Deadline approaching for Philadelphia homeowners to apply for tax assistance

Philadelphia homeowners still have time to enroll in tax assistance programs that can help lower tax bills.

Real Estate Tax bills are due on March 31, and homeowners can still enroll into an Installment Agreement, Active Duty Tax Credit, the Senior Citizen Tax Freeze, and the Long-time Owner Occupied Program (LOOP). For 2023, the LOOP and Senior Freeze programs have expanded eligibility and deadlines.

“Philadelphia offers some of the strongest protections to protect homes from tax foreclosure in the country,” said Revenue Commissioner Frank Breslin in a statement. “But every year, taxpayers realize too late that they could have qualified for an assistance program to lower their tax bills. We urge residents to enroll in a program as soon as possible and not wait until the last day to pay their property tax.”

March 31 is the deadline for two Real Estate Tax assistance programs: the Real Estate Installment Agreement and the Active Duty Tax Credit.

The Real Estate Tax Installment Plan is for low-income taxpayers and all senior citizens (regardless of income) who own and live in their homes. Participants receive a payment agreement that allows them to pay their bill in affordable monthly installments without interest or penalty.

The Active Duty Tax Credit excuses US Armed Forces reserve and National Guard members from paying Philadelphia property taxes while serving outside of Pennsylvania.

Applications for the Senior-Citizen Tax Freeze and LOOP are due by Sept. 30.

All Real Estate Tax assistance applications are now available on Philadelphia Tax Center, the city’s eFile/ePay website. Taxpayers do not need to create a username and password to apply for assistance or pay their Real Estate Tax online. The site is mobile-enabled, and most functionalities are translated into Spanish.

Multi-lingual paper applications are also available for each program on their respective program websites.

The Business Income & Receipts Tax (BIRT), Net Profits Tax (NPT), Earnings Tax, and School Income Tax (SIT) are due April 18, the same day as federal taxes.

Tens of thousands of Philadelphians fail to claim the federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC) every year. Organizations like Campaign for Working Families and Ceiba can help families file their returns and claim these credits at no charge. Find more information on the website ClaimYourMoneyPHL.com.