The annual deadline for Pennsylvania’s Homestead Tax Exemption is March 1.
Signed into law in 2006 through the Taxpayer Relief Act, the Homestead Tax Exemption lowers property taxes by reducing the taxable assessed value of the home. The act provides for property tax reduction allocations to be distributed by the commonwealth to each school district.
For example, if a home is assessed at $50,000 and the homestead exclusion is $5,000, then the homeowner only pays taxes on an assessed value of $45,000.
Only a primary residence of an owner of the property may receive the homestead exclusion.
The act also established a separate farmstead exclusion. For the farmstead exclusion, the farm must be at least 10 contiguous acres and be the primary residence of its owner. Farmers can be eligible for both a homestead exclusion and a farmstead exclusion since each covers a different part of the property.
To receive an exclusion, residents must apply to the Lebanon County assessment office by March 1. The application form is available on the county’s website. Applications postmarked by March 1 will also be accepted.
As of Dec. 1, 2024, there were 32,773 properties approved for homestead, said Michael Chapin, data analyst for the county assessment office. An additional 13,727 properties have been identified that may be eligible for the homestead exclusion. That’s out of 54,568 taxable properties in the county.
School districts are required to send an application to all owners of residential property in the school district by Dec. 31 of each year. Once approved, homeowners remain in the program unless they sell their house or move.
The Pennsylvania Department of Education sets the property tax reduction allocation for each district, and districts are required to pass 100% of the funding to its taxpayers, typically by increasing the homestead exemption. Last year, the Shapiro administration made a record $931 million available for statewide property tax relief through the Department of Education and local school districts.
Homestead amounts vary by district, ranging from an $86.88 reduction for Palmyra Area School District residents to a $731.76 reduction available for Lebanon School District residents. Those are 2024 figures; 2025 figures won’t be set until June.
| School District | Tax Rate | Exclusion | Homestead Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annville-Cleona | 17.2834 | 7385 | 127.64 |
| Cornwall-Lebanon | 18.3859 | 9876 | 181.58 |
| Eastern Lebanon County | 18.0402 | 7045 | 127.09 |
| Lebanon | 23.2400 | 31487 | 731.76 |
| Northern Lebanon | 17.3467 | 12090 | 209.72 |
| Palmyra Area | 18.1532 | 4786 | 86.88 |
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