Every month a buyer sits down at our Lincoln Way office, looks at a Franklin County tax record, and asks the same question: "Why is this $250,000 house assessed at $18,000?" It is a fair question. Pennsylvania property taxes work differently than almost anywhere else, and Franklin County adds a twist of its own. Here is the whole system, in plain English, with real 2026 numbers.
How Pennsylvania Property Taxes Work: Three Bills, One Assessment
In Pennsylvania, three separate governments tax your home, each with its own millage rate applied to the same assessed value. A mill is one dollar of tax per $1,000 of assessed value.
- County tax. Franklin County's 2026 rate is 29.1 mills (25.0 general operating plus 4.1 debt service), and the county tax rate sheet adds a 1.3 mill library levy. The commissioners' $154.2 million 2026 budget held the line for the eighth straight year without an increase.
- Municipal tax. This is where towns differ wildly. Chambersburg borough levies 35.5 mills for police, fire, and bond debt. Greencastle borough charges 17.25 mills. Antrim, Guilford, and Greene townships charge zero, and Southampton Township charges just 0.40 mills, per the county's 2026 tax rate sheet.
- School tax. Always the biggest slice, usually two thirds or more of the total. District rates for 2025-26 range from about 114 mills in Waynesboro to 136 mills in the Chambersburg Area School District.
County and municipal bills arrive in the spring on a calendar year; school bills arrive in the summer on a July-June fiscal year. Pay early and most collectors give a 2 percent discount; pay late and a penalty stacks on.
The 1961 Problem: Why Assessments Look So Strange
Franklin County's last countywide reassessment took effect in 1961. Sixty-five years later, every assessment on the books still represents 100 percent of what the property was worth that year, per the county's Tax Assessment office. Pennsylvania is one of the few states with no legal requirement to reassess on a schedule, so the county simply has not.
To keep the math honest, the state publishes a common level ratio for every county. Franklin County's factor for July 2025 through June 2026 is 13.89, which means assessments average about 7.2 percent of true market value. Flip that around: a home worth $250,000 today carries a typical assessment near $18,000.
Two practical consequences. First, millage rates look huge (over 200 mills in Chambersburg borough) because they apply to a tiny base. Second, similar houses can carry noticeably different assessments depending on how the 1961-era math treated them, which is why the appeal process matters and why you should always check the actual tax bill on a house, not a county average, before you write an offer.
What You Will Actually Pay: 2026 Worked Examples
Here are realistic bills using the county's 2026 total millage rates and an assessment of roughly 7.2 percent of market value. Your exact assessment will differ, so treat these as calibrated estimates.
- Guilford Township (Chambersburg schools), $250,000 home. Total rate 166.87 mills on an $18,000 assessment: about $3,000 per year, or roughly 1.2 percent of market value. Greene Township is identical since neither levies a township tax.
- Chambersburg borough, same $250,000 home. Total rate 202.37 mills: about $3,640 per year. The extra $640 buys borough police, career fire coverage, and the borough's bond projects.
- Antrim Township (Greencastle-Antrim schools), $300,000 home. Total rate 159.14 mills on a $21,600 assessment: about $3,440 per year, around 1.15 percent of value, with no township real estate tax at all.
- Southampton Township (Shippensburg Area schools), $230,000 home. Total rate 154.27 mills on a $16,560 assessment: about $2,555 per year, the lowest effective rate in this comparison.
For context, Ownwell's 2026 county data puts Franklin County's median bill at $3,087. These examples bracket that number, which tells you the math holds up. If you are choosing between a borough address and a township address, our guides to living in Greencastle and moving to Chambersburg walk through the tradeoffs beyond taxes.
School District Comparison: Where the Big Money Goes
Because every district in the county works off the same 1961 base, you can compare their 2025-26 millage rates directly. On a typical $18,000 assessment:
- Chambersburg Area SD: 136.4677 mills, about $2,456 per year. The county's largest district.
- Greencastle-Antrim SD: 128.74 mills, about $2,317. The A minus Niche rating helps explain why buyers accept the second-highest rate.
- Shippensburg Area SD: 123.4749 mills, about $2,223. See our guide to living in Shippensburg for that end of the county.
- Waynesboro Area SD: 113.914 mills, about $2,050, the lowest of the four.
The spread between the cheapest and most expensive district is about $400 a year on a mid-priced home. Real, but rarely the deciding factor once you weigh schools, commute, and the house itself.
The Homestead Exclusion: Free Money You Have to Ask For
Pennsylvania's Act 1 uses casino gaming revenue to shave school taxes on owner-occupied homes. The homestead exclusion subtracts a fixed amount from your assessed value before the school millage is applied, and every district's amount differs year to year based on state funding.
The catch: it is not automatic. Apply through the Franklin County Tax Assessment office between December 15 and March 1. Approval carries forward automatically unless your ownership, residency, or mailing address changes. If you just bought a house, check whether the previous owner's homestead status transferred; often it did not, and new buyers end up overpaying their first school bill without noticing. That is exactly the kind of detail covered in the homebuyer education workshops we help teach through PathStone, the HUD-approved counseling agency with a Chambersburg office, and in our roundup of first-time homebuyer classes in Franklin County.
