Why PA Tax Certificates Take So Long

SettleWise is proud to be a Pennsylvania-based company, but we are aware that tax certificates in our home state can take (to quote one employee’s first-grade daughter) FOREVER. Because we will never pass up an opportunity to dive into the nitty-gritty of title, here’s a quick article explaining why PA tax certificates take so long.

Complex Local Taxes🔗

In most states, title agents request one certificate from, say, a central online system or a county treasurer. In PA, however, a single property involves multiple tax collection systems, offices, and local bodies, each of which—you guessed it—needs to be individually contacted.

There are around 2,500 municipalities (townships, boroughs, cities) packed into the Keystone State. Add to that: 500 school districts spread among 67 counties. It’s a lot. A garden-variety PA residence owes taxes to the local county, municipality, school district, and so on—and these can all have different billing cycles and payment statuses.

And just when you thought PA local taxes couldn’t get any more complicated, current-year taxes are usually collected, not by the county, but by elected township or borough tax collectors. Often, getting in touch with these tax collectors can be difficult. Limited hours? Check. Outdated systems to collect certificate fees? Check. Random vacation times when the tax collector is unavailable? Check. Lack of published contact information online? Check.

Some Extra Curveballs🔗

Pennsylvania has even more rules and separate county tax claim bureaus for delinquent taxes, meaning title agents often have yet another entity to go through to include taxes from prior years.

Oh, and don’t forget the third-party collectors that some school districts or municipalities outsource collection to.

There are also regional exceptions to all of this. Philadelphia, for example, has its own Department of Revenue, for example, plus city-specific lien issues.

We could go on, but you probably get the picture by now.

As much as we at SettleWise love PA, we fully acknowledge that our state makes tax certificates a pain in the neck.

As always, we’re happy to be your resource no matter where in the country you’re running title! Don’t hesitate to reach out to us at orders@gosettlewise.com.