Lower Merion property tax rate and Main Line bills for 2026

Main Line property tax at a glance

Estimate a Main Line property tax bill

Estimate: price ÷ the July 2026 Pennsylvania common level ratio factor for the county × the 2026 county, township and school millage, before any homestead reduction unless ticked. Your bill uses the parcel's actual assessed value, so read it from the county record. Nothing you enter is saved or sent.

Compare Main Line property tax by parcel, never by millage

Your pick is one calculation: the parcel's assessed value, times the 2026 total mills below, minus the homestead amount. Run it for both sides of any township line before you write an offer. Tredyffrin comes out lowest of the five at every price and Haverford Township highest, a gap of about $7,600 a year on $2M.

Estimated 2026 property tax bills by township

These estimates divide the price by the state's July 2026 factor for the county, then multiply by total mills, before homestead relief. A real bill uses your parcel's assessed value, and the Main Line property tax calculator takes that number directly.

Why Lower Merion's millage overstates its property tax

Mills apply to assessed value, and assessed value sits at a different share of market value in each county. Montgomery County's factor of 3.36 puts the average assessment near 30% of market, while Delaware County's 1.83 puts it near 55%. So a $2M home is assessed around $595,238 in Lower Merion and $1,092,896 in Radnor. That's how double the mills turns into a difference of about $2,300 a year.

Your parcel can sit above or below the county average, and the bill moves with it. A Lower Merion home assessed 10% above average pays about $2,814 more a year on $2M, which is why the parcel record decides this and the table only starts it.

To run a bill on a specific home, use the Main Line property tax calculator.

Property tax by township: the sum at $2M, $3M and $5M

Each table adds county, township and school lines into one estimated bill. Mailing addresses don't tell you which table applies: land shares below are Census-based, and they aren't parcel proof, so the Main Line ZIP code map and the county record both matter.

Lower Merion Township property tax

All of Gladwyne 19035 pays this rate, along with about 95% of Wynnewood, 43% of Villanova 19085 and 32% of Haverford 19041 by land. The school line is 77% of the total, and Lower Merion's district says it has no earned income tax to lean on. On Zillow's typical home value for Gladwyne's ZIP, $1,625,035 in September 2026, the estimated bill is about $22,900.

A $3M Lower Merion home adds an estimated $42,200 a year to your budget.

Radnor Township property tax

Radnor covers about 57% of Villanova 19085 and 35% of Wayne 19087 by land, and it has the lowest total millage of the five. The district's 2026-27 rate of 16.3263 replaced 15.7965, which added about $579 on a $2M home. Delaware County's published sheet still carries the 2025-26 school rate, so use the district's figure.

The low mills still produce an estimated $38,800 a year on $3M, only $3,400 below Lower Merion.

Haverford Township property tax

This is the expensive line of the five, and the millage hides it: 29.6426 looks modest next to Lower Merion. About 68% of Haverford 19041 lies here by land, so that ZIP's two sides pay different bills. The 2026-27 school rate rose from 19.6509 to 20.3386, about $752 more on $2M.

Plan on an estimated $48,600 a year at $3M, the highest bill in the summary table at that price.

Tredyffrin Township property tax

Half of Wayne 19087 lies in Tredyffrin by land, and this is the lowest estimated bill of the five. The catch is direction of travel: Tredyffrin/Easttown's district approved a 2026-27 rate up 1.4797 mills in June 2026, about $1,358 more on a $3M home.

On $3M you're looking at an estimated $37,300 a year.

Easttown Township property tax

Easttown shares Tredyffrin's county and school lines, so only the township line differs, 4.859 mills against 4.313. ZIP 19087 has no Easttown land by the Census-based figures, so a Wayne mailing address shouldn't land here.

That township line lifts the $3M bill to an estimated $37,800 a year, about $500 over Tredyffrin.

Upper Merion property tax on Wayne addresses

About 15% of Wayne 19087 lies in Upper Merion by land, on the Montgomery County side. We don't have a confirmed 2026 rate for it, so no bill is printed here. Pull that parcel from the Montgomery County record and apply its own sheet.

What is the property tax rate in Pennsylvania?

Pennsylvania has no single property tax rate. Counties, municipalities and school districts each levy their own millage, which is why a statewide average tells you little here: Zillow's typical home value for Pennsylvania is $287,078 (September 2026), and the five townships above run from 1.24% to 1.62% of price by estimate.

The county line shows the same trap at a smaller scale. Delaware County has the lowest county millage of the three and produces the largest county dollars on a $2M home.

Montgomery County PA property tax rate

Montgomery County charges 5.462 mills plus 0.49 for the community college, 5.952 in all on the 2026 sheet. The county's factor is the highest of the three, because its assessed values trail the market furthest. On a $2M home this line adds about $3,543 to the bill.

Delaware County PA property tax rate

Delaware County's 2026 rate is 4.609 mills, the lowest of the three, on assessments that sit closest to market at a factor of 1.83. Ask the county when your parcel was last valued. On $2M this line adds about $5,037.

