Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania

Tax Deed1,573,916 residents

County research last verified 2026-07. Office holders, platforms, and deposit rules change — re-confirm anything time-sensitive.

Sale typestate default

Tax Deed

Redemption periodstate default

None in most counties for upset/judicial sales; limited redemption (90 days) survives in specific home-rule counties (e.g., Philadelphia, in narrow cases)

Investor returnstate default

N/A — outright deed transfer in the large majority of counties

Governing statutestate default

Pennsylvania Real Estate Tax Sale Law, 72 P.S. §5860.101 et seq.

Notes

IMPORTANT STATUS UPDATE: Philadelphia Sheriff tax sales were stalled after COVID (stopped Mar 2020; brief 2021 online restart shut down over contracting issues). After a multi-year hiatus, sales quietly resumed mid-2024 under a properly approved Bid4Assets contract and have continued into 2025–2026 with multiple monthly tax-delinquent sale dates (e.g. Aug 2026 dates posted). Market is ACTIVE again but inventory quality, Land Bank priority-bidder issues, and political risk remain. Confirm current sale calendar on Bid4Assets and phillysheriff.com before relying on liquidity.

Auction logistics

Format

Online

Frequency

Multiple tax-delinquent sales per month when active (separate tax vs. mortgage foreclosure storefronts)

Platform

Bid4Assets — Philadelphia County Sheriff Tax / Mortgage Sales ↗

Deposit rules

Bid4Assets deposit per sale/lot as posted (historically ~$500 + $35 processing on some lots; confirm each auction). Register and fund deposit before bidding; full payment per settlement deadline. Review current Terms of Sale on Bid4Assets.

Title risk

Liens that survive the sale

Tax sheriff sales are intended to free the property of many liens when properly conducted, but federal tax liens can survive and municipal code/L&I issues create practical risk. Always identify sale type (tax vs. mortgage foreclosure) and run L&I / water / municipal searches via Atlas.

Quiet title

Often still used for insurable title after tax sheriff purchase, especially where notice or Land Bank / city interest issues exist. Local counsel recommended.

Deal maths for Pennsylvania

Assessment ratio: 0.4065× of market value
Typical quiet title: $1,500–$5,000 · 4 mo
Recording and transfer: $250

Pennsylvania has no statewide assessment ratio. Counties assess against their own base years, some decades old, and the State Tax Equalization Board publishes a Common Level Ratio per county each year. Always use the county ratio.

Offices and records

Tax collector

Philadelphia Sheriff’s Office — Tax & Mortgage Foreclosure Sales ↗

Clerk of court

Philadelphia Department of Records ↗

Property appraiser

City of Philadelphia Property App (OPA data) ↗

GIS / parcel map

Atlas | phila.gov (parcel + L&I + permits) ↗

Areas trending up

Directional read from dated market analysis — not a guarantee, and not a substitute for your own comps.

Fishtown / Kensington edge

Strong multifamily and end-user demand along the river corridor despite uneven block-level risk

Graduate Hospital / Point Breeze

Continued price appreciation and rehab activity south of Center City

University City / West Philly nodes

Institutional employment (Penn/Drexel/CHOP) supporting renter demand