Lancaster County Property Tax and the 2027 Reassessment: What It Means If You're Buying or Selling

Every property in Lancaster County, across all 16 of its public school districts, is getting a new assessed value for the 2027 tax year, and the county mailed those reassessment notices on June 15, 2026. As of the Lancaster County Association of REALTORS® September 2026 report (released October 12, 2026, using Bright MLS data), the county's median sold price was $370,000, up 4.2% from a year earlier, a good reminder of how far values have moved since the current 2018-based assessments were set.

If you're buying or selling a home in the next year, the reassessment changes how you should read a listing's tax figure and how you talk about taxes at the kitchen table. Here's the plain-English version from a second-generation local agent. One ground rule: I'm a REALTOR®, not a tax advisor, so for anything specific to your property, go straight to the county's Property Assessment Office.

What is the Lancaster County 2027 reassessment?

It's a countywide reset of every assessed value to current fair market value, so similar homes carry similar assessments. The current values have a 2018 base year, and the reassessment originally scheduled for 2025 was pushed back two years to 2027, according to the county's Taxpayers Guide. For homes, the county based the new values on valid, arm's-length sales from 2022 through 2024.

Will my Lancaster County property tax go up because of the reassessment?

Not automatically. Pennsylvania law requires the county, your municipality, and your school district to lower their millage in a reassessment year so they don't collect more total tax because of it. Whether your own bill goes up or down depends on how much your value changed compared with everyone else's.

The county says that after a reassessment, roughly a third of owners typically see taxes go down, a third stay about the same, and a third go up. For perspective, after the last reassessment the county's own rate dropped from 3.735 mills to 2.911 mills to stay revenue-neutral. Two more details from the county's guide worth knowing:

• A taxing body can still vote separately to raise its millage, but that increase is capped at 10% of the total it collected the prior year.
• There's no cap on how much an individual property's assessment can change.

When will the new values show up on my tax bills?

In two waves. County and municipal millage for 2027 is set toward the end of December 2026, so your calendar-year 2027 county and township or borough bills are the first to use the new value. School millage is set in June 2027 for the 2027-28 school year. Your 2026-27 school bill isn't affected at all.

The county is blunt about one common mistake: don't multiply your new assessed value by the current 2026 millage. That math will give you the wrong answer, because the rates are going to change.

What buyers should do right now

The tax number on a listing today is almost always the 2026 figure based on the old assessment. That's useful history, but it isn't your future bill. Before you write an offer:

• Look up the 2027 value. The county posts reassessment values at LancasterPA-reval.Devnetwedge.com (updated weekly on Sundays). Compare it with the current value on the regular property search.
• Budget with a cushion. If a home's value jumped more than the county average, plan for the possibility of a higher bill once the new rates land. If it barely moved, you may come out ahead.
• Talk to your lender about escrow. Your monthly payment can shift once the 2027 bills arrive and the escrow account catches up.
• Ask about the homestead exclusion. It's for owner-occupied homes and reduces the school-tax portion of your bill. New owners should confirm enrollment with the assessment office.

Buying in northern Lancaster County? My Cocalico School District buyer's guide to taxes, septic, and commutes walks through how school, county, and municipal millage stack up town by town.

What sellers should know

Expect buyers (and their agents) to ask about the 2027 value, so have it ready. If your new assessment rose a lot, a buyer may wonder what that means for their payment, and a clear, honest answer keeps that worry from turning into a lower offer. Remember that taxes are prorated at settlement between buyer and seller, so the timing of your closing matters for who pays what.

And one piece of perspective I share with every seller: a higher assessed value isn't bad news on its own. It usually means the county's sales data says homes like yours are worth more than they were in 2018.

Can I still appeal my new assessment?

The no-fee reassessment appeal window for 2027 closed on August 3, 2026, and hearings run through October. If you missed it, the county's regular annual appeal deadline is August 1, and a successful annual appeal applies to the following tax year (a filing fee applies, varying by property type). The board can raise, lower, or keep a value, and the county says a recent appraisal is the strongest evidence. For any appeal question, contact the Lancaster County Property Assessment Office at 717-299-8381.

Frequently Asked Questions

When does the Lancaster County reassessment take effect?
The new values apply to the 2027 tax year: county and municipal bills starting in calendar 2027, and school bills starting with the 2027-28 school year.

Does a higher assessment mean higher property taxes in Lancaster County?
Not necessarily. Taxing bodies must roll back their millage to stay revenue-neutral, so your bill depends on how your value changed relative to the rest of the county and on the 2027 rates, which aren't set yet as of October 2026.

Where can I find my new 2027 assessed value?
On the county's reassessment property search at LancasterPA-reval.Devnetwedge.com. If you bought recently, you may not have received a notice, so check the site.

I'm buying a home now. Which tax figure should I use?
Use the current bill as a starting point, look up the 2027 value, and build in a cushion until the new millage is set in December 2026 (county and municipal) and June 2027 (school).

Is it too late to appeal my 2027 assessment?
The reassessment appeal deadline was August 3, 2026. Annual appeals are due August 1 each year for the following tax year. The assessment office can confirm your options.

Written by Mike Gordon Jr., REALTOR® with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty in Ephrata, PA, a second-generation Lancaster County agent. This article is general information, not tax or legal advice. Sources: Lancaster County Property Assessment Office 2027 Reassessment FAQ and Taxpayers Guide; Lancaster County news release, June 16, 2026; LCAR September 2026 market report.

Have questions about how the reassessment affects a home you're buying or selling? Call or text Mike Gordon Jr., Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty, at 717-475-5824, or visit https://www.thegordon.group.