How to appeal your Berks County property assessment

Any Berks County property owner can appeal their assessment once a year by filing a form with the Board of Assessment Appeals by August 1. A successful appeal lowers the assessed value your county, municipal, and school taxes are all calculated from, starting with the following tax year.

You are not appealing your tax bill or the tax rate. You are appealing the assessed value, and because Berks assessments date to a 1994 base year, that number is supposed to sit far below today’s market value. The question is whether your assessment is too high relative to your property’s market value, compared to the standard everyone else is held to. The state publishes a “common level ratio” for Berks County each year that officially converts assessed values to market values. If applying that ratio to your assessment implies a market value higher than your home would sell for, you have a case.

Step by step

Look up your assessment on the free county parcel search. Our parcel search guide explains the fields.
Estimate your market value. Recent comparable sales in your neighborhood are the standard; a professional appraisal is stronger.
Do the ratio math. Get the current common level ratio from the Assessment office (610-478-6262) or its FAQ page, then compare your assessment-to-market ratio against it.
File the appeal form with the fee by August 1. Forms come from the Assessment office at 633 Court Street, Reading, weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The county revised its appeal filing fees effective January 1, 2026 (Resolution 345.2025), so confirm the current fee when you file rather than relying on older articles.
Prepare your evidence. Comparable sales, an appraisal, photos of condition problems, repair estimates. Bring copies for the board.
Attend your hearing. The Board of Assessment Appeals returned to in-person hearings in April 2026, ending the phone-hearing practice from the pandemic years.
Get the decision. If you lose, you can appeal to the Berks County Court of Common Pleas.

Three warnings

Appeals can raise your assessment. If the evidence shows you are under-assessed, the board can increase the number. Do the math before you file.
School districts file appeals too. Districts sometimes bring “reverse appeals” against recently sold properties whose sale price implies under-assessment. Buying well above the implied value can put you on that list.
An appeal invites a fresh look at the whole property, including new construction and improvements.

Why the system works this way

Berks County has not reassessed since the 1990s, so similar houses can carry different effective tax burdens depending on when they were last valued. A countywide reassessment would reset everyone at once, but it is expensive, politically difficult, and not currently planned. Until that changes, the annual appeal is the only correction mechanism. That policy choice belongs to the commissioners; here is how to raise it with them.

FAQ

When is the Berks County assessment appeal deadline?

Annual appeals must be filed by August 1. Decisions from annual appeals take effect for the following tax year, not the current one.

How much does it cost to file?

The county revised its appeal filing fees effective January 1, 2026. Confirm the current fee with the Assessment office at 610-478-6262 before filing; published amounts from before 2026 are out of date.

Can my assessment go up if I appeal?

Yes. The board reviews the evidence in both directions and can raise an assessment it finds too low. Run the common-level-ratio math first.

Do I need a lawyer or appraiser?

No, owners can represent themselves, and many do. A professional appraisal is the strongest single piece of evidence, and attorneys are common in commercial appeals and Court of Common Pleas appeals.

What if I miss August 1?

You wait for next year’s window, unless your situation qualifies for an interim appeal (for example, after a catastrophic loss or new assessment notice). Ask the Assessment office which category applies.