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Tax Sale Atlas

York County, PA tax sales

How tax deed sales work in York County, seat of York: 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 17, 2026.Thursday · 2026
Format
GovEase
Registration
Online only through GovEase at www.govease.com.
County office
717-771-9205
Every displayed fact carries a source badge. Verified Aug 10, 2026 against official county and state pages.How we verify
On this page

How York 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

GovEase
Run by
York County Tax Claim Bureau (Assessment & Tax Claim Office)
Frequency
annual
Next sale
Upset sale scheduled for September 17, 2026.
Registration
Online only through GovEase at www.govease.com.
Sale list
Delinquent Tax Claim Listing (PDF)
When it runs
The bureau says of the upset sale: "Our first sale is known as the Upset Sale. (Generally held in September.)" For 2026 it states "Our next Upset Sale will be held online on September 17, 2026," and the sale notice sets the start time: "The scheduled sale will be held at 9:00A.M. on Thursday September 17, 2026." The judicial sale ran earlier in the year: "Our next Judicial Sale will be held on June 4th, 2026," at 9:00 AM. Repository properties carry no sale date and "can be bid on at any time."
Registration and deposit

Online only through GovEase at www.govease.com. The bureau states "NO IN PERSON REGISTRATION AT THE BUREAU'S OFFICE WILL BE ACCEPTED." For the September 17, 2026 upset sale, registration opens August 21, 2026 and closes September 4, 2026. For the June 4, 2026 judicial sale the window ran May 8, 2026 through May 22, 2026. Registration requires a photo ID such as a valid driver license, uploaded to the GovEase site. Every bidder must also place a deposit equal to 10 percent of the estimated final bid for each property by wire transfer or ACH at least five days before the sale; missing that cutoff bars the bidder from the sale. Neither the bidder nor any person or entity in association with the bidder may be delinquent on York County real estate taxes or hold municipal utility bills more than one year outstanding. Bids may not be assigned.

Sale format and venue
York County runs the standard RETSL ladder in order: upset sale, then judicial sale, then the repository list. The two auctions are very different products. At the upset sale the bureau sets the opening bid from delinquent taxes, current taxes as reported, municipal liens and bureau costs, and the buyer takes the property subject to surviving encumbrances; the bureau warns that "Any liens, judgments, mortgages etc. are attached to the property." At the judicial sale, properties sell "FREE and CLEAR of all tax and municipal claims, mortgages, liens, charges, and estates of whatsoever kind," except separately taxed ground rents and motor vehicle or Uniform Commercial Code encumbrances on mobile homes, with a floor bid at least equal to the costs of sale under Section 612(a) of Act 542 of 1947. Only properties previously exposed at an upset sale reach the judicial sale. Payment at strike-down is certified funds only: money order, cashier's check or certified check, no cash, handled through the online platform. Transfer tax, recording fee, acknowledgment, deed preparation and a demolition rehabilitation fee are computed after the knock-down and added to the final price. The bureau prepares and records deeds itself and says that takes roughly six months. The bureau offers no warranty or guarantee at any sale and states it has no knowledge of the property or even of its existence, so buyers should examine title before bidding and consider a quiet title or quitclaim action afterward. Printed sale lists cost $50 each when available, payable in certified funds, plus postage if mailed.
Register on GovEase
Source: Tax Sale Information, York County Assessment & Tax Claim Office· Verified Aug 10, 2026

York County tax sale list and auction calendar

For York 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 Delinquent Tax Claim Listing (PDF) for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.

  2. Register to bid

    Online only through GovEase at www.govease.com. Full requirements are in the sale card above.

  3. Sale day

    Upset sale scheduled for September 17, 2026. Bidding runs on GovEase; check posted sale dates, registration status, and bidding windows there.

  4. Confirm with the office

    If the list, platform, and notice disagree, use York County Tax Claim Bureau (Assessment & Tax Claim Office) as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.

Before you bid in York County

  1. Start with the live sale list

    Pull the current advertised parcels from Delinquent Tax Claim Listing (PDF). Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.

  2. Confirm registration and deposit

    Online only through GovEase at www.govease.com. The bureau states "NO IN PERSON REGISTRATION AT THE BUREAU'S OFFICE WILL BE ACCEPTED." For the September 17, 2026 upset sale, registration opens August 21, 2026 and closes September 4, 2026. For the June 4, 2026 judicial sale the window ran May 8, 2026 through May 22, 2026. Registration requires a photo ID such as a valid driver license, uploaded to the GovEase site. Every bidder must also place a deposit equal to 10 percent of the estimated final bid for each property by wire transfer or ACH at least five days before the sale; missing that cutoff bars the bidder from the sale. Neither the bidder nor any person or entity in association with the bidder may be delinquent on York County real estate taxes or hold municipal utility bills more than one year outstanding. Bids may not be assigned.

  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.

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County offices

Tax sale office

York County Assessment & Tax Claim Office (York County Tax Claim Bureau)

717-771-9205

York County Administrative Center, 28 East Market Street, Room 110, York, PA 17401-1577

Official website

County notes

  • Repository list: anything unsold at both the upset and judicial sales goes on the repository list and can be bid on at any time. The municipality and school district decide whether to accept or reject a bid, and the bureau notifies the bidder by mail within 30 to 45 days.
  • The county page still pointed to a repository list expected in October 2025 when checked in August 2026, so the linked repository notice may lag the current inventory. Call 717-771-9205 to confirm what is actually available.
  • As of early August 2026 the tax sale page still showed the June 4, 2026 judicial sale as the next one; the following judicial sale date is not yet posted.
  • The Delinquent Tax Claim Listing PDF is regenerated frequently. The copy reviewed was headed "YORK COUNTY, PA TAX CLAIM LISTING FOR TAX YEAR: 2026 AS OF BUSINESS DATE 08/07/2026," organized by tax district and showing parcel ID, owner, location and amounts owed. It is a delinquency roll, not the final sale list.
  • Properties reach the upset sale only after being at least two years behind on property tax.
  • York County moved these sales fully online to GovEase, so there is no courthouse bidding floor. Confirm the York County auction on the GovEase platform before the registration window closes, since the bureau accepts no registration at its office.
  • Director of Assessment and Tax Claim is Rachael White; Sharon M. Sauble is the Tax Claim Manager. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8 AM to 4:30 PM.

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 York 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 York County hold tax deed sales?

York County holds its tax deed sale once a year. Our next Upset Sale will be held online on September 17, 2026,. 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 York County Tax Claim Bureau (Assessment & Tax Claim Office) 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 York County tax sale list?

York County posts its tax sale list at yorkcountypa.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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