How to Appeal Your Assessment
If you think the county has your value wrong, the appeal process is straightforward and currently costs nothing to file.
- Do the CLR math first. Multiply your assessed value by 13.89. If the result is meaningfully higher than what your home would actually sell for, you have a case. If it is lower, leave it alone; an appeal can raise an assessment too.
- File before August 1. Residential appeal forms are on the county Tax Assessment site. Appeals filed by the deadline take effect the following January 1.
- Gather evidence. A recent appraisal is strongest. Comparable sales from your neighborhood work too, and we are happy to pull comps for past clients at no charge.
- Attend your hearing. The Board of Assessment Appeals hears cases August through October in 15-minute weekday sessions. You or your attorney must appear, though no attorney is required.
Appeals matter most for recent new construction and for anyone whose purchase price implies a much lower value than the assessment suggests.
The Property Tax/Rent Rebate: Up to $1,000 Back for Seniors
Pennsylvania's Property Tax/Rent Rebate program refunds up to $1,000 a year to homeowners and renters who are 65 or older, widows and widowers 50 or older, or adults with disabilities 18 and older. The income cap was $46,520 for 2024 claims and now rises with inflation annually, and only half of your Social Security counts toward it, so many retirees qualify who assume they do not. In 2025 the state Treasury paid out more than 500,000 rebates worth over $307 million.
Applications are free through myPATH (mypath.pa.gov) or on paper, generally due December 31 for the prior year's taxes. Never pay a preparer for this. Combined with the rebate, Pennsylvania's zero tax on Social Security and retirement income makes the county genuinely cheap for retirees, a theme we cover in our guide to retiring in Franklin County.
Why Franklin County Feels Cheap to NJ and MD Transplants
A big share of our buyers arrive from New Jersey, Maryland, and Northern Virginia, and the tax bill is usually their favorite part of the move. New Jersey's effective property tax rates are the highest in the country, above 2 percent of market value, so a $3,000 Franklin County bill can replace an $8,000 to $10,000 one. Maryland's statewide median effective rate runs about 1.21 percent per Ownwell, and bills in Frederick and Montgomery counties routinely land in the $4,000 to $7,000 range on ordinary homes.
Two honest caveats. Washington County, MD, directly across the line, is actually competitive on property tax alone at a 0.88 percent effective rate; Pennsylvania wins that matchup on income tax and home prices rather than property tax. And when you buy here, budget for Pennsylvania's 2 percent realty transfer tax (1 percent state, 1 percent local in most Franklin County municipalities, customarily split between buyer and seller). Sellers can see the full cost picture in our breakdown of the cost to sell a house in Pennsylvania.
Bottom line: taxes here are low by regional standards, stable (eight years without a county increase), and predictable once you understand the 1961 quirk. If you want the actual numbers on a specific house instead of averages, call or message us and we will pull the parcel's real tax history the same day.
Frequently Asked Questions
How are property taxes calculated in Franklin County, PA?
Multiply your property's assessed value by the combined millage rate for your municipality, then divide by 1,000. Three separate bodies tax the same assessment: Franklin County (29.1 mills in 2026, plus a 1.3 mill library levy), your borough or township (zero in several townships, 35.5 mills in Chambersburg borough), and your school district (roughly 114 to 136 mills depending on district). The school district is always the largest piece of the bill.
When was the last property reassessment in Franklin County, PA?
1961. Franklin County assessments still represent 100 percent of 1961 market value, and Pennsylvania law does not require counties to reassess on any schedule. That is why assessed values look tiny (a $250,000 home might be assessed around $18,000) and millage rates look huge. The state's common level ratio factor for Franklin County is 13.89 for 2025-2026, meaning assessments average about 7 percent of true market value.
How do I appeal my Franklin County property assessment?
File an appeal form with the Franklin County Tax Assessment office before August 1 for the following tax year. There is currently no filing fee. Hearings run August through October before the Board of Assessment Appeals in 15-minute sessions, and you or your attorney must attend. Bring evidence of market value such as a recent appraisal or comparable sales; a successful appeal takes effect January 1.
What is the homestead exclusion in Franklin County?
The homestead exclusion knocks a set amount off the assessed value of your primary residence before school taxes are calculated, funded by Pennsylvania gaming revenue under Act 1. Apply through the Franklin County Tax Assessment office between December 15 and March 1. Once approved, you do not need to reapply unless your ownership, residency, or mailing address changes.
Why are Franklin County millage rates over 100 mills?
Because the rates apply to 1961 assessed values, not today's prices. A total rate of 166.87 mills in Guilford Township sounds enormous, but applied to an $18,000 assessment on a $250,000 home it produces a bill around $3,000, an effective rate of roughly 1.2 percent of market value. High mills on a low base equal a normal bill.
Does Pennsylvania have a property tax rebate for seniors?
Yes. The Property Tax/Rent Rebate program pays up to $1,000 to homeowners and renters who are 65 or older, widows and widowers 50 or older, or adults with disabilities. The income cap was $46,520 for 2024 claims and rises with inflation each year, and only half of Social Security income counts toward the limit. Apply free through myPATH at mypath.pa.gov, generally by December 31.