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Tax Sale Atlas

Indiana County, PA tax sales

How tax deed sales work in Indiana County, seat of Indiana: 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 in September and judicial sale in May, each held once a year.
Format
In person
Registration
In person at the Tax Claim Bureau only, inside a strict advertised window.
County office
(724) 465-3810
Every displayed fact carries a source badge. Verified Aug 10, 2026 against official county and state pages.How we verify
On this page

How Indiana County sells delinquent taxes

No tax lien certificate sale

Pennsylvania counties do not sell tax lien certificates to investors. The county Tax Claim Bureau holds the delinquent claim itself and later sells the property.

Tax deed sale

In person
Run by
Indiana County Tax Claim Bureau
Frequency
annual
Typical timing
Upset sale in September and judicial sale in May, each held once a year.
Registration
In person at the Tax Claim Bureau only, inside a strict advertised window.
Sale list
Property Tax Auctions (upset, judicial and repository lists)
When it runs
Upset sale in September and judicial sale in May, each held once a year. The county's 2025 bidder listing covers "SURFACE PROPERTIES ELIGIBLE FOR THE SEPTEMBER 19, 2025 UPSET TAX SALE" and its 2022 bidder notice is headed "UPSET SALE SEPTEMBER 15, 2022". The 2022 judicial notice is headed "JUDICIAL SALE MAY 16, 2022", and the 2026 judicial listing states "Registrations accepted April 15 to May 4". Repository bids run year round: the Bureau's instructions say "The County Commissioners review bids the fourth Tuesday of each month." Confirm the current year's exact date with the Bureau, because the county posts the sale date on the scanned listing rather than on a standing calendar page.
Registration and deposit

In person at the Tax Claim Bureau only, inside a strict advertised window. The Bureau's bidder notice says "A person who intends to bid must appear and register at the bureau within the time frame set by this bill. This is a strict time period with a cutoff that is advertised. Absolutely no late bidders or additional bidders will be accepted." The 2025 upset sale took registrations in person only from August 18 to September 5, 2025; the 2026 judicial sale took them April 15 to May 4. Judicial and repository bidders must register at least 10 days before the sale, and no registrations are taken on sale day. Fees are $25.00 per person and $50.00 per business, corporation, partnership or LLC, nonrefundable. Every applicant signs an affidavit that they owe no delinquent real estate taxes or municipal utility bills anywhere in Pennsylvania, are not bidding as agent for a barred person, and have no uncorrected housing code violations. Entities must list officers, members and managers with business addresses and phone numbers and show the signer is authorized; first-time and out-of-state business registrants must attach a certificate of organization, articles of incorporation or partnership agreement. Anyone not registered must be an approved observer to attend the sale. The full bid plus fees is due at the conclusion of the sale by personal check, approved business check, or cashier's or treasurer's check. The upset sale takes no cash.

Sale format and venue
Three separate sales, all run by the Tax Claim Bureau and all conducted in person. Upset sale: the first sale a delinquent parcel can reach, open to parcels two years delinquent, and the buyer takes title "subject to all taxes, liens, judgments and mortgages recorded at the time of the sale." Judicial sale: the free and clear sale for parcels unsold at upset, where the Bureau runs a title search and petitions the court, and recorded taxes, municipal claims, liens, mortgages and judgments are divested, though federal and state liens are not. Repository: parcels unsold at the judicial sale, and the Bureau states it "is not a public auction" because written bids are submitted to the office and reviewed by the County Commissioners on the fourth Tuesday of the month. Repository minimum bids are $1,000.00 for surface, $500.00 for a manufactured home only, and $350.00 for coal only, plus $35.00 document preparation, a $91.75 recording fee for up to four names, and 1 percent local plus 1 percent state transfer tax. New repository parcels are added after the May judicial sale. Coal and mineral interests are sold as separate parcels here and the county publishes a distinct coal listing. Upset and judicial properties are advertised in the Indiana Gazette and the Indiana Law Journal about 30 days before the sale, and a printed list is $5.00 at the office. The Bureau warns that it "does not certify title, and the purchaser assumes all risk of title", that all properties sell without guarantee, and that there are no refunds. Paying the delinquent taxes removes a parcel from the sale, so the posted lists shrink and the county states plainly that the online listing will not be updated. Buyers of manufactured homes get forms to obtain title through PennDOT rather than a Bureau title transfer, and should contact the park or landowner about lot rent. Do not confuse these with the separate mortgage foreclosure sheriff sales run by the Indiana County Sheriff's Office.
Source: Indiana County Tax Claim Bureau - Property Tax Auctions· Verified Aug 10, 2026

Indiana County tax sale list and auction calendar

For Indiana 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.

