Luzerne County, PA tax sales

County offices

County notes

• •The bureau keeps a second public office at 40 N. Church St., Hazleton, PA 18201, phone (570) 459-0252. A toll-free line is (844) 514-5091, fax is (570) 820-6339, and email is [email protected].
• •Payments go to a different address than the walk-in office: Elite Revenue Solutions, LLC, 200 N. River Street, Wilkes Barre, PA 18711.
• •Office hours are Monday to Friday, 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM.
• •Luzerne County's own government site confirms the arrangement, stating that "All delinquent issues are handled by Elite Revenue Solutions" and listing the same (570) 825-1512 phone and the luzernecountytaxclaim.com website.
• •Parcels that fail to sell at upset, private or judicial sale land in the repository, where the bureau accepts written bids year round with no auction date. "Properties in the Repository may be sold without notice. Bids must be approved by all taxing districts in which the property is located (County, City, and School District.)" A repository bid form, a repository sale policy and a current repository listing are posted on the bureau's repository page.
• •The bureau also runs private sales and publishes a tax sale distribution and surplus funds list plus an outstanding surplus checks list, useful for tracking overbid proceeds.
• •Judicial sale property lists are refreshed close to the sale date. The current one is posted as "Tax Sale List as of 8-5-26", one day before the August 6, 2026 auction, so download the newest version rather than relying on an earlier advertised list.
• •Sale notices are advertised roughly 30 days ahead in The Times Leader, the Standard Speaker and the Luzerne Legal Register.

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.Real Estate Tax Sale Law section 501 - who may pay off a tax claim before sale, and the rule that there is no redemption after the actual sale72 P.S. 5860.501Verified Aug 9, 2026

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.Real Estate Tax Sale Law section 601 - the upset sale is scheduled no earlier than the second Monday of September and before October 172 P.S. 5860.601Verified Aug 9, 2026

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.Real Estate Tax Sale Law section 205 - the five-part distribution priority for tax-sale proceeds and the three-year cutoff on an owner's surplus claim72 P.S. 5860.205Verified Aug 9, 2026

Governing statute

72 P.S. 5860.101 et seq.Real Estate Tax Sale Law section 102 - definitions of "Delinquent", "Actual sale", "County" and "Owner"72 P.S. 5860.102Verified Aug 9, 2026

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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