The Butler County, PA property tax rate for the county’s own portion is 27.626 mills in 2026. That figure is the same for every parcel in the county, but it’s only one line on the bill. Once you add your school district and municipal rates, total millage runs from roughly 123 mills in Jefferson Township to just over 230 mills in Buffalo Township. Where you live inside the county drives almost all of the variation in what you pay.
Three Rates Stacked on Every Bill
Your annual property tax in Butler County comes from three independent taxing bodies. The county funds courts, elections, administration, and Butler County Community College. Your township or borough funds local roads, police, and municipal services. Your school district almost always collects the largest share.
Each body sets its own millage, usually in late fall or early winter for the following year. Elected local tax collectors handle billing in most municipalities and forward the money to the County Treasurer. The Treasurer’s Office is also the direct collector for the City of Butler and several boroughs, including Callery, Connoquenessing, Karns City, Saxonburg, Valencia, West Sunbury, and Winfield Township.1Butler County, PA. Treasurer
2026 Millage Rates
The 27.626 county mills break into three pieces: 21.775 for general county operations, 2.916 for debt service, and 2.935 for Butler County Community College.2Butler County, PA. Property Tax Information
School district rates in 2026 range from 94.275 mills in the Moniteau, Karns City, and South Butler districts to 185.910 mills in the Mars Area School District portion covering Buffalo Township. Municipal rates run from 1.050 mills in Cherry Valley Borough to 25.330 mills in Karns City Borough.3Butler County, PA. Millage Rates in Butler County
A few combined totals for 2026:
- Jefferson Township: 123.401 mills, one of the lowest in the county
- Butler Township: 148.516 mills, near the county median
- Cranberry Township: 187.226 mills, pushed up by Seneca Valley school rates
- Buffalo Township: 230.036 mills, the highest in the county
The county publishes the full list for every township and borough each year.3Butler County, PA. Millage Rates in Butler County
Why Assessed Value Looks So Low
Butler County does not tax at current market value. It uses a 1969 base year, meaning every property is assessed at what it would have been worth in 1969, and the county hasn’t updated that base since. Pennsylvania law permits this approach.4Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Statutes Title 72 PS Taxation and Fiscal Affairs 5020-402
A house that would sell today for $250,000 might carry an assessed value of only $15,000 on the county rolls. The State Tax Equalization Board tracks this gap through the Common Level Ratio. Butler County’s current ratio factor is 16.67, which reflects assessed values sitting at roughly 6% of actual market value.5Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. Realty Transfer Tax Common Level Ratio Real Estate Valuation Factors New construction, additions, or major renovations can trigger a reassessment, but the reassessment still uses the 1969 standard.
Calculating Your Bill
Divide your assessed value by 1,000, then multiply by your total millage rate. One mill equals $1 of tax for every $1,000 of assessed value.
Say your assessed value is $12,000 and you live in Butler Township, where total 2026 millage is 148.516. Divide 12,000 by 1,000 to get 12, then multiply by 148.516. Your annual tax comes to $1,782.19. Run the same calculation with each rate separately if you want to see how much of the bill goes to the county, the school district, and the municipality. You can verify the assessed value the county is using through the Butler County Assessment Office before you check the arithmetic.6Butler County, PA. Assessment
Payment Deadlines and the Early Discount
Pennsylvania sets a three-phase payment schedule that Butler County follows:
- Through April 30: 2% discount off the face amount
- May 1 through June 30: face value, no discount and no penalty
- July 1 through December 31: 10% penalty added to the face amount
Anything still unpaid after December 31 goes to the Butler County Tax Claim Bureau as a lien the following January.7Winfield Township. Tax Collection The 2% discount is worth about $36 on a $1,782 bill. Not enormous, but free.
Ways to Lower What You Owe
Homestead and Farmstead Exclusion
If the property is your primary residence, apply for the homestead exclusion. It reduces your assessed value before the school district tax is calculated. Qualifying farmland gets the same treatment as a farmstead. The exclusion amount depends on your school district and on how much gambling revenue the state allocates for property tax relief that year. File an application with the Butler County Assessment Office by March 1 for the coming tax year.8Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development. Property Tax Relief Through Homestead Exclusion Once approved, you generally don’t need to reapply unless you move.
Clean and Green
Land used for farming, forestry, or open-space conservation can qualify for preferential assessment based on use value rather than market value, which is almost always lower. The parcel must be at least ten acres, or the owner must show at least $2,000 in annual farm income on a smaller parcel.9Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Clean and Green
If you later change the land’s use in violation of the program, you owe seven years of rollback taxes, calculated as the difference between what you paid under Clean and Green and what you would have paid at normal assessment, plus 6% simple interest per year.9Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Clean and Green On a large parcel that adds up quickly.
Property Tax/Rent Rebate
Pennsylvania offers a rebate for older adults, widows and widowers age 50 and older, and residents with disabilities age 18 and older. Household income must be $48,110 or less, and you can exclude half of your Social Security income from that figure. The maximum standard rebate is $1,000 for homeowners or renters with income at or below $8,550, with smaller rebates at higher income levels. File through the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue.10Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. Property Tax/Rent Rebate Program
Disabled Veteran Exemption
Honorably discharged veterans with a 100% permanent service-connected disability rating can qualify for a full real estate tax exemption on their primary residence. Veterans with total disability individual unemployability, or with service-connected blindness, paraplegia, or loss of two or more limbs, also qualify. There is a need test: as of January 2025, veterans with annual income of $114,637 or less receive a presumption of financial need. Those earning more can still qualify if documented monthly expenses exceed income.11Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs. Real Estate Tax Exemption
Appealing Your Assessment
If your assessed value is too high relative to what the property would actually sell for, you can appeal to the Butler County Board of Assessment Appeals. The filing deadline in most Pennsylvania counties is August 1. Confirm the current date and get the form from the Assessment Office at 724-284-5316.6Butler County, PA. Assessment
The Common Level Ratio is the key number. Because the county assesses on a 1969 base, the board needs a way to compare your assessed value against present-day market evidence. With the current CLR factor of 16.67, a home with a fair market value of $200,000 should carry an assessed value of roughly $12,000, calculated as $200,000 divided by 16.67.5Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. Realty Transfer Tax Common Level Ratio Real Estate Valuation Factors If your assessment is meaningfully higher than that math suggests, you have a case worth filing.
Bring comparable sales from your neighborhood and any evidence of condition problems that reduce value. If the board rules against you, Pennsylvania law allows a further appeal to the Court of Common Pleas.
If You Don’t Pay
Once taxes become delinquent after December 31, the debt goes to the Butler County Tax Claim Bureau. By July, the bureau sends a certified notice giving you one year to pay in full before the property can be advertised for sale.
If the debt is still unpaid after the discharge period, the property goes to an upset sale on the second Monday of September. At an upset sale, the buyer takes on all past-due taxes, liens, and mortgages. Anything that doesn’t sell moves to a judicial sale, where the property is sold free and clear of liens at a lower starting price. Unsold properties then land on the county’s repository list, open to bids that require approval from the three taxing districts.12Butler County, PA. Tax Claim Bureau There is no redemption period once a sale actually takes place.