Chester County, PA tax sales
How tax deed sales work in Chester County, seat of West Chester: sale calendar, auction platform, over-the-counter lists, and the offices that run each sale.
New to tax sales? Read how Pennsylvania tax sales work or look terms up in the glossary.
- Next sale
- Upset sale scheduled for September 21, 2026.Monday · 2026
- Format
- In person
- Registration
- For the September 21, 2026 upset sale the deadline is close of business on September 10, 2026.
- County office
- 610-344-6360
On this page
How Chester County sells delinquent taxes
Tax deed sale
- Run by
- Chester County Tax Claim Bureau
- Frequency
- annual
- Registration
- For the September 21, 2026 upset sale the deadline is close of business on September 10, 2026.
- Sale list
- 2026 Upset Sale Advertising List
When it runs
Registration and deposit
Act 33 of 2021 requires every intending bidder to register with the Bureau in advance. For the September 21, 2026 upset sale the deadline is close of business on September 10, 2026. The Bureau states: "Postmarks are not accepted. Forms are available on this page and original documents must be submitted. Submissions via fax or e-mail will not be accepted." Each bidder files a Public Tax Sale Bidder Registration Form with a photocopy of photo ID for comparison at sale check in, plus a notarized Affidavit of Bidder or Deeded Owner certifying the bidder owes no delinquent Pennsylvania real estate taxes, has no municipal utility bills more than one year outstanding, is not barred under section 601(d), and has no uncorrected housing code violations in the prior three years. An LLC or other entity must attach organization documents naming every member, manager, owner and officer. The winning bidder pays the entire bid price plus realty transfer tax and deed recording costs to the Bureau by 3:30 p.m. on sale day, and the Conditions of Sale state: "PAYMENT OF THE PURCHASE PRICE SHALL BE MADE BY CERTIFIED CHECK, CASHIER'S CHECK, MONEY ORDER OR CASH." Failure to pay by 3:30 p.m. voids the sale and the property is put up again.
Sale format and venue
Chester County tax sale list and auction calendar
For Chester County tax sale 2026 searches, use the county-run sources below rather than a copied parcel list, and confirm the parcel, registration cutoff, deposit, and payment deadline against the county before you bid.
Get the advertised list
Use 2026 Upset Sale Advertising List for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.Register to bid
Sale day
Upset sale scheduled for September 21, 2026. The sale is live and in person; there is no online bidding platform. Confirm the venue and hour with the county office before you go.Confirm with the office
If the list, platform, and notice disagree, use Chester County Tax Claim Bureau as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.
Before you bid in Chester County
4 checks
Start with the live sale list
Pull the current advertised parcels from 2026 Upset Sale Advertising List. Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.Confirm registration and deposit
Act 33 of 2021 requires every intending bidder to register with the Bureau in advance. For the September 21, 2026 upset sale the deadline is close of business on September 10, 2026. The Bureau states: "Postmarks are not accepted. Forms are available on this page and original documents must be submitted. Submissions via fax or e-mail will not be accepted." Each bidder files a Public Tax Sale Bidder Registration Form with a photocopy of photo ID for comparison at sale check in, plus a notarized Affidavit of Bidder or Deeded Owner certifying the bidder owes no delinquent Pennsylvania real estate taxes, has no municipal utility bills more than one year outstanding, is not barred under section 601(d), and has no uncorrected housing code violations in the prior three years. An LLC or other entity must attach organization documents naming every member, manager, owner and officer. The winning bidder pays the entire bid price plus realty transfer tax and deed recording costs to the Bureau by 3:30 p.m. on sale day, and the Conditions of Sale state: "PAYMENT OF THE PURCHASE PRICE SHALL BE MADE BY CERTIFIED CHECK, CASHIER'S CHECK, MONEY ORDER OR CASH." Failure to pay by 3:30 p.m. voids the sale and the property is put up again.
Check the state rules that change the bid
Read the Pennsylvania due-diligence checklist before bidding. Redemption, liens that survive a tax deed, title cleanup, and payment deadlines can change what a parcel is worth.Set a walk-away number
Work out what the parcel is actually worth with the rural land value estimator, then turn it into a ceiling with the tax deed max-bid calculator.
Over-the-counter (leftover) purchases
unsold properties
Every Real Estate Tax Sale Law county keeps a repository for unsold properties: anything still unsold after a judicial sale is placed there, and the bureau must make the list available to the public during normal office hours. The bureau may, with the written consent of each taxing district where the property sits, set a minimum purchase price and accept any offer at or above it without court approval and without published notice. Consent is deemed given if a district does not respond within 60 days, and a district may require the buyer to appear before its governing body. The buyer files an affidavit with the same information a bidder registration requires. The deed conveys free and clear of all tax and municipal claims, mortgages, liens, charges and estates except separately taxed ground rents, and the bureau records it at the buyer's expense. A former owner may not buy their own property out of the repository. Prices, forms and turnaround are set county by county, so confirm the process with the tax claim bureau.
