How tax sales, foreclosures and probate work in Pennsylvania

Overview

Not legal advice: check with a local real-estate attorney before you buy at a tax sale or sheriff sale.

Pennsylvania is a state of old housing. It has some of the oldest housing stock in the country: stone farmhouses in Lancaster, row houses in Philadelphia, twins and bungalows in Delaware County, and mill-town homes across the state. Philadelphia, with 1.5 million people, is one of the biggest cities in the country, and it also has some of the most vacant and tangled-title homes. The suburbs around it (Montgomery, Delaware, Bucks, Chester) are mostly older and well-off. The center of the state is farmland and small cities.

Four facts about Pennsylvania explain most of what looks odd in the data.

First, there are three or more tax bills on every home. The county, the municipality (township, borough or city) and the school district each bill separately. A home can be current with the county and behind with the school district. Many counties publish only one of them.

Second, a county office called the Tax Claim Bureau runs the tax sale. Unpaid taxes pass to this office after the local collector gives up. The Bureau sends notices, and holds the "upset sale." Philadelphia is different: it is a city and a county at once, and it uses the City Law Department and the Sheriff.

Third, in most cases there is no right to buy back the home after a sale. After a mortgage Sheriff sale or a Tax Claim Bureau sale, the owner cannot redeem. The exception is a tax sale by the Sheriff under the Municipal Claims and Tax Liens Act (the path Philadelphia uses): there the owner of a home that is not vacant can redeem within nine months after the Sheriff's deed is acknowledged.

Fourth, old deeds and unsettled estates are everywhere. Many Pennsylvania homes have been in the same family for 50 years, and the title may still be in the name of someone who died long ago.

Property tax cycle

Pennsylvania has three main property taxes on one home: county, municipal and school district. Each is billed on its own schedule.

• School tax is the biggest bill. Most districts bill in July or August, with a discount (often 2%) for paying in the first two months, the face amount for the next two, and a penalty (often 10%) after that. Some districts bill in installments.
• County and municipal tax are billed in the early part of the year (January to March) by most counties and townships. They have a similar discount, face and penalty pattern.
• Philadelphia bills once a year, in December for the next calendar year. The bill is due by March 31, with a discount for paying early.

After the bill passes the penalty date, the local tax collector keeps trying to collect. At the start of the next year, the collector gives the county a list of unpaid taxes ("returned taxes"). Those taxes now belong to the Tax Claim Bureau, and interest and costs are added. Pennsylvania law (the Real Estate Tax Sale Law) sets the rules.

Most owners with a mortgage never see any of this, because the lender pays from escrow. The ones who fall behind are usually owners with no mortgage, heirs, landlords and people in trouble.

Relief programs. The homestead and farmstead exclusion lowers the school tax on a main residence. The Property Tax and Rent Rebate program gives money back to seniors and disabled people (PA Department of Revenue). Clean and Green gives a lower assessment to farm and forest land, with "rollback taxes" if the land changes use.

What "tax owed" and "delinquent" really mean in Pennsylvania

Because there are several bills, there is no single "tax owed" for a home. What a county shows depends on which office publishes. Some counties publish the Tax Claim Bureau's list of delinquent taxes. Others publish nothing in bulk, and the bureau's search shows one property at a time.

What this means for you:

• A delinquent flag usually means the parcel appears on the Tax Claim Bureau's list or the county's delinquent list. Those taxes are at least a year old, since the Bureau gets them after the local collector gives up.
• A blank tax owed means "not published," not "paid." If the owner is behind on a school bill but not on the county bill, a county-only list will not show it.
• A tax lien flag usually means a lien or claim has been filed. Municipalities and school districts can file a lien under the Municipal Claims and Tax Liens Act. That is a separate path from the Tax Claim Bureau, and in some places (including Philadelphia) it is the main one.
• A "returned" or "repository" tag means the parcel is at a later stage: it has passed through at least one sale attempt.

Reading these together:

• Delinquent + owner for decades + no mortgage: a long-time owner with trouble. Often the most equity.
• Delinquent + out-of-state mailing + older building: a landlord or heir who has stopped paying.
• Delinquent + a sale on the next upset sale list: the clock is short.
• No flag + sheriff sale date: a mortgage problem, not a tax problem.

Tax claim bureau sales: upset, judicial and repository

When taxes are not paid, the Tax Claim Bureau follows a set path. Here is how it works in most counties.

1. Return of taxes. The local collector returns the unpaid taxes to the Bureau, usually early in the year after the bill.
2. Notices. The Bureau sends certified mail, posts a notice on the property and publishes the sale list. Owners get several notices. A notice that is not properly given can undo a sale.
3. Payment plan. Owners can often enter a payment agreement with the Bureau and stop the sale. The agreement ends if they miss a payment.
4. The upset sale. If the taxes are still unpaid, the Bureau holds an upset sale, usually in the fall, at least two years after the taxes first went unpaid. The "upset price" is the unpaid taxes, interest and costs. The buyer pays in full within a short time, often in certified funds.
5. Free and clear. A buyer at an upset sale usually gets the property free of most liens and mortgages, with some exceptions (for example, certain municipal claims and easements). A title company must review it.
6. Judicial sale. If the upset sale does not sell the property, or if the Bureau needs a court order to clear the title, the county goes to court. The court sets a judicial sale, where the price can be below the full taxes.
7. Repository. A property that fails at a judicial sale can go on a repository for unsold property, and the Bureau can sell it for any price.

