Philly homeowner taxes are going up. Are you missing out on thousands in savings?

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Thousands of homeowners in Philadelphia are not enrolled in city programs like the homestead exemption and the Longtime Owner Occupants Program (LOOP) established to help ease the burden of rising real estate taxes.

“I surround myself with good people, but not everyone is aware of these [tax relief] programs,” said Edgar Ponce, 26, who recently purchased his home in Kensington, one of the neighborhoods where property assessments rose the most.

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The Philadelphia Office of Property Assessment conducts reassessments of property values every other year. From 2025 to 2027, properties citywide rose 3%, with certain neighborhoods seeing increases upward of 15%.

Four areas in Philly that saw the largest percentage increases in median assessments were Kensington, Mantua, Grays Ferry, and Kingsessing. Each neighborhood borders more gentrified neighborhoods, like Fishtown, University City, and Point Breeze. While tax revenue helps fund city services like the school district, parks, and the police department, shelling out a few hundred dollars more each year can be costly for some families. Several city-run relief programs, however, can help eligible homeowners save hundreds or thousands of dollars.

“Every time I apply to some type of program, there is always a catch,” said Ponce, who has yet to apply for the homestead exemption. The city could do more to inform people and build trust, he said.

While Philadelphia does conduct outreach, including canvassing, mailers, texts, TV and radio ads, and community events, those efforts do not reach everyone. If you, like Ponce, both own and reside in your home in Philadelphia and want to know what tax relief programs are available to you, The Inquirer is here to help.

We created a tool based on city property data to figure out what tax relief programs Philadelphia homeowners are eligible for. Complete the survey below to see what assistance you can apply for and how much you would save on your real estate taxes.

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What is your home address?

    Philadelphia primary residential addresses only

    Have you lived there for more than 10 years?

    Do you live in this property as your primary residence?

    Do you meet any of these descriptions?

    1. You are aged 65 years or older

    2. You are living with a spouse who is aged 65 years or older

    3. You are aged 50 years or older, and a widow of someone who reached the age of 65 before passing away

    What’s your annual salary? Or if married, what's your combined annual salary?

    If anyone else lives in the house, what’s their combined annual salaries?

    What is your family size?

    Nope! It appears you’re maximizing your savings.

    Yes! You may be missing out.

    Maybe! You might be able to save more.

    To apply for any program, you’ll need your OPA account number. Your number for location is parcel_number.

    It appears you’re enrolled in the homestead exemption already, according to July 2026 data, and would not be eligible for other programs this year. In 2027, the homestead exemption will save you: homestead_savings. You should not have to reapply to get the savings unless your property deed was transferred or a co-owner was added.

    It appears you are not eligible for any tax relief program right now. However, you may want to check on the Philadelphia Property Search website to see if your property is eligible for any other exemption.

    It appears you’re enrolled in the homestead exemption already, according to July 2026 data. In 2027, homestead will save you: homestead_savings. You don’t have to reapply unless changes were made to the deed. Besides the homestead exemption, you may have other choices.

    Here’s what you are eligible for:

    Homestead

    You could save
    homestead_savings

    It appears you are eligible for the homestead exemption. The program reduces the taxable portion of your property assessment. Starting in 2025, the property’s assessed value is reduced by $100,000.

    Apply for the homestead exemption

    Application deadline is Dec. 1, 2026.

    LOOP

    In 2027, you could save
    Loop_savings

    You may be eligible for the Longtime Owner Occupants Program (LOOP), if you are not already enrolled, because your home’s assessment went up significantly — either 50% from 2026, 75% from 2022, or both. LOOP locks in your property tax at the lower of the two property values.

    Keep in mind you cannot enroll in both LOOP and the homestead exemption. If you would like to switch from LOOP to homestead, you’ll need to request your removal at the same time you apply. If you plan to stay in your home for many years, you may consider LOOP over the homestead exemption to prevent future tax hikes, even if you’re required to pay more in the short term.

    Apply for LOOP

    Application deadline is Sept. 30, 2027.

    You might be eligible for this program if you fit the requirements:

    Senior Citizen Real Estate Tax Freeze

    You could save
    ???

    You may be eligible for the Senior Citizen Real Estate Tax Freeze if you are not already enrolled. The program locks in your property taxes at this year’s amount, preventing future tax hikes, even if your property value or the tax rate increases.

    If you met the age, income, and residency requirements at any point between 2018 and 2024, your application gets backdated to the earliest year you first qualified.

    Keep in mind, you can be enrolled in both the Senior Citizen Real Estate Tax Freeze and the homestead exemption. Eligible applicant(s) must have a total income of:

    • $33,500 or less for a single person, or

    • $41,500 or less for a married couple

    Apply for a Tax Freeze

    Application deadline is Sept. 30, 2027.

    Low-Income Real Estate Tax Freeze

    You could save
    ???

    It appears you may be eligible for the Low-Income Real Estate Tax Freeze if you are not already enrolled. Under this program, the amount of property tax you pay each year will not increase, even if your property assessment or the tax rate changes.

    Keep in mind, you can be enrolled in both the Low-Income Real Estate Tax Freeze and the homestead exemption. Eligible applicant(s) must have a total income of:

    • $33,500 or less for a single person, or

    • $41,500 or less for a married couple

    Apply for a Tax Freeze

    Application deadline is January 31, 2027.

    In September, the city released a new combined application for its real estate tax assistance programs, where homeowners can fill out one form to see what programs they are eligible for, and submit the applications online directly through the Philadelphia Tax Center, said Kaelyn Anderson with the Philadelphia Department of Revenue.

    To connect homeowners with available tax relief, the city also launched an expanded outreach program.

    Despite these efforts, the outreach hasn’t reached everyone, including Ponce of Kensington. “Truthfully I have never received anything in the mail about these programs,” he said.

    Methodology

    The Inquirer acquired property assessment data for single-family homes in 2022 through 2027 from the City of Philadelphia Office of Property Assessment. The data include the assessed value of properties each year and homestead exemption enrollment in 2027.

    The eligibility for the homestead exemption, the senior citizen tax freeze, and the low-Income tax freeze is based on information provided by homeowners in our survey.

    To estimate potential savings for homestead, we subtracted the $100,000 exemption from each property’s 2027 assessed value (or the full assessed value if it was below $100,000), then compared the resulting tax bill with what homeowners would pay with no exemption at all. The difference is the amount the homestead exemption program would save homeowners if enrolled.

    We used the assessed home value each year to calculate the percentage change in the last year and the last five years to determine eligibility for the LOOP program. The thresholds are 50% from last year or 75% from 2022. Depending on which threshold a property met, its taxable value was capped at either 1.5 times the previous year’s assessed value or 1.75 times the lowest assessed value over the preceding five years.

    LOOP savings were calculated by comparing the tax bill under that capped value with the ordinary taxes that the homeowner would have to pay in 2027 if not part of the program. The difference is the amount the LOOP program could save homeowners if they were enrolled.

    The Inquirer’s methodology for calculating tax program savings has been reviewed by the city.

    Staff Contributors

    • Design: Yaelle Tang, Jasen Lo and Lizzie Mulvey
    • Development: Yaelle Tang, Jasen Lo and Levi Jiang
    • Data: Lizzie Mulvey and Yaelle Tang
    • Reporting: Lizzie Mulvey and Yaelle Tang
    • Editing: Stephen Stirling and Sam Morris
    • Illustration: Thomas Pullin
    • QA: Lyn Tran, Sandy Vo and Sarah Pham
    • Social Editing: Esra Erol
    • Copy Editing: Addam Schwartz

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