New to this path? Read how over-the-counter purchases work.
Use the arrow keys to switch between these sections.
County offices
Tax sale office
County notes
- The Tax Claim Bureau collects delinquent real estate taxes for the County, 73 municipalities and 14 school districts in Chester County. Jonathan B. Schuck is listed as Director. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and the fax is 610-344-4722.
- Taxes are delinquent if unpaid by December 31 and are returned to the Bureau in January. Interest runs at three quarters of one percent per month, or 9 percent per year, calculated on the first of each month.
- Upset sale notice is advertised at least 30 days ahead in the Daily Local News, the Chester County Press and the Chester County Law Reporter, and eligible parcels are published in July. Parcels are also physically posted at least 10 days before the sale.
- An owner can pull a parcel from the upset sale by paying in full, or stay the sale with a written installment agreement requiring 25 percent down and the balance in no more than three installments within one year. Expect the published list to shrink between advertisement and sale day.
- The Bureau requested delinquent payments by Friday, September 18, 2026 at 3:30 p.m. ahead of the 2026 upset sale, and it disables the e-check option from June 30, 2026 and the credit card option from September 18, 2026, restoring both on September 22, 2026.
- The Bureau sells as is and makes no warranty on description, ownership, condition, procedural regularity or environmental status. It also states that it does not give legal advice on tax issues.
- A property owner cannot buy back their own parcel at any Chester County tax sale. The bidder affidavit cites 72 P.S. Section 5860.618 and bars owners, their partners and shareholders, and any family member, friend or other stand in used to get around the rule. County of Chester elected officials and appointed officers are also barred under 16 P.S. 1806.
- The repository list is refreshed periodically. The version published July 30, 2026 held 12 parcels, mostly vacant lots and open space in the boroughs and western townships, and it flagged an environmental notice letter attached to one owner's parcels.
- The upset sale page moved on the county site. The older /1857/Upset-Tax-Sale-Information path now returns a 404, and the live page is /6010/Upset-Tax-Sale-Information, so check the Tax Claim Bureau department page for the current link each season.
Pennsylvania rules
- Redemption
- Under the Real Estate Tax Sale Law there is no redemption of any property after the actual sale. The owner's last opportunity is to discharge the tax claim before the sale by paying the claim and interest, any other tax claim or judgment and interest, all accrued unpaid taxes, and the record costs, or a smaller amount the political subdivision agrees to accept. Payment before July 1 of the year following the notice of claim removes the property from the sale list entirely. Payment after that date but before the actual sale still stops the sale, though the parcel and the owner's name may already appear in the advertising.
- Deed deposit
- The Real Estate Tax Sale Law sets no deposit and no buyer premium. What it does require is pre-registration: anyone intending to bid at an upset or judicial sale must appear and register at the bureau no less than 10 days before the sale, once per scheduled sale, and a county may charge a fee for filing the application. The application names the applicant, and every officer, member and manager if the applicant is not an individual, and carries an affidavit that the applicant owes no delinquent real estate taxes anywhere in the Commonwealth, has no municipal utility bill more than one year outstanding, is not acting for a person barred under section 601(d), and has not let an uncorrected housing code violation stand after conviction in the last three years. A false statement is prosecutable as a second degree misdemeanor. The bureau sends the list of registered bidders to every municipality in the county at least five days before the sale.
- Surplus proceeds
- The bureau distributes tax-sale proceeds, after repaying costs advanced by taxing districts and its own 5 percent commission, in this order: Commonwealth tax liens, then the taxing districts in proportion to the taxes due them, then taxing districts or municipal authorities for municipal claims, then mortgagees and other lien holders in order of record priority whether or not the sale discharged them, and last the owner of the property. Before paying anything out the bureau petitions the court of common pleas to confirm the schedule of distribution, and an absolute confirmation is final and nonappealable as to every listed distributee. If no claim for the owner's balance is presented within three years of the sale, that balance goes to the taxing districts pro rata and the county keeps the interest it earned.
A tax deed does not convey marketable title. Most buyers file a quiet title action before they can resell or insure the property. See the due diligence guide.
Frequently asked questions
Does Chester County, Pennsylvania sell tax liens or tax deeds?
How often does Chester County hold tax deed sales?
I own a property in this sale. Can I stop it?
Where can I find the Chester County tax sale list?
Verified Aug 10, 2026 against official county and state sources.
Tax Sale Atlas publishes educational information about public tax sale processes. This is not legal, financial, or investment advice. Rules, dates, and fees change; confirm with the county office before you bid.
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