Bucks County Property Taxes, Explained
Bucks County has some of the highest-looking property-tax millage in Pennsylvania, and that scares off buyers who don’t realize the number is mostly an artifact of how the county assesses homes. Here’s what you’ll actually pay, why the rates look the way they do, and how the bill breaks down across every school district we cover.
County and municipal millage: 2026. School millage: current adopted budgets. Common Level Ratio: STEB 2024 (5.86%). A new CLR takes effect July 1, and we update then.
Looking for a home in Bucks County?
Search homes for sale in Bucks CountyWhy the millage looks so high
Bucks County still assesses homes on 1972 values. A house worth $450,000 today might be assessed at a small fraction of that, so the county and its school districts levy high millage on small assessments just to fund their budgets. Raw millage tells you almost nothing about what you will actually pay.
The honest number is the effective rate: millage multiplied by the county's Common Level Ratio (5.86%), expressed as a percentage of a home's real market value. That is the figure NookLocal uses everywhere, so you can compare Bucks County to anywhere else.
- 1972
- Assessment base year
- 5.86%
- Common Level Ratio
- 29.65
- County millage
- 0.17%
- County levy, effective
Effective property-tax rate by school district
Typical total rate (county plus median municipality plus school) as a share of market value, and the annual bill on a $450,000 home. Cheapest first. Rates vary by municipality within a district, so open a district for its full range.
| School district | School rate | Total rate | ~Tax / $450,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palisades | 0.71% | 0.93% | $4,174 |
| New Hope-Solebury | 0.71% | 1.00% | $4,483 |
| Pennridge | 0.82% | 1.06% | $4,769 |
| Council Rock | 0.85% | 1.12% | $5,054 |
| Central Bucks | 0.86% | 1.16% | $5,222 |
| Quakertown Community | 1.03% | 1.23% | $5,552 |
| Centennial | 1.01% | 1.33% | $5,969 |
| Bensalem Township | 1.06% | 1.37% | $6,170 |
| Bristol Borough | 0.90% | 1.38% | $6,198 |
| Neshaminy | 1.11% | 1.40% | $6,279 |
| Pennsbury | 1.20% | 1.48% | $6,669 |
| Bristol Township | 1.33% | 1.65% | $7,420 |
| Morrisville Borough | 1.58% | 1.97% | $8,847 |
What a buyer should expect
Pennsylvania does not reassess a home just because it sells, so the millage and assessment usually carry over to you. The exception: buy well above a home’s implied market value and the school district can file an assessment appeal that raises your bill. For a specific home, the property tax calculator and every listing page do the exact math, including an appeal-risk check. The Common Level Ratio table explains the conversion, and the School District Value Matrix weighs these rates against school quality.
Common questions
Why do Bucks County property tax millage rates look so high?
Assessment base year. Bucks County still assesses homes on 1972 values, so a home's assessed value is a small fraction of what it's worth today. Districts and the county levy high millage on those small assessments to fund their budgets. The number that actually matters is the effective rate, which is millage multiplied by the county's Common Level Ratio (currently 5.86%), the share of a home's real market value you pay each year.
How are Bucks County property taxes calculated?
Your bill is the sum of three millage rates, county (29.65), your municipality, and your school district, applied to your home's assessed value. Because Bucks County assesses on 1972 values, NookLocal converts every rate to an effective percentage of market value using the 2024 Common Level Ratio (5.86%), so you can compare what you'll really pay across towns and districts.
Will my property taxes change when I buy a home in Bucks County?
Pennsylvania does not reassess a property simply because it sells, so your millage and assessment usually carry over. But if you buy well above the home's implied market value, the school district can file an assessment appeal that raises your bill. Every NookLocal listing shows the recomputed tax at the current rate, plus an appeal-risk check.
Which Bucks County school district has the lowest property taxes?
Among Bucks County districts we cover, Palisades carries the lowest typical total rate (about 0.93% of market value, roughly $4,174 per year on a $450,000 home) and Morrisville Borough the highest (about 1.97%, roughly $8,847 per year). Rates also vary by municipality within a district, and the table above lists each one.
Looking for a home in Bucks County?
Search homes for sale in Bucks CountyWant a local expert in your corner?
Our concierge desk does a 1-on-1 needs analysis with you, then hand-picks a vetted local agent or lender, not whoever paid for your ZIP. Free, no obligation.
Free email digest
Get the July tax re-rank
Bucks County's new Common Level Ratio and school budgets land July 1. We recompute every district's real rate and send what changed: which got cheaper, which got more expensive.
Double opt-in. We only email you after you confirm. Unsubscribe any time. See our Privacy Policy.
Tax data: Bucks County assessment office, adopted school budgets, and the Pennsylvania State Tax Equalization Board (Common Level Ratio). Effective rates assume an assessment at the current CLR, the right baseline for a purchase. Deemed reliable but not guaranteed; verify with the county and district before transacting.