If your nonprofit organization owns real property in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, don’t forget the fast-approaching March 31st deadline.  All applications for exemption from real estate taxes must be completed and postmarked by that date.

The Allegheny County website  has more information on which nonprofits and governmental entities are eligible, but it provides the following excerpted list as a general guideline:

• Places of worship.
• Nonprofit cemeteries.
• Public property used for public purposes.
• Property owned and occupied by any branch, post or camp of honorably discharged servicemen and women used for charitable or patriotic purposes.
• Institutions of purely public charity that meet a five-prong test, known as the “HUP Test.”
• Property owned by certain types of disabled veterans.

Keep in mind that your organization must have owned the property on January 1st of the year for which you are seeking an exemption, and that submitting an application does not guarantee approval of the exemption.  Your exemption can also be challenged by taxing authorities.

Consult the County’s page on exemption application for more information on qualifying for the exemption.

Have any questions on this post?  Contact me at abigail@asalisbury.org.

Please note:  This blog is intended as general educational information only, and should not be considered legal advice or a substitute for consulting a lawyer.