NOTICE: THE DEADLINE FOR SUBMITTING REASSESSMENT APPEAL FORMS TO THE LUZERNE COUNTY PROTHONOTARY’S OFFICE IS 30 DAYS FROM THE DATE OF YOUR NEW VALUATION (THE RESULT OF YOUR FORMAL APPEAL). ALL FORMS RESPONDING TO THE VALUATION MAILING MUST BE RECEIVED BY THE PROTHONOTARY’S OFFICE WITHIN THE 30-DAY WINDOW. ANY INFORMATION POSTMARKED AFTER THE 30-DAY DEADLINE AND RECEIVED AT A LATER DATE WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED!

Tax Assessment Appeal Process

Luzerne County Local Rules of Civil Procedure 1301-1308, as amended by Orders of the Court of Common Pleas of Luzerne County dated June 25, 2008 and November 6, 2008 sets forth the process for appeals from tax assessment of real estate.

In an effort to ease the burden on parties appealing tax assessments, the Prothonotary and Tax Assessment Offices have set forth this summary of the appeal procedure.

Step 1.    Notice of Formal Assessment Received by Taxpayer

Step 2.    Within 30 days of the date of mailing  (the date of mailing is shown on the Notice of Formal Assessment), Taxpayer must file a completed Petition for Appeal with the Luzerne County Prothonotary, along with a filing fee of $111.75 (cash, credit cards and checks made payable to "Luzerne County Prothonotary" are all accepted).The form Petition for Appeal from the Decision of the Board of Assessment Appeals is available on our website at http://www.luzernecounty.org/county/row_offices/prothonotary/forms

Petitions may be filed by mail or in person. The Prothonotary maintains two offices and the Petitions may be filed at either office. The appealing party should file the original Petition (the Petition must contain the original signature of the appealing party) and have at least six copies which will be time-stamped by the Prothonotary’s Office. If this is done by mail, the appealing party must include a self-addressed, stamped envelope for return of the time-stamped copies. The Prothonotary’s Office is located at:

Luzerne County Prothonotary                              Luzerne County Prothonotary

Luzerne County Courthouse                                Hazleton Annex

200 North River Street                         123 Warren Street
Wilkes-Barre, PA 18711                                  West Hazleton, PA 18202

Hours of Operation:                                           Hours of Operation

Monday through Friday: 8:30am – 4:30pm                        Monday through Friday: 9:00am 1:00pm

                                                                                    and 2:00pm – 4:30pm

The appealing party should send one copy of the Petition for Appeal to each of  the parties listed in Step 3 and should maintain one time-stamped copy for his or her file. The copies do not need to be sent by certified mail. The Prothonotary will keep the original Petition and the Prothonotary will forward one copy of the Petition to Court Administration for the mediation process.

Step 3.    Appealing party must send a copy of the Petition for Appeal to the following parties:

              A.       Luzerne County Board of Assessment Appeals

                        Luzerne County Courthouse

                        200 North River Street

                        Wilkes-Barre, PA 18711-1001

                 B.    David E. Schwager, Esquire

                        Solicitor to Luzerne County Board of Assessment Appeals

                        138 South Main Street

                        P.O. Box 910

                        Wilkes-Barre, PA 18703-0910

C.            The School District in which the property is located.

You can find addresses for Luzerne County School Districts at:   http://www.luzernecounty.org/living/education/public_school_districts

                D.     The City, Township or Borough in which the property is located 

                        You can find addresses for Luzerne County School Districts at

                http://www.luzernecounty.org/living/municipalities

                The date on which the copies have been mailed should be indicated on the Certificate of Service and filed in the same manner set forth in Step 2. A form for the Certificate of Service is provided as the last page of Petition for Appeal.

Step 4.    Mandatory Mediation.  The mediation process is being handled by the office of Court Administration, Director of Specialty Courts.  The Prothonotary will forward a copy of the appealing party’s Petition to the Director of Specialty Courts.  The Director of Specialty Courts will notify the appealing party of the date and location of the Mediation. It is recommended that the appealing party bring a certified real estate appraisal and/or comparable property values to support the property’s value.

Step 5.    If the matter is not settled in mediation, either party may file a Praecipe for Appointment of Arbitrators with the Luzerne County Prothonotary along with a filing fee of $51.00.   A Praecipe for Appointment of Arbitrators cannot be filed until a Mediation Report is filed by the Director of Specialty Courts. The appealing party will receive a copy of the Mediation Report from the Director of Specialty Courts. The Praecipe for Appointment of Arbitrators is available at:

http://www.luzernecounty.org/county/row_offices/prothonotary/forms.

Step 6.    All parties will receive notice of an Arbitration Hearing from the Prothonotary’s Office. The Arbitration Notice shall list the date and time of the arbitration, as well as the location of the Arbitration.

Step 7.    Arbitrations shall be conducted pursuant to the PA Rules of Civil Procedure and Luzerne County Local Rules.

Step 8.    Notice of the Decision of Arbitrators will be sent to the parties by the Prothonotary’s Office.

Step 9.    If any party is dissatisfied with the decision of the Board of Arbitrators, the party may file with the Prothonotary a Notice of Appeal from the Decision of the Board of Arbitrators within 30 days of the Notice of Entry of Arbitration Award. The filing fee for the Notice of Appeal is $375.00.The form is available at: http://www.luzernecounty.org/county/row_offices/prothonotary/forms.

The party filing the appeal shall serve copies of the Notice of Appeal upon the parties to the Arbitration.

Step 10.  The Court shall refer such appeals to a Special Master pursuant to Luzerne County Local Rules.

GENERAL REASSESSMENT INFO:

Direct link to Assessor’s Office page.  
 
Reassessment Call Centers:

North – Plains: 1-877-570-8801

Our staff will assist you with any reassessment questions or concerns. Please be patient, as we are experiencing a high volume of calls.

There are nine factors that influence new assessed values:

1. Exterior finish – stone, brick and log are the most valuable, followed by stucco, vinyl siding, etc…
2. Square footage – measured from the outside of the structure.
3. Number of stories – listed as one-story, bi-level, split-level, 1 ½ story, and two stories or more.
4. Dwelling type – include detached (a free-standing single home), duplex, row home, townhome, multi-family apartments, double-wide mobile and single-wide mobile.
5. Effective age – properties are included in one of five categories: a) 1953 and older; b) 1954 to 1964; c) 1965 to 1974; d) 1975 to 1990; e) 1991 to present.
6. Property type – “R” for residential, “T” for mobile home without land, “L” for vacant lot, “V” for vacant land, “C” for commercial, and “I” for industrial.
7. Acreage – 13 categories from slivers of 1,000 square feet or less to parcels 120 acres or more.
8. Condition – The rankings are: unsound, very poor, poor, fair, average, good, very good and excellent.
9. Quality – different from condition as the focus is on the design and construction of the home. The rankings are: A+ for exceptional; A for superior; B+ for enhances; B for improved; C+ for nice; C for average; D+ for acceptable; D for needs improvements; and D- for disrepair.

Reassessment Taxpayer Guide