Key Takeaways
- The calendar is set by statute: the county bureau mails notice by July 31, the claim becomes absolute the next January 1, and the upset sale is held between the second Monday of September and October 1 (Real Estate Tax Sale Law, sections 308, 311, 601).
- You can stop it before the sale: pay in full, or sign a stay agreement that pays 25% now and the rest in up to three installments within a year (section 603).
- There is no redemption after a bureau sale: section 501(c) says so in one line, so the time to act is before the sale date.
- Upset sales and judicial sales treat your mortgage differently: an upset sale passes title subject to liens not in the upset price, and a judicial sale clears mortgages and most liens (sections 609, 612).
- Philadelphia runs a separate process: unpaid taxes go to a sheriff's sale under the Municipal Claim and Tax Lien Law, with a nine-month redemption right for occupied houses and none for vacant ones (Municipal Claim and Tax Lien Law, section 32).
A Pennsylvania tax sale is how a county, or in Philadelphia the City, sells a house to collect unpaid real estate taxes. Outside Philadelphia, most counties use the Real Estate Tax Sale Law, which moves a property through an upset sale, then a judicial sale, then a repository for unsold properties. Each step has its own rules, and the statute fixes most of the dates.
This guide walks through that calendar, what each sale means for your mortgage and your equity, how Philadelphia differs, and the ways to stop a sale before it happens. If selling turns out to be the better path, the back taxes are typically paid from the proceeds at closing, and you can get a cash offer on your Pennsylvania house with no obligation to accept it.
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Let's chatHow Does a Pennsylvania Tax Sale Work?
A Pennsylvania tax sale works through the county Tax Claim Bureau, which collects unpaid real estate taxes for the county, municipality, and school district and sells the property if the claim is not paid. The governing law is the Real Estate Tax Sale Law (Act 542 of 1947, 72 P.S. 5860.101 and following), which creates a Tax Claim Bureau "in each county, except counties of the first and second class."
In bureau counties, a property can pass through three stages. The first is the upset sale, held each fall. If nobody pays the minimum, the bureau can ask the court for a judicial sale. If the property still does not sell, it goes to the repository for unsold properties. Counties without a bureau, including Philadelphia, collect another way, covered below.
The law requires the bureau's sale notices to carry a boxed warning that your property "may be sold for a small fraction of its fair market value" (section 602(g)). The same box tells you to call your attorney, the Tax Claim Bureau, or the county lawyer referral service with questions. That number is a good first call.
The Pennsylvania Tax Sale Calendar, Step by Step
The Pennsylvania tax sale calendar runs about two years from a missed tax bill to an upset sale, because the statute sets each step to a fixed month. A tax that goes unpaid is returned to the bureau the next spring, the claim becomes absolute the following January 1, and the upset sale comes that September. Here is the sequence, with the section of the Real Estate Tax Sale Law behind each step.
| Step | What the law says | Section |
|---|---|---|
| Return to the bureau | The local tax collector returns unpaid taxes to the bureau by the last day of April of the next year. Interest runs at 9% a year from the first of the following month. | 306 |
| Notice of claim | The bureau mails one notice by certified or registered mail no later than July 31. It must say there is "no redemption after the actual sale." | 308 |
| Claim becomes absolute | If the claim is not paid and no exceptions are filed, it becomes absolute on the next January 1. | 311 |
| Pay by July 1 | Paying before July 1 of the year after the notice keeps the property out of the sale advertising. Paying later but before the sale still stops the sale. | 501(a) |
| Notice of sale | At least 30 days before the sale: newspaper and legal journal notice, plus certified mail to each owner. The property is posted at least 10 days before. | 602 |
| Personal service | An owner-occupied property cannot be sold unless the owner occupant was personally served at least 10 days before the sale. | 601(a)(3) |
| Upset sale | Scheduled no earlier than the second Monday of September and before October 1, and held by the end of the calendar year. | 601(a) |
| Court confirmation | The bureau reports the sale to court within 60 days and notifies the owner within 30 days. Objections are due within 30 days after the court's confirmation nisi. | 607 |
| Judicial sale | If the property did not sell, the bureau must petition for a judicial sale within 12 months of the upset sale date unless it has already acted. | 610, 616 |
| Repository | Property still unsold after a judicial sale goes on the bureau's public list of unsold properties. | 626, 627 |
Counties can change some details. A county may set its own return date by resolution, as long as it falls between January 1 and the last day of April (section 306(c)). Bureaus may also "adopt and use the procedures" of the Municipal Claim and Tax Lien Law in addition to the bureau process (Municipal Claim and Tax Lien Law, section 39.5). Your county's Tax Claim Bureau can tell you which applies to your house.
