How we calculate this

Every number in your report comes from public Allegheny County records and a state-mandated formula — not a guess, and not a black-box AI estimate.

1. The Common Level Ratio (CLR)

Pennsylvania counties assess property at a fraction of market value, not at 100%. Every year, the state's Tax Equalization Board publishes a Common Level Ratio (CLR) for each county — the ratio assessed values should bear to actual market value. For Allegheny County appeals filed in the current window, that ratio is published by the PA Department of Revenue.

The appeal math is simple and defensible: fair market value × CLR = what your assessment should be. If your current assessment is higher than that, you have a case.

2. Establishing your fair market value

We use two sources, in order of strength:

  • Your own recent sale, if you bought the property within the last few years — an arm's-length purchase price is the strongest evidence a hearing board will accept.
  • Comparable salesnearby — homes similar in size, age, condition, and location that sold recently. We pull these from the same county sales records the Assessor's office itself uses, filtered and scored by square footage, year built, lot size, bedrooms/bathrooms, and sale recency.

3. Where the data comes from

Property characteristics, current assessments, and sale records come directly from the Western Pennsylvania Regional Data Center's public property assessment dataset, the same open data Allegheny County itself publishes. We sync it regularly so your report reflects current records.

4. What the AI does — and doesn't do

All dollar figures, ratios, and eligibility decisions are computed by plain arithmetic, not by AI. The AI's only job is to select the strongest comparable sales from the candidates our scoring already ranked, and to write the narrative and hearing talking points in plain English. It is not permitted to invent numbers or change any figure our calculation produced.

5. What this isn't

This is self-help document preparation, not legal advice, and we don't guarantee any specific outcome at your hearing. You file the appeal yourself (or send someone on your behalf, as the county allows) — we never file or appear for you.