Redemption. At a Tax Claim Bureau sale the owner's right to pay ends at the sale. There is no one-year or two-year period to buy back the home afterward, as in some other states. (A Sheriff tax sale under the Municipal Claims and Tax Liens Act is different: an occupied home can be redeemed within nine months after the Sheriff's deed is acknowledged.) This is why timing matters so much. Courts can reverse a sale if the owner did not get proper notice, so these sales often end in lawsuits.

Occupants. Even after a sale, someone may still be living in the home. The buyer must go through a court process to remove them.

Mortgage foreclosure and sheriff sales

Pennsylvania is a judicial foreclosure state. The steps are:

1. The owner misses payments. The lender must send an Act 91 notice (a Homeowner's Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program notice) giving the owner time to talk to a counselor and apply for help (HEMAP). The owner usually has 30 days after the notice to act.
2. The lender files a complaint in mortgage foreclosure in the Court of Common Pleas. This is the first public sign.
3. If the owner does not answer, the lender asks for a default judgment. If the owner fights, the case takes longer.
4. After judgment, the lender gets a writ of execution. The Sheriff advertises and holds the sale.
5. The Sheriff sale. Sales are usually held monthly, by auction. The buyer typically pays a deposit (often 10%) on the day and the balance within about 30 days. The lender can bid up to the debt.
6. No redemption after the sale. Before the sale, the owner can pay the debt in full and stop it. After the sale, it is over.
7. Sales are postponed often. Owners ask for time, lenders reschedule, and bankruptcy stops the sale. A date is a possibility.

A Pennsylvania foreclosure typically takes 9 to 18 months from the first missed payment. Philadelphia has a residential mortgage foreclosure diversion program that puts owners and lenders at a table with a mediator before the sale. It can delay the sale.

What it means for you:

• Before the judgment: the owner has the most options.
• After judgment, before the sale: time is short. A deal needs the lender's payoff letter.
• At the sale: you buy "as is," often with people inside, and some liens may stay. A title company must check.

Inherited homes and probate

When a Pennsylvania homeowner dies, the home goes through the county Register of Wills. The Register issues letters testamentary (when there is a will) or letters of administration (when there is not) to the person who will settle the estate. Only that person can sign for the dead owner. Disputes go to the Orphans' Court.

Key points:

• Inheritance tax. Pennsylvania has an inheritance tax on what people receive. The rate is 0% for a spouse, 4.5% for children and grandchildren, 12% for siblings, and 15% for most others (PA Department of Revenue). The estate usually has to file a return within nine months, with a discount for paying early. This makes sibling and non-relative heirs more willing to sell fast.
• Nothing done. Many Pennsylvania homes stay in the name of someone who has died, because no one opens the estate. Taxes keep running. The Tax Claim Bureau will sell the home anyway.
• Medical Assistance claims. If the owner received long-term care benefits, the state may have a claim against the home. An estate lawyer can tell.
• Many heirs. All of them have to agree. Get every signature.

Deal only with the person holding the letters, and ask to see them.

Wholesaling rules

Pennsylvania regulates residential wholesaling. A 2024 law, Act 52 of 2024, changed the state's real estate licensing law. In plain words, it asks wholesalers to:

• Hold a real estate license. The Act puts wholesale deals inside the definition of brokerage, so wholesaling without a license can bring criminal and civil penalties. It took effect on January 4, 2025.
• Give the seller clear written notice in the contract that the deal is a wholesale deal, and that the seller may get an appraisal or talk to an unaffiliated agent or a lawyer.
• Give the seller a right to cancel until the 30th day after signing or until the home is conveyed, whichever comes first. If the notices are missing, the seller can cancel any time before conveyance.
• Refund any money within ten business days if the seller cancels.

Read the Act or ask a Pennsylvania real-estate attorney how it applies to you, because the details matter. Other rules still apply:

• Sign your own contract first, with a clear assignment clause.
• Do not market a home you do not control as if it were yours. Acting as a broker for someone else's property without a license can be a violation.
• Realty transfer tax. The state charges 1% and the local government usually 1%, so a typical sale pays 2%. Philadelphia's total is higher. This shapes a flip's math.
• Seller disclosure. Pennsylvania requires a seller of residential property to give a written property disclosure.

How to use the Pennsylvania county guides

1. Open the county guide for the county you want. It covers which offices publish which fields, its Sheriff and its quirks.
2. Start with the combinations, not single flags. A delinquent flag alone gives a long, weak list. A flag with an out-of-state owner, an estate or a long hold gives a short, strong one.
3. Check the Tax Claim Bureau and the school district for the one property you are about to call about.
4. Check the Sheriff list for a sale date and the Prothonotary or Clerk of Courts for a foreclosure case.
5. Use a title company before you commit.