What Is an Upset Sale?
An upset sale is the bureau's first public sale of a tax-delinquent property, and nobody can buy it for less than the upset price. Under section 605, that price adds up the Commonwealth's tax liens, the claim and its interest, any other tax claims, all accrued taxes including the current year, municipal claims, and the costs of the sale.
An upset sale does not clear your mortgage. Section 609 says the sale conveys title "under and subject to the lien of every recorded obligation, claim, lien, estate, mortgage" not included in the upset price. A buyer at an upset sale takes the house with the mortgage still attached, which is one reason some houses do not sell at this stage.
The buyer pays the full price on the day of the sale (section 606). After the court confirms the sale absolutely, the law says "there shall be no period of redemption after such sale," and the bureau issues a deed (sections 607(g), 608). Your only challenge at that point is to the regularity of the sale, such as notice, filed within the objection window.
What Happens at a Judicial Sale?
A judicial sale is a court-ordered sale that clears the property of mortgages and most liens, and it is the second stage for a house that did not sell at the upset sale. The bureau files a petition, the court issues a rule on everyone with a recorded interest, and after a hearing the court orders the sale (sections 610 to 612).
The buyer at a judicial sale takes title "free and clear of all tax and municipal claims, mortgages, liens, charges and estates of whatsoever kind," except separately taxed ground rents (section 612(a)). Your lender loses its lien on the house. Whether you still owe the lender on the loan itself is a separate question for a lawyer.
Section 618(a) says the owner has "no right to purchase the owner's property at a judicial sale, a private sale or from the bureau's repository." There is one opening: while a house sits unsold after an upset sale, the bureau may accept full payment from the owner, but no partial payments or installment agreements (section 618(a.1)).
Between the upset sale and a judicial sale, the bureau can also sell the property privately at a price it approves, after notice to the taxing districts and the owner. The owner or a taxing district can ask the court to disapprove the price within 45 days (section 613).
What Is the Repository for Unsold Properties?
The repository is the bureau's public list of properties that did not sell at a judicial sale. Anyone can see the list during office hours, and the bureau may publish it in a local newspaper (section 626).
With the written consent of all the taxing districts, the bureau sets a minimum price and can accept any offer at or above it without court approval or published notice. A taxing district that does not answer within 60 days is deemed to consent. The buyer takes the property free and clear of claims, mortgages, and liens (section 627). By this stage the former owner has no right to buy it back.
How Is Philadelphia's Tax Sale Different?
Philadelphia's tax sale is a sheriff's sale, and it runs under the Municipal Claim and Tax Lien Law (Act 153 of 1923, 53 P.S. 7101 and following) instead of the county bureau system. The City's Department of Revenue defines its tax "Sheriff's Sale Action" as an in rem lawsuit filed "pursuant to the Municipal Claim and Tax Lien Law" (Philadelphia Real Estate Tax Regulations).
The calendar is shorter. Philadelphia Real Estate Tax is due March 31, and unpaid taxes pick up "additions" of 1.5% a month from April 1 to January 1 (City of Philadelphia, Real Estate Tax, October 2026). If the tax is still unpaid on January 1, a 15% maximum addition applies, the taxes are registered delinquent, liens are filed, and the City "can begin the process of selling" the house "at a sheriff sale."
Those regulations say the action starts when a petition under 53 P.S. 7283 is filed with the court (Philadelphia Real Estate Tax Regulations). The state law's court-ordered, free-and-clear tax sheriff's sale (section 31.2) passes title free of claims, liens, and mortgages, "subject only to the right of redemption as provided by law" (Municipal Claim and Tax Lien Law, section 31.2(a)).
Philadelphia owners who live in the house have a payment plan option. The Owner-Occupied Payment Agreement lets homeowners "make affordable monthly payments on property taxes that are past due," requires that you live in the house you own, and needs no down payment (City of Philadelphia, OOPA, October 2026). Most applicants base their monthly payment on household size and income.
Can You Get Your House Back After a Pennsylvania Tax Sale?
After a county bureau tax sale, you cannot get the house back by paying the taxes. Section 501(c) of the Real Estate Tax Sale Law reads, in full: "There shall be no redemption of any property after the actual sale thereof." Some older guides describe a nine-month redemption period for every Pennsylvania tax sale. That period belongs to the sheriff's sale law, and it has limits of its own.
