Pike County, PA tax sales

County offices

County notes

• •The Bureau's direct line is (570) 296-3407, fax (570) 296-3412, email [email protected], internal extension 1180. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The 570-296-7613 number shown in the pikepa.org page footer is the county's general line rather than the Tax Claim Bureau.
• •Gina Rios is listed as Tax Claim Bureau director on the county department page. The bidder registration packet posted on the site still carries an earlier director's name, Cynthia Gehris, and a 2021 registration window, so treat the dates inside that packet as an example and confirm the current window with the office.
• •As of August 14, 2026 the upset sale page announces the sale is scheduled for September 23, 2026, with the Upset Sale List and Bidder Registration Packet posted alongside it. The judicial page says the next judicial sale will be held Spring 2027, and the repository page says it reopens in November 2026. September 23, 2026 is a Wednesday, matching the county's stated "generally the 4th Wednesday" pattern; confirm the hour and venue in the August advertisement.
• •The Bureau collects delinquent real estate taxes for 3 school districts and the 13 townships and boroughs in Pike County. Taxes unpaid by December 31 are returned to the Bureau in January, a $25.00 fee per claim is added, and interest accrues at 9 percent annually. A delinquent tax search and an online payment portal for owners are linked from the department page.
• •Repository purchases are made by sealed written bid on the county's Repository Bid Sheet, mailed to the Director, Pike County Tax Claim Bureau, Administration Building, 506 Broad Street, Milford, PA 18337. The county's repository notice set a starting bid of $1,250.00 plus filing fees covering a 2 percent transfer tax, a recording fee, a prothonotary fee and deed preparation, with the winning bidder notified by mail within 14 days and payment in certified funds due within 10 working days. Bids on parcels in Delaware and Greene townships need those townships' authorization first, which adds time. Confirm the current minimum and fee schedule with the Bureau before mailing a bid, since the posted amounts have changed between cycles.
• •Pike County posts its own upset sale list free on the upset sale page in August. Paid list vendors resell Pennsylvania sale lists, and no third party is authorized to conduct this county's sale.
• •2021 Act 33 is the authority the Bureau cites for mandatory bidder pre-registration. Signing a bidder registration that contains a false statement is a second-degree misdemeanor for falsification to authorities.

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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