Pennsylvania’s Common Level Ratio is a percentage the state publishes each year for every county so that outdated property assessments can be translated into current market value. The State Tax Equalization Board certifies a new ratio for each of the 67 counties before July 1, and it stays in effect through June 30 of the following year.1Pennsylvania Department of Community & Economic Development. State Tax Equalization Board (STEB)/Tax Equalization Division (TED) You will run into the ratio in two situations: appealing a property tax assessment you think is too high, and calculating realty transfer tax on a deed that has no real sale price behind it.
Why the Ratio Exists
Pennsylvania counties do not reassess every year. Each county picks a “base year,” and every property’s assessed value reflects what it was worth on that date. A county still using a 2002 base year is still carrying 2002 numbers on the books. Markets move; the assessments do not.
The Common Level Ratio closes that gap on paper. By comparing recent valid sale prices in the county against the base-year assessments, the State Tax Equalization Board produces a single percentage showing how far assessments have drifted from the market. A ratio of 20% means assessments in that county sit at about one-fifth of what properties are actually selling for. Without that number, there would be no standard way to argue that a decades-old assessment is out of step with today’s values.
Finding Your County’s Current Ratio
The Board must use “statistically acceptable techniques,” publish its methodology, and certify each county’s ratio to the chief assessor by July 1.2Pennsylvania Department of Community & Economic Development. 2024 Common Level Ratios – Certified Current and archived ratios live in the Tax Equalization Division’s library on the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development website. The Department of Revenue separately publishes a companion table called the CLR Factor, used only for transfer tax.3Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. 2024 Common Level Ratio (CLR) Real Estate Valuation Factors
CLR vs. CLR Factor
This is where people trip. The Common Level Ratio is a percentage; the CLR Factor is its mathematical reciprocal. If the CLR is 25% (0.25), the CLR Factor is 4.00. The two are used through opposite operations:
- Assessment appeals: Assessed Value ÷ CLR = indicated market value.
- Transfer tax: Assessed Value × CLR Factor = taxable value.
Confusing one for the other will either dramatically overstate or dramatically understate a property’s value. Check which number the form or filing calls for before running the math.
Using the Ratio in a Property Tax Appeal
The ratio does its most useful work when a homeowner believes their assessment is too high compared to what the property is actually worth. The formula is simple: divide the assessed value by the current CLR. If the county has your home assessed at $50,000 and the CLR is 0.25, the state treats your indicated market value as $200,000.4Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. Board of Assessment Appeals – Frequently Asked Questions If a recent appraisal or comparable sales show the property is really worth $160,000, you have room to argue for a lower assessment. The Board would then multiply $160,000 by the 0.25 ratio to reach an adjusted assessment of $40,000.
A few practical points. Filing deadlines vary. Most counties outside Philadelphia and Allegheny set August 1 as the deadline for the following tax year, with hearings usually concluded by October 31. Philadelphia’s deadline falls later, typically in early October. Miss the window and you wait a full year. Fees vary too, so confirm both with your county’s Board of Assessment Appeals before filing.
And the ratio does not automatically reduce anyone’s assessment. You have to file, bring evidence of market value, and persuade the board. The CLR only supplies the translation formula that lets your evidence and the county’s assessment be compared on the same terms.
Using the Ratio for Realty Transfer Tax
Pennsylvania charges a 1% state realty transfer tax on the value of real estate conveyed by deed.5Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. Realty Transfer Tax Most municipalities and school districts add a local transfer tax on top, and rates vary widely by jurisdiction. Confirm the local rate with the Recorder of Deeds in the county where the property sits.
In an ordinary arm’s-length sale, transfer tax is calculated on the actual sale price and the CLR never comes into it. The CLR Factor only matters when there is no reliable sale price to tax. Common examples: gifts, transfers between related business entities, long-term leases treated as conveyances, and deeds that do not state the full consideration.6Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. Realty Transfer Tax Statement of Value (REV-183) For those, the taxable value is the county assessed value multiplied by the CLR Factor.
Filing Form REV-183
Any deed that does not state the full consideration, any gift, and any transfer where an exemption is claimed requires Form REV-183, the Realty Transfer Tax Statement of Value.6Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. Realty Transfer Tax Statement of Value (REV-183) The form asks for the county assessed value and the applicable CLR Factor, then treats the product as the tax base.
File it in duplicate with the local Recorder of Deeds along with the tax payment. If you claim an exemption, attach the supporting documents specific to it: a trust agreement for trust transfers, the resolution for a condemnation reconveyance, or the mortgage and note for a transfer in lieu of foreclosure. Pennsylvania’s regulations exclude several categories of transfers from the tax entirely, including transfers between spouses, parents and children, grandparents and grandchildren, and siblings, along with correctional deeds, certain intra-corporate transfers, and government takings.7Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. PA Code Chapter 91 – Realty Transfer Tax Even when an exclusion applies, REV-183 still has to be filed to document it. The form warns that incomplete submissions or missing attachments can lead the Recorder to refuse to record the deed.6Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. Realty Transfer Tax Statement of Value (REV-183)
What Goes Wrong
Two things. First, timing. Ratios update every July 1, so a closing that slips from late June into early July may fall under a different CLR Factor than the parties expected. Attorneys and title agents should confirm the factor in effect for the specific county on the date of recording, not the date of the agreement of sale.
Second, underpayment carries a real cost. The Department of Revenue charges interest on unpaid or underpaid transfer tax at 7% annually for 2025 and 2026, calculated daily from the date the tax was originally due.8Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. REV-1611 – Interest Rate and Calculation Method for Title 72 Taxes Due After Jan. 1, 1982 On a $5,000 deficiency, that is roughly $350 in interest over a full year, compounding daily. REV-183 is also signed under penalty of law, so misstating the value or claiming an exemption you do not qualify for exposes the filer to liability beyond interest.6Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. Realty Transfer Tax Statement of Value (REV-183) The more immediate problem is that a wrong form can stall the whole transaction at the Recorder’s counter until it is corrected and the right tax is paid.