Under section 32 of the Municipal Claim and Tax Lien Law, the owner of property sold at a tax sheriff's sale may redeem within nine months of the sheriff's deed acknowledgment, or within three months in a city or county of the second class. Redeeming means repaying the sale price, deed costs, taxes and charges the buyer paid, and interest at 10% a year. Section 32(c) adds that there is no redemption of "vacant property," which means any house not occupied as a residence by the same person or family for at least 90 days before the sale and still occupied when the deed is acknowledged.
| Sale type | Who runs it | Your mortgage | Redemption after the sale |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upset sale | County Tax Claim Bureau | Stays on the house unless included in the upset price (section 609) | None (sections 501(c), 607(g)) |
| Judicial sale | Bureau, by court order | Cleared from the house (section 612) | None (section 501(c)) |
| Repository sale | Bureau, with taxing district consent | Cleared from the house (section 627) | None; owner cannot buy back (section 618) |
| Tax sheriff's sale (Philadelphia and other MCTLA sales) | Sheriff, by court decree | Cleared in a section 31.2 free-and-clear sale | Nine months, or three in a second-class city or county; none for vacant property (section 32) |
Redemption also asks a lot. If you could not pay the taxes before the sale, repaying the full sale price plus the buyer's costs and 10% interest within a few months is a hard bar to clear. The practical window for most owners is before the sale date.
How Can You Stop a Tax Sale in Pennsylvania?
You can stop a Pennsylvania tax sale at any point before the actual sale by paying in full or by signing a stay agreement with the bureau. Section 603 lets an owner or lien creditor, at the bureau's option, either pay the absolute taxes with all charges and interest, or pay 25% of the amount due and agree in writing to pay the balance "in not more than three (3) instalments all within one (1) year."
Keep the stay agreement current
The sale stays on hold only while the agreement is kept. If you default, the bureau applies your payments to the oldest taxes first and can list the property for the next upset sale or a special upset sale held at least 90 days after the default. It also "shall not enter into a new instalment agreement with that person within three (3) years of the default" (section 603).
Ask about a hardship extension
Counties may adopt a hardship extension of up to 12 more months for owner-occupied houses (sections 502.1, 503.1). Where a county has done so, the bureau can grant it when serious illness, injury, or unemployment caused the delinquency and you can likely pay on a schedule. The schedule allows at least four payments 30 days apart, with the first no more than 25%. The bureau decides within 30 days, and you can appeal to court within 15 days.
Owners 65 and older
Counties may also adopt special rules for houses owned and occupied only by people 65 or older who meet the income limit of the state rebate program (section 504). Options include up to three more months to pay, a deferral until the house is transferred, or a special sale at a price between two independent appraisals so the owner's equity is not lost at a regular tax sale.
Lower the next bill
The Property Tax/Rent Rebate Program pays up to $1,000 to Pennsylvanians who are 65 or older, widows and widowers 50 or older, or people with disabilities 18 or older, with household income of $48,110 or less (Pennsylvania Department of Revenue, October 2026). A rebate does not erase back taxes, but it can help keep the next year's bill from adding to the claim. In Philadelphia, the OOPA plan described above is the main tool.
If none of these fit, call your Tax Claim Bureau early and ask what your county has adopted. Many of these options exist only where county commissioners have enacted them.
Selling Your House Before the Pennsylvania Tax Sale
Selling your house before the Pennsylvania tax sale is a way to settle the claim and keep the equity above what you owe, because paying in full before the actual sale removes the property from the sale (section 603). In practice, the delinquent taxes, interest, and costs are typically paid from the sale proceeds at closing, along with any mortgage.
Timing is the hard part. Pennsylvania houses sold for a median of $327,636 in August 2026, up 4.0% from a year earlier, and spent a median of 37 days on the market, down 1 day (Redfin, August 2026). In Philadelphia, the median sale price was $294,805, up 5.7%, with a median of 50 days on the market for the three months ending August 2026 (Redfin, August 2026). Those days come before the time a buyer's mortgage takes to close.
List with an agent
If the sale date is months away and the house shows well, listing may net you more. You'll pay commissions and handle showings, and the sale has to close before the bureau's sale date to stop it.
Get a cash offer
If the date is close or the house needs work, a cash sale skips lender approval and repairs. Propcash can make you a cash offer based on local market data and show you how we got to that number. A cash sale can close in as few as 7 days after the contract is signed, there are no agent commissions or fees charged to you, and there is no obligation to accept.
If a cash sale isn't your best move, we'll tell you and point you to a local agent who fits. We may receive compensation from agents we refer. You can read more about selling during a tax or foreclosure problem on our foreclosure situation page, and heirs who find an unpaid tax claim on an estate house may find the inherited house page useful. For statewide figures, see the Pennsylvania cash sale page.
