valuation and physical characteristics. It also processes applications for the Homestead Exemption, tax abatements (see Tax Abatement and Development Incentives), nonprofit tax exemptions, lot line changes and catastrophic loss adjustments.[2] OPA does not set tax rates; those come from City Council for the City share and from the School District's approved budget and Council action for the schools' share. The combined real estate tax rate has been 1.3998 percent of assessed value, split between the City and the School District, with the split adjusted over time.[3] Since the Actual Value Initiative, which took effect for tax year 2014, assessments are meant to reflect full market value rather than a fraction of it.
2 Relationship to the Board of Revision of Taxes
Historically the independent Board of Revision of Taxes (BRT) both valued property and heard appeals. After disputes in 2010 between the Nutter administration and the BRT over reassessment, valuation was moved to OPA, and the BRT now serves as the appellate body.[4] The City's current description is that OPA sets values and handles First Level Review, and the BRT is the next level of appeal.[5] The separation matters for residents: the office that set the value is not the one that decides whether it was wrong.
3 The Tax Year 2027 reassessment
OPA began mailing Notices of Valuation for Tax Year 2027 on June 29, 2026. The new values take effect January 1, 2027. The City reported that the citywide median valuation change was about 3 percent compared with the 2025 tax year and that the estimated change in the real estate tax bill for the median-valued residential property was approximately $97.[1] The City had skipped a reassessment for Tax Year 2026, and a plan for annual reassessments announced earlier was not carried out in that form, according to news reports.[6] The Philadelphia Inquirer reported large differences between neighborhoods, with median increases of 15.3 percent in Kensington, 15 percent in Mantua and 12 percent in Kingsessing.[7]
4 Appeals and tax relief
Owners who disagree with a value have two steps for Tax Year 2027: ask OPA for a First Level Review by September 1, 2026, then file a formal appeal with the Board of Revision of Taxes by October 5, 2026.[1] A filing may argue that the value is too high, does not match comparable properties, or rests on wrong facts such as square footage or condition. Separately, the City lists relief programs: the Homestead Exemption (a $100,000 reduction in taxable value, enrollment deadline December 1, 2026), an eleven-month installment plan, the Senior Citizen and Low-Income Tax Freeze and the Longtime Owner Occupants Program (both with a September 30, 2027 deadline), and payment agreements.[1] OPA's hours listed at phila.gov are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., with a hotline at (215) 686-9200.[2] See also How to File a Complaint.
5 Oversight and controversy
The 2027 values drew scrutiny. According to the Inquirer, a letter signed by six Council members and authored by Councilmember Mike Driscoll asked the administration for answers on methodology by August 15; the City Controller was conducting a performance audit; and an outside consultant was engaged to examine the fairness of the reassessment, with a report due at year's end.[7] The Finance Department confirmed in its March 2026 testimony that it would retain an independent consultant to evaluate accuracy, equity and methodology and that it plans a request for proposals for a customer relationship management system for OPA.[8] The City Controller is the elected independent auditor of City agencies.
See also: Board of Revision of Taxes, Philadelphia Taxes, Revenue Department, Tax Abatement and Development Incentives.
References
- City of Philadelphia, "City of Philadelphia to mail 2027 property assessments and launch expanded outreach to connect homeowners to tax relief," June 30, 2026 (phila.gov).
- City of Philadelphia, "Office of Property Assessment" department page (phila.gov).
- City of Philadelphia, Department of Revenue, Real Estate Tax regulations and historic tax rates (phila.gov).
- WHYY, "Board of Revision of Taxes may start re-assessing properties," April 2010 (whyy.org).
- City of Philadelphia, "Board of Revision of Taxes" department page (phila.gov/brt).
- Axios Philadelphia, "Philly to skip property tax reassessments this year," March 31, 2025 (axios.com).
- Philadelphia Inquirer, reporting on property values, taxes, Council and the Parker administration, July 15, 2026 (inquirer.com).
- Office of the Director of Finance, "Fiscal Year 2027 Budget Testimony," March 25, 2026 (phlcouncil.com).