Lehigh County, PA tax sales
How tax deed sales work in Lehigh County, seat of Allentown: 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 9, 2026.Wednesday · 2026
- Format
- In person
- Registration
- Registration is required and bidding is in person.
- County office
- 610-782-3119 (toll free 844-514-5091)
On this page
How Lehigh County sells delinquent taxes
Tax deed sale
- Run by
- Lehigh County Tax Claim Bureau, administered by Elite Revenue Solutions as agent for the Bureau
- Frequency
- annual
- Registration
- Registration is required and bidding is in person.
When it runs
Registration and deposit
Registration is required and bidding is in person. The Bureau states that "Potential buyers must submit a bidder's affidavit and bid sheet prior to the sale", and its registration sheets page states "FORMS DUE 10 DAYS PRIOR TO TAX SALE". The FAQ states that "Bidders must attend the Upset Tax Sale to purchase properties" and that mail bids are not accepted. Winning bids must be paid in full by 4:00 PM on the day of the sale by cashier's check, certified check or money order.
Sale format and venue
Lehigh County tax sale list and auction calendar
For Lehigh 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 Upset sale property lists and results (PDF) for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.Register to bid
Sale day
Upset sale scheduled for September 9, 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 Lehigh County Tax Claim Bureau, administered by Elite Revenue Solutions as agent for the Bureau as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.
Before you bid in Lehigh County
4 checks
Start with the live sale list
Pull the current advertised parcels from Upset sale property lists and results (PDF). Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.Confirm registration and deposit
Registration is required and bidding is in person. The Bureau states that "Potential buyers must submit a bidder's affidavit and bid sheet prior to the sale", and its registration sheets page states "FORMS DUE 10 DAYS PRIOR TO TAX SALE". The FAQ states that "Bidders must attend the Upset Tax Sale to purchase properties" and that mail bids are not accepted. Winning bids must be paid in full by 4:00 PM on the day of the sale by cashier's check, certified check or money order.
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
Lehigh County Tax Claim Bureau (Elite Revenue Solutions, agent for the Bureau)
610-782-3119 (toll free 844-514-5091)
Lehigh County Government Center, 17 South 7th Street, Room 120, Allentown, PA 18101
Official websiteCounty notes
- Lehigh County's own site at lehighcounty.org defers all tax sale information to the Bureau's site: "Elite Revenue Solutions is the agent for the Lehigh County Tax Claim Bureau. Please visit the website https://www.lehighcountytaxclaim.com for all tax sale information."
- The Bureau posts sale lists and final results as PDFs on the upset sale and judicial sale pages, typically once the sale has been advertised. The most recent repository list posted was dated 6-26-25, alongside a repository bid form and a repository sales policy.
- Office hours are Monday to Friday, 8:00 am to 4:00 pm. Fax is 610-841-3678.
- Property and delinquent tax lookups run through the Bureau's property search portal linked from the Bureau site.
- The county government site also hosts an older Conditions of Upset Sale page whose deposit and payment terms reference a sale from a prior decade, so rely on the Bureau site and the current-year bidder packet instead.
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 Lehigh County, Pennsylvania sell tax liens or tax deeds?
How often does Lehigh County hold tax deed sales?
I own a property in this sale. Can I stop it?
Where can I find the Lehigh 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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