Chester County millage rates and assessment

Chester County's 2026 rate is 5.164 mills. The state's factor of 3.27 implies assessments near 30.6% of market value, so ask the county which base year your parcel carries. On $2M this line adds about $3,158.

PA homestead exclusion: what it takes off a Main Line property tax bill

The PA homestead exclusion cuts your school tax by a few hundred dollars a year, and it's a fixed amount that doesn't grow with the price. File for it, and leave it out of the decision between two homes: even the largest amount is about 0.8% of a $5M Radnor bill. Pennsylvania's version is often searched as a homestead exemption, and it works by excluding a set amount of assessed value.

How much is the PA homestead exclusion by district?

How to get the PA homestead exclusion

Apply through the county, for the home you live in as your primary residence. In Delaware County, Radnor's district sends applications to the Homestead Coordinator at the Government Center, 201 West Front Street, Media, by March 1. Ask the Montgomery or Chester County assessment office for its form and date. Don't assume a seller's approval carries over to you: confirm it, and file your own if needed.

How do I appeal a Montgomery County tax assessment?

You start with the county's Board of Assessment Appeals. Before you file, divide your home's fair market value by the state's factor of 3.36: on $2M that's about $595,238, and an assessment well above that is the case worth asking about. Confirm the annual deadline with the board, since August 1 is the date to check, not one to rely on.

Chester County PA tax assessment appeal window

Ask Chester County's board for this year's window, with August 1 the closing date to check, and whether it sets the new assessment using the common level ratio. If it does, take an illustrative home: $3M fair value times 30.6% is $918,000. An assessment of $1,100,000 would be $182,000 too high, which at Tredyffrin's mills is about $7,392 a year.

Delaware County PA property tax assessment appeals

Ask Delaware County's board for this year's deadline and form before you count on a date. Use the same arithmetic with the 1.83 factor, and ask a real estate attorney whether an appeal could raise your assessment as well as lower it.

When Main Line property tax bills are due

Expect two bills, a county and township one early in the year and a school one in July. In Lower Merion the school bill is the big one: on $3M, about $32,591 arrives in July against about $9,617 for the February bill.

Lower Merion tax collector and payment

Pay the collector and address printed on your current bill, because the county's rate sheet gives dates and rates and doesn't replace the bill. Ask the seller for the latest paid bills during your inspection period, since they also set your property tax proration at closing.

Lower Merion township tax records

The assessed value you need sits on the county parcel record, and the Main Line property records guide shows where to find it. Reid can pull recent sales and parcel details on a road you're considering if you'd like a second check.

Where you lose money on Main Line property tax

• Multiplying price by mills. $2M times 47.2727 mills gives $94,545, about $66,400 above the estimated Lower Merion bill of $28,100.
• Choosing by the lower millage. Haverford Township's 29.6426 looks like a saving over Lower Merion and costs an estimated $4,300 more a year on $2M.
• Trusting the Villanova address. The same $3M price is an estimated $3,400 a year apart between Lower Merion and Radnor, and 19085 holds both.
• Using the county average on your parcel. A Lower Merion home assessed 10% above average costs about $2,814 a year more on $2M than the table shows.
• Skipping the homestead filing. That's $283.58 to about $500 a year, every year, depending on the district.
• Paying a Radnor school installment late. The district's schedule applies a 10% penalty to installments paid after December 31. On a $17,843 school bill, 10% of the whole bill would be about $1,784.
• Missing the annual appeal deadline. In the Chester County example above, that's about $7,392 lost for the year you waited.
• Counting the whole bill as deductible. The federal deduction for state and local tax has a cap, and a $70,300 bill on a $5M Lower Merion home may run past it before any income tax counts. Ask your CPA for this year's figure.

All bills here are estimates, so confirm yours and any tax position with a Pennsylvania CPA or real estate attorney.

Does Lower Merion have a local tax on income?

No. Lower Merion has no earned income tax, and Haverford Township doesn't either, while Easttown charges 0.5% on the state's DCED register. So a property tax comparison can mislead once earned income counts: $500,000 of earned income in Easttown would add $2,500, taking the $2M total to about $27,700 against a $24,800 property bill in neighboring Tredyffrin, where no such tax was reported as of 2024.

The Pennsylvania income tax guide owns those rates. Property tax is one line of the yearly budget in the Main Line cost of living breakdown, and school taxes fund the systems covered in the Main Line school districts guide, where each district's lookup confirms an address. New to the area? The guide to the Philadelphia Main Line explains how these townships fit together, and a private search with the Rosenthal Group can filter homes by township line.

Main Line property tax FAQs

Sources

• Montgomery County: County & Municipality Millage Rates
• Delaware County: 2026 Tax Rates
• Chester County: Tax Rates 2026
• PA Department of Revenue: Common Level Ratio Real Estate Valuation Factors
• Radnor Township School District: School Tax Information
• Haverford Township School District: Tax Collection
• Tredyffrin/Easttown School District: Budget Summary
• PA Department of Education: 2025-26 estimated tax relief per homestead
• Lower Merion School District: Understanding the LMSD Budget
• Zillow Home Value Index, September 2026
• PA DCED Municipal Statistics: Find Local Withholding Rates by Address (Easttown result, November 5, 2026)