Washington County, PA tax sales
How tax deed sales work in Washington County, seat of Washington: 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
- Wednesday, September 30, 2026, 10:00 A.M.Wednesday · 2026
- Format
- In person
- Registration
- Pre-registration is mandatory.
- County office
- 724-228-6850
On this page
How Washington County sells delinquent taxes
Tax deed sale
- Run by
- Washington County Tax Claim Bureau
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- Wednesday, September 30, 2026, 10:00 A.M.
- Registration
- Pre-registration is mandatory.
- Sale list
- 2026 Upset Sale List (PDF)
When it runs
Registration and deposit
Pre-registration is mandatory. Under Act 33 of 2021 all prospective bidders must pre-register at least 10 days before the sale, in person at the Washington County Tax Claim Bureau, 95 W. Beau St., Suite 525, Washington, PA 15301, from 9:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. each registration day. For the 2026 upset sale registration runs Monday, September 14, 2026 through Friday, September 18, 2026 at 4:00 P.M.; for the 2026 judicial sale it runs Monday, June 8, 2026 through Friday, June 12, 2026 at 4:00 P.M.; for the 2026 fall repository sale it runs Monday, August 3, 2026 through Friday, August 7, 2026 at 4:00 P.M. Each applicant files a $25.00 registration fee (cash only, non-refundable), a bidder registry form, a copy of a valid photo ID or driver's license, an affidavit of bidder, and an affidavit of non-bidding potential owner where applicable. Businesses, corporations and LLCs also file IRS Form SS-4 plus lists of members, officers, managers and partners and of any other entities in which they hold an interest. Incomplete applications are refused and no one can register on the day of the sale. The bureau screens each bidder for housing code violations in the last three years and circulates bidder lists to other Pennsylvania tax claim bureaus, Washington County municipal authorities, and third-party delinquent tax collectors.
Sale format and venue
Washington County tax sale list and auction calendar
For Washington 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 2026 Upset Sale List (PDF) for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.Register to bid
Sale day
Wednesday, September 30, 2026, 10:00 A.M. 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 Washington County Tax Claim Bureau as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.
Before you bid in Washington County
4 checks
Start with the live sale list
Pull the current advertised parcels from 2026 Upset Sale List (PDF). Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.Confirm registration and deposit
Pre-registration is mandatory. Under Act 33 of 2021 all prospective bidders must pre-register at least 10 days before the sale, in person at the Washington County Tax Claim Bureau, 95 W. Beau St., Suite 525, Washington, PA 15301, from 9:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. each registration day. For the 2026 upset sale registration runs Monday, September 14, 2026 through Friday, September 18, 2026 at 4:00 P.M.; for the 2026 judicial sale it runs Monday, June 8, 2026 through Friday, June 12, 2026 at 4:00 P.M.; for the 2026 fall repository sale it runs Monday, August 3, 2026 through Friday, August 7, 2026 at 4:00 P.M. Each applicant files a $25.00 registration fee (cash only, non-refundable), a bidder registry form, a copy of a valid photo ID or driver's license, an affidavit of bidder, and an affidavit of non-bidding potential owner where applicable. Businesses, corporations and LLCs also file IRS Form SS-4 plus lists of members, officers, managers and partners and of any other entities in which they hold an interest. Incomplete applications are refused and no one can register on the day of the sale. The bureau screens each bidder for housing code violations in the last three years and circulates bidder lists to other Pennsylvania tax claim bureaus, Washington County municipal authorities, and third-party delinquent tax collectors.
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
County notes
- The Tax Claim Bureau sits inside the Washington County Tax Revenue Department, whose director is listed as Raffaele Casale. County hours are listed as 9:00am to 4:30pm, Monday through Friday.
- The county publishes the 2026 upset sale parcel listing in the Observer Report, Herald Standard and the Washington Reports (Legal Journal) on Thursday, July 16, 2026, built from a delinquency snapshot taken July 1, 2026, so the printed list runs behind the version posted online.
- The posted 2026 upset sale list is a 94-page bureau advertising report organized by municipality, showing owner, parcel number, deed reference, a short property description, and the upset price for each parcel.
- Bidders already registered for the 2026 upset sale are automatically registered for the 2026 upset-adjournment sale on November 18, 2026 and do not need to register a second time.
- An updated day-of-sale property list costs $10.00 per copy and must be pre-paid during the registration window; the bureau warns it may not have spares to sell at the auction.
- The judicial sale page also posts the 2026 judicial sale list, the terms of sale and legal notice, a non-service list, and the pre-registration packet as separate PDF downloads.
- Closest parking for the sale is the City of Washington Crossroads Public Parking Garage at 50 N. Franklin St., Washington, PA 15301.
- For attorney referral on evictions, ejectments or quiet title after a purchase, the bureau points buyers to the Washington County Bar Association at (724) 255-6710.
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 Washington County, Pennsylvania sell tax liens or tax deeds?
How often does Washington County hold tax deed sales?
I own a property in this sale. Can I stop it?
Where can I find the Washington 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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