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ACT72 Press Release

Updated 25 January, 2005



NOTICE TO LANCASTER COUNTY PROPERTY OWNERS

 

HOMESTEAD/FARMSTEAD APPLICATIONS TO BE MAILED


This month, school districts in Lancaster County and across the state will begin to mail homestead/farmstead applications to property owners as the first step in complying with the Homeowners Property Tax Relief Act (Act 72). More than three million property owners in all counties except Philadelphia will receive an application for the Act, which potentially may provide property tax relief, via gaming revenues, to homeowners.

 

The potential property tax reduction is not automatic. Owner-occupied residential property and agricultural property owners will receive an application from their school district and must first apply to the county.  A second mailing will be made by the district before the end of the year to those who have not responded to the first mailing.  If an application is not filed by the appropriate deadlines, property owners will not be eligible.

 

School boards must then decide by May 30, 2005 if the district will participate in Act 72.  If a district does not participate, state property tax relief funds from gaming licenses and operations will not be paid.  The state funds plus the revenue raised from the mandatory increase in the earned income taxe rate of at least 0.1% will provide the property tax relief.

 

Following that process and after the state certifies that it has sufficient gaming revenue to make payments to school districts to offset their lost local revenue from reduced property taxes, the potential property tax reduction will appear on tax bills for owner-occupied properties that have approved homestead/farmstead applications (Commercial and industrial property owners are not eligible for Act 72). 

 

School officials stress that potential property tax relief will not be immediate to property owners.  State payments to school districts for property tax reduction are not anticipated until at least the 2006-07 school year or later.  More information regarding the Homeowners Property Tax Relief Act is available on the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s Website under Property Tax Relief – Frequently Asked Questions.

 

The completed application should be mailed to the Lancaster County Property Assessment Office at P.O. Box 83480, Lancaster, PA 17608-3480.

 

The deadline for submission of the application is March 01, 2005.