Pittsburgh Property Taxes To Skyrocket

PITTSBURGH, PA — Like a boxer repeatedly taking blows to the chin, Pittsburgh taxpayers are absorbing blow after blow in tax increases.

Pittsburgh City Council on Sunday approved a 20 percent real estate tax hike for 2026, down from the 30 percent increase first proposed by council member Barb Warwick. That comes on the heels of a 2 percent tax hike approved last week by the Pittsburgh Public Schools and a 36 percent Allegheny County tax increase that was adopted last year.

For a house in the city assessed at $100,000, the tax burden will increase $161 per year.

Mayor Ed Gainey, who proposed a budget without a tax hike that city controller Rachel Heisler termed unrealistic, has not yet indicated whether he will approve or veto council's $693 million budget plan. Gainey leaves office at the end of the year, to be succeeded by Allegheny County Controller Corey O' Connor.

By law, Gainey has 10 days to decide whether to veto the measure. If he takes no action, the budget and the tax increase automatically become law.