What Happens to Money Left Over After a Tax Sale?
Money left over after a Pennsylvania bureau tax sale goes to the owner only after everyone ahead of you is paid, and only if you claim it. Under section 205, the bureau first keeps a 5% commission. It then pays the Commonwealth's tax liens, the taxing districts, municipal claims, and mortgages and other liens in order of priority, and the owner comes fifth.
The court confirms the distribution before any money goes out. If no claim for the owner's balance is presented within three years of the sale, the balance goes to the taxing districts (section 205(e), (f)). Because a tax sale price can be far below market value, the amount left for you may be small. A sale you arrange yourself before the sale date keeps that choice in your hands.
Why wait? Sell your house “as is” for cash today
Tell us about your house. We'll make you a cash offer based on local market data.
Let's chatFrequently Asked Questions
How does a tax sale work in Pennsylvania?
In most Pennsylvania counties, the county Tax Claim Bureau runs tax sales under the Real Estate Tax Sale Law. Unpaid taxes become a claim, the claim becomes absolute on January 1 after the owner is notified, and the bureau holds an upset sale between the second Monday of September and October 1. A house that does not sell can go to a court-ordered judicial sale, and one that still does not sell goes to the bureau's repository for unsold properties. Philadelphia collects through sheriff's sales under a different law, the Municipal Claim and Tax Lien Law.
Can I get my house back after a tax sale in Pennsylvania?
After a county Tax Claim Bureau sale, no. Section 501(c) of the Real Estate Tax Sale Law says there is no redemption of any property after the actual sale, so your window is before the sale. After a sheriff's sale under the Municipal Claim and Tax Lien Law, section 32 lets the owner redeem within nine months of the sheriff's deed acknowledgment (three months in a city or county of the second class), but not if the house was vacant, meaning it was not occupied as a residence by the same person or family for at least 90 days before the sale.
How do I stop a tax sale in Pennsylvania?
Before the actual sale, you can pay the taxes, interest, and charges in full, or sign a written agreement with the bureau that pays 25% of the amount due and the balance in no more than three installments within one year (section 603 of the Real Estate Tax Sale Law). If you default on that agreement, the bureau cannot give you a new one for three years. Some counties also offer hardship extensions for owner-occupied houses or special help for owners 65 and older, so ask your Tax Claim Bureau what your county has adopted.
What happens if my house doesn't sell at the upset sale?
The bureau can sell it privately, or petition the court for a judicial sale that clears mortgages and most liens, and it must file that petition within 12 months of the upset sale date if nothing else has happened. If the house still does not sell at the judicial sale, it goes into the repository for unsold properties, where the bureau can accept an offer at or above a minimum price set with the consent of the taxing districts. While the house is unsold after the upset sale, the bureau may accept full payment from the owner, but no partial payments or installment plans.
Are tax sales and sheriff's sales the same in Pennsylvania?
No. A county Tax Claim Bureau sale runs under the Real Estate Tax Sale Law and has no redemption period after the sale. A tax sheriff's sale runs through the court and the sheriff under the Municipal Claim and Tax Lien Law, which is how Philadelphia collects, and it carries a redemption right for occupied houses. A mortgage foreclosure sheriff's sale is a third, separate process started by a lender.
What happens to the extra money from a Pennsylvania tax sale?
Under section 205 of the Real Estate Tax Sale Law, the bureau keeps a 5% commission, then pays the Commonwealth's tax liens, the taxing districts, municipal claims, and mortgages and other liens in order of priority, and the owner is paid last. If the owner does not claim the balance within three years of the sale, it goes to the taxing districts. A sale price far below the house's value can leave little or nothing at the end of that line.
The Bottom Line
Pennsylvania's tax sale law gives you most of your options before the sale and very few after it. Read the July notice, mark the September window, and call your Tax Claim Bureau about payment in full, a 25% stay agreement, or a county hardship program while those doors are open. In Philadelphia, ask the Department of Revenue about an OOPA plan.
If selling makes more sense, Propcash can make you a cash offer based on local market data, with no obligation and no pressure to decide.
Sources and disclaimer: Real Estate Tax Sale Law (Act 542 of 1947) and Municipal Claim and Tax Lien Law (Act 153 of 1923), read on the Pennsylvania General Assembly's website (palegis.us) in October 2026; City of Philadelphia Department of Revenue pages and Real Estate Tax Regulations; Pennsylvania Department of Revenue; Redfin. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax, or financial advice. County procedures vary. For advice about your situation, contact your county Tax Claim Bureau or a Pennsylvania real estate attorney.