What do I actually buy at a Pennsylvania tax sale?

The investor buys the property itself at sale. No redemption period usually follows, so title transfers directly.

How long does the owner have to redeem the property in Pennsylvania?

No redemption period is documented after the sale.

What interest or penalty do I earn on a Pennsylvania tax sale?

No interest or penalty is documented.

How is the winning bidder chosen in Pennsylvania?

The sale is at a fixed minimum bid, with no bidding above it.

State guidesPA

How to buy tax-sale property in Pennsylvania (2026)

Tax deedNoneNone redemptionMinimum bidAnnual · Sep, Oct sale

You buy the property itself, not a lien. There is no redemption period, so the sale is final. No interest is paid on redemption. You buy at the minimum bid price. Sales are held once a year, typically in September and October.

Redemption period: None
Interest / penalty: None
Bid method: Minimum bid
Sale timing: Annual · Sep, Oct

How to bid here · Pennsylvania

In person

1.Confirm the parcel is on the county Tax Claim Bureau's upset sale list; the sale is scheduled no earlier than the second Monday of September and before October 1 (601(a))
2.Register in person at the county Tax Claim Bureau not less than 10 days before the scheduled sale, filing the application required by 502-A; a county may charge a fee for filing it (501-A(a), (c), 502-A)
3.Clear the affidavit: no delinquent real estate taxes to any taxing district in the Commonwealth, no municipal utility bills more than a year outstanding, not bidding for a person barred under 601(d), and no uncorrected housing code violation course of conduct in the preceding three years (502-A(4))
4.Confirm the county list of registered bidders is delivered to the municipalities at least five days before the sale (503-A)
5.Bid at the upset sale at or above the upset price fixed by the bureau; no sale is made unless a bid equal to the upset price is received (605)
6.Pay the entire purchase money to the bureau on the day of the sale, no later than one hour before the close of business or at another time that day designated by the bureau; otherwise the sale is voided and the property is put up again (606)
7.Within 20 days after the sale, give the bureau the certification that you are not delinquent on real estate taxes where the property is located and have no municipal utility bills more than one year outstanding (619.1(a))
8.Take the deed once the court confirms the sale and the bid is paid, knowing an upset sale conveys title subject to every recorded obligation, lien, mortgage and ground rent not included in the upset price (608, 609)
9.If no bid equals the upset price, expect a later judicial sale of the same parcel, which the court orders sold free and clear to the highest bidder (605, 610, 612)

Registration

Required: YesIn person

not less than 10 days before the scheduled upset sale or judicial sale (501-A(a))

Deposit

Required: UnknownUnknown

the act fixes no deposit: the purchaser at an upset sale pays the entire purchase money on the day of the sale, no later than one hour before the close of business or at another time that day designated by the bureau (606)

Forms

Bidder ID card: UnknownW-9: Unknown

Bidder registration application: name and, for a non-individual, the business name, all officers, business address and phone number; for an LLC, its members, managers and every person with an ownership interest; documentation that the signer may act for the applicant (502-A)

Signed affidavit with the application: not delinquent in real estate taxes to any taxing district in the Commonwealth, no municipal utility bills more than one year outstanding, not bidding for a person barred under 601(d), and no uncorrected housing code violation course of conduct in the preceding three years; a false statement is a second degree misdemeanor under 18 Pa.C.S. 4904(a) (502-A(4))

Within 20 days after the sale, written certification to the bureau of paid real estate taxes in the taxing districts where the property is located and no municipal utility bills more than one year outstanding, as receipts or a notarized affidavit (619.1(a), (b))

Eligibility

Residency required: UnknownNo delinquent taxes: Yes

No individual whose landlord license has been revoked by a municipality may purchase property in the county in which that municipality is located at a tax sale (601(d))

The owner of a property has no right to purchase it at a judicial sale, a private sale, or from the bureau's repository for unsold property (618(a))

Payment

Unknown

Not verified from a source yet.

Sources

Pennsylvania's Real Estate Tax Sale Law (Act 542 of 1947, 72 P.S. 5860.101 et seq.) is administered by each county's Tax Claim Bureau and sells the property, not a tax lien certificate. Bidder registration is mandatory statewide: since Act 33 of 2021 the person must appear and register at the bureau at least 10 days before each scheduled upset or judicial sale, and the application carries a sworn affidavit that the bidder owes no real estate taxes anywhere in the Commonwealth, has no municipal utility bills more than a year outstanding, is not bidding for a person barred under section 601(d), and has no uncorrected housing code violation conduct in the prior three years; a county may charge a registration fee. A further certification of paid real estate taxes and municipal utility bills is due within 20 days after the sale. The act sets no bidding deposit and no separate payment term: the buyer pays the whole purchase price to the bureau on the day of the upset sale, and the county's terms govern judicial sales, so the forms of payment and any county-specific deposit practice vary by bureau. An upset sale is the first stage and passes title subject to recorded liens not included in the upset price, which is why the same parcel often reappears at a later judicial sale free and clear.