- Does Pennsylvania sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Tax deeds. Pennsylvania sells no tax lien certificates to investors. In the 65 counties under the Real Estate Tax Sale Law the county Tax Claim Bureau sells the property itself, first at a September upset sale and then, for anything unsold, at a court-ordered judicial sale.
- What is the difference between a Pennsylvania upset sale and a judicial sale?
- What you get for your money. An upset sale conveys the property still subject to every recorded mortgage, lien, ground rent and estate that was not covered by the upset price, so a surviving mortgage is your problem. A judicial sale is ordered by the court of common pleas and conveys an absolute title free and cleared of all tax and municipal claims, mortgages, liens, charges and estates, except separately taxed ground rents. Both are sold to the highest bidder, but only the upset sale has a statutory minimum price.
- When are Pennsylvania tax sales held?
- The upset sale is scheduled no earlier than the second Monday of September and before October 1, and any continuation must finish by the end of the calendar year. Judicial sales are held on a date the court fixes, so the month varies by county. A property reaches its first upset sale in the September of the second calendar year after the year the taxes were due, roughly 21 months after the December 31 delinquency date.
- Is there a redemption period after a Pennsylvania tax sale?
- Not under the Real Estate Tax Sale Law. Section 501 states that there is no redemption of any property after the actual sale, so the owner's last chance is to pay the claim in full before the sale. Philadelphia and Allegheny County are the exception: they sell under the Municipal Claim and Tax Lien Law, where the owner, the owner's assignees, or a party whose lien was discharged may redeem within nine months of the acknowledgment of the sheriff's deed, three months in Allegheny County and Pittsburgh, and never for vacant property.
- How do you register to bid at a Pennsylvania tax sale?
- You must appear in person and register at the county Tax Claim Bureau no less than 10 days before the scheduled upset or judicial sale, and register again for each scheduled sale. The application discloses the bidder and, for an entity, its officers, members and managers, and carries an affidavit that you owe no delinquent real estate taxes anywhere in Pennsylvania, have no municipal utility bill more than a year outstanding, and have no uncorrected housing code violation in the last three years. A county may charge a filing fee. The bureau sends the bidder list to every municipality in the county at least five days before the sale.
- Can you buy Pennsylvania tax properties over the counter?
- Yes, from the county repository for unsold properties. Anything still unsold after a judicial sale goes into the repository, whose list the bureau must keep available to the public. The bureau may set a minimum purchase price with the written consent of every taxing district involved and accept any offer at or above it without court approval or published notice, and the deed conveys free and clear except for separately taxed ground rents. A district that does not respond within 60 days is deemed to consent, and a former owner may not buy their own property back this way.
- When do you actually pay at a Pennsylvania upset sale?
- The same day. The purchaser must pay the entire purchase money to the bureau on the date of the sale, no later than one hour before the close of business or at another time that day the bureau designates, or the sale is voided and the property is offered again. The statute sets no deposit and no buyer premium, and it sets no payment window for a judicial sale, so counties publish their own judicial-sale terms and many require certified funds at strike-down.
- Who gets the surplus from a Pennsylvania tax sale?
- The bureau distributes proceeds after costs and its 5 percent commission in a fixed order: Commonwealth tax liens, then the taxing districts in proportion to the taxes due them, then municipal claims, then mortgagees and other lien holders in order of record priority whether or not the sale discharged them, and last the former owner. The court of common pleas must confirm the schedule of distribution first, and its absolute confirmation is final and nonappealable as to the listed distributees. An owner's balance left unclaimed for three years goes to the taxing districts.
Verified Aug 9, 2026 against Pennsylvania statutes.
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.