Property tax foreclosure in Pennsylvania

The property tax process in Pennsylvania, step by step

1. Taxes are returned to the Tax Claim Bureau

   By April 30 of the year after the taxes were due

   Your local tax collector returns unpaid taxes to the county Tax Claim Bureau, and interest of 9% a year runs from the first day of the following month. The bureau must mail you one notice of the return and claim by July 31.

   72 P.S. §§ 5860.306, 5860.308

2. The tax claim becomes absolute

   January 1 after the notice

   If the claim is not paid or challenged, it becomes absolute on January 1 and the property can be scheduled for that year's upset sale. Some counties may extend the time to pay for owners 65 or older who need help.

   72 P.S. §§ 5860.311, 5860.504

3. Notices of the upset sale

   30 days and 10 days before the sale

   The bureau must publish the sale and send you certified mail at least 30 days before, post the property at least 10 days before, and, if you live there, have you personally served at least 10 days before. Under a 2026 law you can name a relative or other representative to receive copies of delinquent tax notices.

   72 P.S. §§ 5860.601(a)(3), 5860.602, 5860.619.2

4. Pay in full or sign a stay agreement

   Any time before the actual sale

   You can remove the home from sale by paying all absolute taxes, interest and charges. At the bureau's option, you can instead pay 25% and sign an agreement to pay the rest in up to three installments within one year, which stays the sale as long as you keep up.

   72 P.S. § 5860.603

5. Upset sale, then judicial sale

   Second Monday of September to before October 1

   At the upset sale the home sells to the highest bidder at or above the upset price, subject to mortgages not paid from the price. If no one bids that much, the bureau can ask the court for a judicial sale, which sells the home free of mortgages and liens.

   72 P.S. §§ 5860.601, 5860.609, 5860.610, 5860.612

6. Object to the sale

   Within 30 days after the court's confirmation nisi

   The bureau must mail you notice within 30 days after the sale, and you can file objections or exceptions with the court about how the sale was handled. There is no right to buy the home back after an upset sale under this law, so act before the sale.

   72 P.S. § 5860.607

7. Claim the surplus within 3 years

   Within 3 years of the sale

   Sale money is paid in order to state tax liens, local taxes, municipal claims, mortgages and other liens, then to you as owner, after a court confirms the distribution. If no claim for your balance is made within three years, it goes to the taxing districts.

   72 P.S. § 5860.205(d) to (f)

Common questions in Pennsylvania