  1. Get the advertised list

    Use Property Tax Auctions (upset, judicial and repository lists) for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.

  2. Register to bid

    In person at the Tax Claim Bureau only, inside a strict advertised window. Full requirements are in the sale card above.

  3. Sale day

    Upset sale in September and judicial sale in May, each held once a year. 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.

  4. Confirm with the office

    If the list, platform, and notice disagree, use Indiana County Tax Claim Bureau as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.

Before you bid in Indiana County

  1. Start with the live sale list

    Pull the current advertised parcels from Property Tax Auctions (upset, judicial and repository lists). Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.

  2. Confirm registration and deposit

    In person at the Tax Claim Bureau only, inside a strict advertised window. The Bureau's bidder notice says "A person who intends to bid must appear and register at the bureau within the time frame set by this bill. This is a strict time period with a cutoff that is advertised. Absolutely no late bidders or additional bidders will be accepted." The 2025 upset sale took registrations in person only from August 18 to September 5, 2025; the 2026 judicial sale took them April 15 to May 4. Judicial and repository bidders must register at least 10 days before the sale, and no registrations are taken on sale day. Fees are $25.00 per person and $50.00 per business, corporation, partnership or LLC, nonrefundable. Every applicant signs an affidavit that they owe no delinquent real estate taxes or municipal utility bills anywhere in Pennsylvania, are not bidding as agent for a barred person, and have no uncorrected housing code violations. Entities must list officers, members and managers with business addresses and phone numbers and show the signer is authorized; first-time and out-of-state business registrants must attach a certificate of organization, articles of incorporation or partnership agreement. Anyone not registered must be an approved observer to attend the sale. The full bid plus fees is due at the conclusion of the sale by personal check, approved business check, or cashier's or treasurer's check. The upset sale takes no cash.

  3. 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.

  4. 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

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

Indiana County Tax Claim Bureau

(724) 465-3810

Indiana County Courthouse, Second Floor, 825 Philadelphia St., Indiana, PA 15701-3973

Official website

County notes

  • Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., closed holidays. The courthouse main line is 724.465.3800 and the Tax Claim Bureau direct line is (724) 465-3810.
  • Bureau staff listed on the county site: Director Frank E. Sisko Jr., Deputy Director Anna Bodnar, Solicitor Michael J. Supinka.
  • No online bidding platform appears anywhere in the county's tax sale materials. Registration is accepted in person only, payment is due at the close of the sale, and the county tells unregistered attendees they must be approved observers, all of which points to a live in-person auction.
  • The county publishes sale lists as scanned or exported PDFs stamped "THIS LISTING WILL NOT BE UPDATED", so the posted parcel count is a starting point rather than the sale-day inventory. Call the Bureau for the current list and the confirmed sale date.
  • The exact 2026 upset sale date was not posted on the county site at the time of this check. Only the undated upset sale description and the bidder notice were available, so the September timing comes from the county's own 2025 and 2022 sale documents.
  • Indiana County sells coal and mineral interests as separate tax sale parcels, including a standing repository coal list. Surface and coal are listed and bid separately.
  • The county's bidder affidavit cites 18 Pa.C.S. section 4904(a), unsworn falsification to authorities, as the penalty for a false registration statement.

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.
Governing statute
72 P.S. 5860.101 et seq.

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.

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Frequently asked questions

Does Indiana County, Pennsylvania sell tax liens or tax deeds?

Tax deeds. Pennsylvania sells no tax lien certificates to investors; the County Tax Claim Bureau sells the property itself at a public tax sale.

How often does Indiana County hold tax deed sales?

Indiana County holds its tax deed sale once a year. Upset sale in September and judicial sale in May, each held once a year. Each sale is scheduled and advertised in advance, so check the county's tax deed calendar for the next posted date.

I own a property in this sale. Can I stop it?

Often yes, by paying the overdue taxes, interest, and costs before the deadline. Pennsylvania's redemption rule: None after the sale in the 65 Real Estate Tax Sale Law counties; in Philadelphia, 9 months from acknowledgment of the sheriff's deed, and 3 months in Allegheny County and Pittsburgh. Call the Indiana County Tax Claim Bureau as early as possible for your exact payoff and options; deadlines are strict. Free help: lawhelp.org lists legal aid programs, and consumerfinance.gov lists HUD-approved housing counselors.

Where can I find the Indiana County tax sale list?

Indiana County posts its tax sale list at indianacountypa.gov. Lists go up ahead of each sale and keep changing until the sale date, so confirm every parcel against the county's legal advertisement before you bid.

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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