Tax Claim Bureau

Overview

The Montgomery County Tax Claim Bureau accepts real estate tax liens for delinquent county, township/borough, and school districts within the county.

Our Services

If you are facing financial hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic, please visit pahaf.org for more information regarding financial assistance for homeowners to help address delinquencies and to avoid default, foreclosure or displacement for qualified mortgage and housing-related expenses.

Real Estate Tax Sales

In accordance with the Tax Sale law, the Tax Claim Bureau is able to sell parcels in one of four ways.

Upset Sale

The Upset Sale is scheduled each September and includes those parcels whose taxes, from two years earlier, remain unpaid or other specified conditions exist.

Properties scheduled to be presented for Upset Sale are advertised in two newspapers and the Montgomery Bar Association journal within two months of the sale. Purchasers of property at the Upset Sale assume responsibility for all liens on the property.

Private Sale

A Private Sale can occur after a property has been exposed but not sold at an Upset Sale.

An interested buyer submits a written bid to the Tax Claim Bureau. The bureau then decides whether or not to accept the bid. If accepted, the bid is advertised in a newspaper and the Montgomery Bar Association journal. Anyone objecting to the sale must petition the court within 45 days to disapprove the sale.

As in the Upset Sale, purchasers of property via the Private Sale assume responsibility for all liens on the property.

Judicial Sale

A Judicial Sale is held at least once each year and can include only those properties that have been exposed but not sold at an Upset Sale. After advertisement, notice to owners and lienholders, etc., the parcels are presented free and clear of all liens.  

Repository Sales

Properties that are exposed but not sold at a Judicial Sale are placed in a repository for unsold properties. Any bid on a repository property must be approved by all taxing districts where the property is located (i.e., township, borough, county, and school).