Northampton County tax sales

Verified

Northampton keeps both dated sales in the courtroom on a 1:00 PM start, judicial in the spring and upset in September, with a tight in person registration window at the Government Center and no exceptions. The page labeling is a local quirk to watch: the heading for the May 27, 2026 sale is worded as the 2025 Judicial Sale on the sale page, but the date, time and courtroom are stated plainly as May 27, 2026 at 1:00 PM in Courtroom 1.

Selling office: Northampton County Tax Claim Bureau (Tax Claim Unit), Northampton County Courthouse Government Center, 669 Washington Street, Easton, PA 18042 as the registration location stated on the Judicial and Upset Sale Information page

Next event: Repository bids are open now in principle under state law; the 2026 dated sales are complete (judicial Wednesday, May 27, 2026 and upset Thursday, September 24, 2026), and no late 2026 dated sale is published on the sale page read Nov 9, 2026. Determined from the official Judicial and Upset Sale Information page read Nov 9, 2026, which lists only the May 27, 2026 judicial sale and the September 24, 2026 upset sale, both past as of Nov 9, 2026, with a repository list and repository bid form linked in the county forms listings and no November or December 2026 tax claim date published there.

No official total is published for the repository on the sale page read Nov 9, 2026.

Dates and stages

Next event	Repository bids are open now in principle under state law; the 2026 dated sales are complete (judicial Wednesday, May 27, 2026 and upset Thursday, September 24, 2026), and no late 2026 dated sale is published on the sale page read Nov 9, 2026
Upset sale	The upset sale takes place yearly in September in Courtroom 1 in the Northampton County Courthouse. The 2026 upset sale ran on Thursday, September 24, 2026 at 1:00 PM, at the fixed upset price as the initial bid under the 2026 Conditions of Upset Sale.
Judicial sale	The judicial sale runs in the spring in Courtroom 1. The 2026 judicial sale ran on Wednesday, May 27, 2026 at 1:00 PM in Courtroom 1, as listed on the Judicial and Upset Sale Information page.
Repository	A repository list is published in the county forms listings (Repository List dated March 27, 2025 in the listing read) with a Repository Bid Form. No county minimum bid or repository fee is stated on the Judicial and Upset Sale Information page read Nov 9, 2026, so the minimum is not published / unverified there.
Format	In person: In person in Courtroom 1, Northampton County Courthouse, Easton. Registration to bid is only available at the Northampton County Courthouse Government Center location, not the Human Services Building on Emrick Blvd.
Selling office	Northampton County Tax Claim Bureau (Tax Claim Unit), Northampton County Courthouse Government Center, 669 Washington Street, Easton, PA 18042 as the registration location stated on the Judicial and Upset Sale Information page
The list	Judicial and upset sale lists, conditions, bid registration form, bidder affidavit and notice to bidders publish on the Judicial and Upset Sale Information page. The upset list there is noted as last updated 12:30 PM on September 24, 2026. Repository list and bid form publish in the county frequently used forms listings.

Sources: Judicial and Upset Sale Information. 2026 Conditions of Upset Sale. Confirm with the selling office before relying on any date on this page: sales move, terms change, and owners can pay and stop a sale at any point before it starts.

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The three stages, and what title you get at each

Delinquent taxes go to the Tax Claim Bureau. When real estate taxes stay unpaid, the claims are returned to the county Tax Claim Bureau, which collects for the county, the municipality and the school district and runs the sales (Real Estate Tax Sale Law, 72 P.S. Section 5860.101 and following). Two counties in this set are outside the system by law: Philadelphia (a county of the first class) and Allegheny (second class). Their delinquent tax sales run through their sheriffs instead, and their pages say how.
Stage one: the upset sale. The bureau must schedule the upset sale no earlier than the second Monday of September and before October 1, and may continue it within the calendar year (Section 5860.601). The opening price is the upset price (Section 5860.605): the tax claims and interest, any other tax claims and judgments, all accrued taxes including the current year, municipal claims, and the record costs and costs of sale. No bid below the upset price can be accepted. An upset buyer takes the property subject to mortgages, liens and ground rents that were not part of the upset price (Section 5860.609): the taxes are paid, the liens may not be.
Stage two: the judicial sale. What does not sell at upset can be exposed again at a judicial sale, which the bureau petitions the Court of Common Pleas to order (Sections 5860.610 and 5860.612). This is the prize of the system: a judicial sale conveys the property freed and cleared of all tax and municipal claims, mortgages, liens, charges and estates, except separately taxed ground rents. Judicial lists draw the serious buyers precisely because the court order clears the title.
Stage three: the repository. What does not sell at judicial sale is placed in the repository for unsold properties, and the bureau must keep the list available to the public (Section 5860.626). At any time of year, the bureau may accept an offer of any price for a repository parcel, with the written consent of every taxing district where the property sits and without court approval (Section 5860.627). Repository deeds convey the same cleared title as judicial deeds, except separately taxed ground rents. Counties set their own minimum bids, forms and fees; each county page carries its own.
The owner's rights end at the sale. An owner can pay the claim and stop the process at any point before the sale, including by an installment agreement with the bureau. After an upset or judicial sale there is no redemption: the owner's remaining route is objections to the bureau's return in court, on the confirmation timetable in the terms table below. Philadelphia is the exception in this set: an owner-occupier there can redeem within nine months after the sheriff's deed is acknowledged (see the Philadelphia page).

