Union County starts countywide property reassessment for 2028 taxes

Union County has started its countywide property reassessment with Tyler Technologies, setting the valuation date at July 1, 2026, and the first new tax bills for the 2028 tax year. The work reaches every corner of the local tax system, from county government to four school districts and most of the county’s 15 municipalities.

For homeowners, farmland owners and business owners, the most important point is that a higher assessment does not automatically mean a higher tax bill. Reassessment is meant to make taxation fair and equitable across property types, and Pennsylvania law requires taxing districts to reduce millage after a countywide reassessment so first-year revenue does not exceed the prior year’s haul. That is why municipalities and school boards may reset rates even as individual parcels move up or down.

The county’s assessment office says current values are still tied to a January 1, 2006 market-value base year, with a predetermined ratio of 100%. Union County says the reassessment process runs through data collection, market analysis, valuation, valuation review and informal hearings. In a typical Pennsylvania reassessment, about one-third of properties end up with taxes that rise, one-third see little or no change, and one-third see taxes go down.

Fieldwork has already begun in Gregg Township. County data collectors are measuring structures, recording details such as year built and room counts, and photographing significant buildings. They are wearing bright yellow vests marked Tyler and carrying county-issued ID badges. They will not enter homes, and they will leave if only a minor is present or if an owner asks them to go.

Union County has also spent months pushing the project into public view. The county held a first meeting Nov. 3, 2025, at Milton Area High School auditorium, followed by a Dec. 3 session at the Union County Government Center. A later reassessment meeting was posted for May 14, 2026, at Mifflinburg High School Auditorium.

The reassessment comes after a March 2025 cyberattack that caused a catastrophic loss of digital records. The county’s property system covered more than 17,600 parcels, and the Tyler services contract totaled $1.3 million through 2027, with a separate software contract costing $56,000 a year. Existing bond funds will cover the project, meaning no tax increase is expected from the reassessment work itself.