Property Taxes in Bucks & Montgomery County PA

Property taxes in Bucks County are calculated by multiplying the assessed value of your property by the combined millage rate for your county, school district, and municipality. The assessed value is set by the Bucks County Board of Assessment, and may differ significantly from the property's market value. Bucks County's 2025 common level ratio (CLR) is approximately 14.8% per the State Tax Equalization Board (STEB), meaning assessed values are a fraction of market values. The total tax bill = (assessed value ÷ 1,000) × total mills. Because each property has a unique assessed value, estimated annual taxes should be confirmed with the county assessor for any specific property you are considering.

Montgomery County property taxes work the same way — assessed value × total millage (county + school district + municipal) ÷ 1,000. Montgomery County's 2025 CLR is approximately 46.4% (STEB), which is significantly higher than Bucks County's 14.8%. This means a home with a $500,000 market value would carry a higher assessed value in MontCo than a comparable home in Bucks County. The trade-off is that Montgomery County's county-only millage rate (3.459 mills in 2025) is much lower than Bucks County's (24.45 mills). The largest share of your bill in either county is the school district millage, which ranges from approximately 119 to 231 mills depending on the district.

One mill equals $1 of tax per $1,000 of assessed value. So a property assessed at $100,000 in a district with a total millage of 200 mills pays $200,000 ÷ 1,000 × 200 = $20,000? No — it pays ($100,000 ÷ 1,000) × 200 = $20,000. Wait: $100,000 ÷ 1,000 = 100, then 100 × 200 = $20,000. So the formula is: annual tax = (assessed value ÷ 1,000) × total mills. If a home is assessed at $75,000 and the total millage is 180 mills, the annual tax is (75,000 ÷ 1,000) × 180 = 75 × 180 = $13,500.

The county-only millage rates look very different — 24.45 mills (Bucks) vs. 3.459 mills (Montgomery) — but the total tax burden is driven by the assessed value, not just the millage. Bucks County uses a lower assessment ratio (CLR ~14.8%) than Montgomery County (CLR ~46.4%), so properties in Bucks County carry lower assessed values relative to their market price. The school district millage, which is the largest component, is similar across both counties (120–230 mills range). The net effect is that overall effective property tax rates are broadly comparable between the two counties for similar market-value properties, with the specific school district and municipality being the primary drivers of difference within each county.

Because assessed values depend on each specific property's county-set assessment (not simply market value × CLR in all cases), a precise calculation requires the actual assessed value from the county records. As a rough illustration using Bucks County's 2025 CLR of ~14.8%: a $500,000 market-value home might carry an assessed value of approximately $74,000. At a combined millage of roughly 160–200 mills (county + school district + municipal, depending on the district), that would produce an estimated annual tax of approximately $11,800–$14,800. This is an illustration only — your lender or title company will obtain the actual tax figure from the county for any specific property. Always verify with the Bucks County Board of Assessment.

Using Montgomery County's 2025 CLR of ~46.4%, a $500,000 market-value home might carry an assessed value of approximately $232,000. At a combined millage of roughly 140–240 mills depending on the district, that would produce an estimated annual tax of approximately $32,500–$55,700. This illustrates why MontCo properties often carry higher absolute tax bills despite lower county millage — the assessed values are a larger fraction of market value. Note: the CLR is an average for the county; individual properties may be assessed at different ratios. Always verify the actual assessed value and tax bill with the Montgomery County Assessment Office.

The Bucks County Board of Commissioners approved a county budget in December 2025 that included an approximately 8% increase in the county millage rate for 2026 (reported by the Philadelphia Inquirer, December 2025). This affects the county-only portion of the tax bill. School district taxes are set separately by each school board, typically adopted in June for the following fiscal year; increases are governed by the PA Act 1 index. Municipal millage rates are set by borough councils and township commissioners. For current 2026 rates, verify directly with the Bucks County Assessment office and your school district.

Because effective tax depends on both millage and assessed value (which varies by parcel), it is difficult to rank towns by "lowest tax." That said, the school district millage is the largest component. New Hope-Solebury School District (122.25 mills) and Bensalem Township School District (119.14 mills) carry the lowest school district millage among the major Bucks County districts. Bensalem also tends to have lower market values, so absolute dollar bills are often lower. New Hope has higher market values, so lower millage may still produce a substantial bill on a luxury property. Always obtain the actual assessed value from the county for any specific address.

Among the major Montgomery County school districts listed here, Upper Merion Area School District (133.21 mills) and Perkiomen Valley School District (142.36 mills) carry the lowest school district millage in the county. Spring-Ford Area School District (144.00 mills) is also on the lower end. Note that King of Prussia / Upper Merion properties tend to have higher assessed values due to the area's commercial tax base; lower millage does not always mean a lower total bill on a specific home.

Yes. Pennsylvania school districts adopt annual budgets, and the millage rate can change each year. State law (Act 1 of 2006, the Taxpayer Relief Act) limits how much a district can raise taxes each year without a voter referendum. The limit is set by the PA Act 1 index, which varies by district. In practice, most districts raise taxes modestly each year within the index limit. To find the current adopted rate for any district, visit the district's official website and look for the annual budget resolution or Act 1 disclosure.

Both counties maintain online property assessment and tax records. For Bucks County, search by address at the Bucks County Assessment, Levy & Tax database (accessible via buckscounty.gov). For Montgomery County, use the Montgomery County Assessment lookup at montcopa.org. These records show the property's assessed value and the most recently billed tax amount. When you are under contract on a property, your title company will confirm the current tax status as part of the title search.