Pennsylvania Tax Deeds


In Pennsylvania, the tax collector or treasurer will sell Pennsylvania tax deeds to the winning bidders at the delinquent property tax sale. The bidder willing to pay the most wins the bidding contest.

Tax Sale Type: Tax Deeds (Sec. 5860.608 New Window)

Contact: County Tax Collector (Sec. 5860.601 New Window)

Bid Procedure: Premium Bid (Sec. 5860.605 New Window)

Law: Pennsylvania "Real Estate Tax Sale Law" Act 542 of 1947, P.L. 1368; 72 P.S. 5860.101 New Window

Additional Notes:

In accordance with the Tax Sale law, the municipal Tax Claim Bureau is able to sell parcels in one of four ways (Article VI. Sale of Property.); (a) Upset Sale (Sec 601 - 609), (b) Judicial Sale (Sec 610 - 612.2), (c) Private Sale (Sec 613 - 615), and (f) Repository for Unsold Property (Sec 625 - 630).

The Upset Sale is scheduled each September and includes those parcels whose taxes, from two years earlier, remain unpaid or other specified conditions exist.

A Private Sale can occur after a property has been exposed but not sold at an Upset Sale. An interested buyer submits a written bid to the Tax Claim Bureau. The Bureau decides whether to accept the bid. If accepted, the bid is advertised in a newspaper. Any one objecting to the sale must petition the court within 45 days to disprove the sale.

A Judicial Sale is held at least once each year and can include only those properties that have been exposed but not sold at an Upset Sale. After advertisement, notice to owners and lien holders, etc., the parcels are presented free and clear of all liens.

A Repository Sale consists of properties that are exposed but not sold at a Judicial Sale. Any bid on a repository property must be approved by all taxing districts where the property is located (i.e. township borough, county, school).

Special sales and redemption provisions apply in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Scranton and in Allegheny County.

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Counties / Municipalities located in Pennsylvania

The following is a list of counties located in the state of Pennsylvania. Tax Deeds for properties located in the following counties are sold at Pennsylvania county tax sales.

Learn more about each county's individual tax sale process by clicking on the name of the county for which you are interested from the list below:

County/Municipality:  Population: 
Adams County, PA  91,292
Allegheny County, PA  1,281,666
Armstrong County, PA  72,392
Beaver County, PA  181,412
Bedford County, PA  49,984
Berks County, PA  373,638
Blair County, PA  129,144
Bradford County, PA  62,761
Bucks County, PA  597,635
Butler County, PA  174,083
Cambria County, PA  152,598
Cameron County, PA  5,974
Carbon County, PA  58,802
Centre County, PA  135,758
Chester County, PA  433,501
Clarion County, PA  41,765
Clearfield County, PA  83,382
Clinton County, PA  37,914
Columbia County, PA  64,151
Crawford County, PA  90,366
Cumberland County, PA  213,674
Dauphin County, PA  251,798
Delaware County, PA  550,864
Elk County, PA  35,112
Erie County, PA  280,843
Fayette County, PA  148,644
Forest County, PA  4,946
Franklin County, PA  129,313
Fulton County, PA  14,261
Greene County, PA  40,672
Huntingdon County, PA  45,586
Indiana County, PA  89,605
Jefferson County, PA  45,932
Juniata County, PA  22,821
Lackawanna County, PA  213,295
Lancaster County, PA  470,658
Lawrence County, PA  94,643
Lebanon County, PA  120,327
Lehigh County, PA  312,090
Luzerne County, PA  319,250
Lycoming County, PA  120,044
Mckean County, PA  45,936
Mercer County, PA  120,293
Mifflin County, PA  46,486
Monroe County, PA  138,687
Montgomery County, PA  750,097
Montour County, PA  18,236
Northampton County, PA  267,066
Northumberland County, PA  94,556
Perry County, PA  43,602
Philadelphia County, PA  1,517,550
Pike County, PA  46,302
Potter County, PA  18,080
Schuylkill County, PA  150,336
Snyder County, PA  37,546
Somerset County, PA  80,023
Sullivan County, PA  6,556
Susquehanna County, PA  42,238
Tioga County, PA  41,373
Union County, PA  41,624
Venango County, PA  57,565
Warren County, PA  43,863
Washington County, PA  202,897
Wayne County, PA  47,722
Westmoreland County, PA  369,993
Wyoming County, PA  28,080
York County, PA  381,751