Akron's 2027 Reassessment Puts the Tax Line on Your Listing on a Clock
October 29, 2026
October 29, 2026
If you list an Akron home this winter, the annual property tax figure buyers see will be a 2026 number. It was calculated on assessments set in 2018. Lancaster County has already mailed new values that take effect for 2027 taxes. The rates those values get multiplied by have not been set yet. So for most of the coming selling season, the tax figure a buyer weighs most closely will be one that nobody can state with certainty.
How much a home's bill moves depends on one comparison. The size of your assessment jump matters less than how that jump compares with the growth of Akron's tax base as a whole. In Akron Borough, the typical parcel grew faster than the base.
The county's reassessment calendar shows how long the gap lasts. Here is the sequence, taken from the Lancaster County 2027 Reassessment FAQ:
The school tax is the largest piece of an Akron bill. Ephrata Area School District lists its 2026–27 rate at 20.70 mills on its tax information page, compared with the borough's 4.0 mills. That means a house listed in November could have a known 2027 borough and county rate by the time it goes under contract. Its 2027–28 school rate stays unknown until after many spring closings.
Pennsylvania's anti-windfall rule is why the reassessment can't be treated as a simple tax hike. The county's Taxpayers Guide to the 2027 Reassessment says millage rates "must be lowered in a reassessment year" so that taxing bodies "cannot collect more taxes than they did the previous year as a result of the reassessment." A taxing body can then vote separately to collect more, capped at 10% of the prior year's total collections.
The same guide states, "There is no cap as to the percentage difference of an individual tax amount." The rollback holds the borough's total collections steady and makes no promise about any one house's bill. When every assessment rises but some rise faster than others, the total tax load shifts toward the properties that rose fastest.
That's why LNP's follow-up coverage, explaining how to read the reassessment numbers, points to total tax-base growth rather than the average per-parcel increase as the better yardstick if collections stay flat. Your own percentage only tells you something once you set it against the base.
The county's 2027 Final Notice Reassessment Statistics break these figures out by municipality and school district. For an Akron home, three taxing bodies matter.
| Taxing body | Tax base growth, 2018 values to 2027 values | Median parcel increase |
|---|---|---|
| Akron Borough | 74.04% | 77.23% |
| Ephrata Area School District | 75.49% | 79.68% |
| Lancaster County | 77.08% | 78.52% |
Akron's taxable base grew from $263,281,700 to $458,225,900 across 1,380 taxable parcels. That is the 74.04% figure. The average Akron parcel rose 80.09%. Countywide, the median single-family assessment went from $182,300 to $329,000, a rise of roughly 80%.
In every row, the typical parcel rose faster than the base that sets the rollback rate. The base is weighted by dollar value, so it isn't a perfect comparison with a median parcel. Even so, the pattern points one way. Plenty of Akron homeowners hold assessments that grew faster than the 74.04% the borough's rate will be rolled back against. For those homes, a revenue-neutral 2027 can still bring a higher share of the borough's levy.
This is simplified arithmetic that shows how the shares shift. It isn't a forecast of anyone's bill, since the rollback rates haven't been published and each taxing body calculates its own. Take any Akron home and divide its 2027 assessment by its current assessment. Then compare the result with the borough's base multiplier of about 1.74.
None of these figures include the separate vote each taxing body may take to raise more, up to the 10% cap. That vote applies on top of whatever shift a house already sees. Your June 15 notice shows your new assessed value, and that number tells you which direction your share is likely to move before any rate is set.
The borough's latest budget history matters here. LNP reported that Akron Borough Council approved its 2026 budget 5–2 at its December 15 meeting. The vote set the real estate tax at 4 mills, up 0.4 mills or 11%. By LNP's math, a home assessed at $250,000 owes the borough $1,000 a year.
The reassessment came up during that budget debate. According to the council's November 18, 2025 minutes, Council President Nathan Imhoff reminded the room that the 2027 countywide reassessment "will tie Council's hands a bit when it comes to raising property taxes in 2027 if needed." Borough staff then read the county's rollback and 10% cap language into the record. Staff also noted that the proposed 0.4-mill increase equaled 11%, "for perspective." Another council member said in the same discussion that the reassessment "will likely add some confusion to the property tax discussion."
So the 2026 increase came in the last year before the cap took effect. The 2027 budget is still being worked out. Council met on October 5, 2026, with "2027 Budget Discussion" as its only substantive item. The agenda for the October 26 meeting listed a "2027 Budget Update" under old business. A buyer comparing an Akron listing with one in Ephrata Township or Ephrata Borough faces the same open question there. Ephrata Borough's base grew 75.97% and Ephrata Township's 76.49%.
Alongside the tax question, Akron has a smaller, more predictable cost. The borough's 2025 fee schedule lists a Water & Sewer Certification at $50 per meter. The fee rises to $100 with less than seven days' notice. The borough's sewer rent ordinance requires written notice to the Permit Officer when ownership changes. It also keeps the owner responsible for sewer charges until a vacancy is properly reported. Borough staff told council in November 2025 that the office had been finding and correcting inefficiencies with final billing when properties go up for sale. Ordering early is the cheapest way to handle that step. The fee doubles when the request comes in under a week before closing.
Did many Lancaster County owners appeal their 2027 values? Fewer than last time. LNP reported that appeals covered about 2% of taxable parcels, which it estimated at 3,787 cases while mailed appeals were still arriving. The 2018 reassessment drew 7,851 appeals.
I bought recently and never saw a notice. What happened? The county FAQ says a recent purchase may mean the county didn't have the new owner's information when notices were printed. It directs owners with incorrect mailing information to contact the Property Assessment Office.
Who did the revaluation? The county's own Certified Pennsylvania Evaluators, using current sales and market studies. The county has done its reassessments in-house since an outside firm handled the 1997 countywide effort.
This post is general information about how the 2027 reassessment works. It isn't legal, tax or financial advice, so please confirm your own assessment and tax situation with the county, your tax professional or your attorney.
If you're thinking about selling in Akron before the 2027 rates are set, The Wissler Team can help you price your home with your new assessment in hand and plan how to present the tax figure to buyers. Start with a Free Home Valuation, and bring your June 15 notice.
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