How registration works in Northampton County

Prospective bidders must register before any tax sale under House Bill 264 of 2021 (Act 33). For the 2026 upset sale registration was August 31 through September 14, 2026, only at the Northampton County Courthouse Government Center location, not the Human Services Building, with no exceptions. Registration dates for the judicial sale were to be published once the date was confirmed with the Court of Common Pleas. No registration fee amount is published on the sale page read Nov 9, 2026.

Registration closes early everywhere that matters. In the bureau counties, Pennsylvania law requires registration at least 10 days before the sale, and several counties in this set close weeks ahead or cap the room. Philadelphia's deposit deadline runs about a week ahead of its sale dates.
You certify you are clean. A bureau bidder certifies they owe no delinquent real estate taxes or municipal utility bills and are not bidding for someone who does. Philadelphia requires tax compliance proof at settlement instead.

Terms: what a bid actually costs

Deposit, Northampton County	No deposit rule and no registration fee amount are published on the Judicial and Upset Sale Information page or the 2026 Conditions of Upset Sale read Nov 9, 2026, so both are not published / unverified there.
Payment, Northampton County	The 2026 Conditions of Upset Sale state the purchaser shall pay the entire purchase price, either in cash or check made payable to County of Northampton, at the time the property is struck down. If the amount is not paid the sale is voided and the property is put up again at the same sale. Subsequent bids should be in intervals of at least 10 percent of the previous bid or at the discretion of the auctioneer. All sales are final and no refunds will be made after the close of the sale, and about six months is required before the deed is delivered after court confirmation.
What the upset price is	The upset price is the sum of the Commonwealth tax liens, the tax claim and interest on it, any other tax claim or tax judgment due with interest, all accrued taxes including taxes levied for the current year, municipal claims against the property, and the record costs and costs of sale (72 P.S. Section 5860.605). The bureau cannot accept a bid below it.
Title at an upset sale	An upset sale conveys title subject to every recorded obligation, claim, lien, estate, mortgage, ground rent and Commonwealth tax lien that was not included in the upset price (Section 5860.609). Paying the taxes does not clear the mortgage.
Title at judicial and repository sales	A judicial sale, ordered by the Court of Common Pleas, sells the property freed and cleared of all tax and municipal claims, mortgages, liens, charges and estates, except separately taxed ground rents (Section 5860.612). A repository sale conveys the same cleared title (Section 5860.627).
Bidder registration (state law)	Act 33 of 2021 (Section 5860.501a) requires a bidder at an upset or judicial sale to appear in person and register with the bureau at least 10 days before the sale, and to certify they are not delinquent on real estate taxes or municipal utility bills and are not bidding for someone who is. Counties add their own fees, forms and earlier deadlines; the county version is in the registration section above. Philadelphia and Allegheny run sheriff sales instead and set their own bidder rules.
After the sale	In the bureau counties there is no redemption after the sale. The bureau files its consolidated return with the court within 60 days of the sale; the court confirms the sale nisi, and owners and lien creditors then have 30 days to file objections, limited to the regularity of the bureau's proceedings (Section 5860.607). Absolute confirmation follows if no objections are filed.

Repository: the year round list

Repository properties are those unsold after upset and judicial exposure. Northampton publishes a repository list and a repository bid form through its forms listings, the list version seen in the listings is dated March 27, 2025. Under state law the bureau may accept any offer for a repository property only with the written consent of all taxing districts where the property is located, and the property is conveyed free and clear in the manner of a judicial sale on approval. No Lancaster style minimum, no fee and no current list size are stated on the sale page read Nov 9, 2026, so those specifics are not published / unverified.

Before you bid

Know which stage you are buying at. An upset price pays the taxes and leaves mortgages and liens standing; a judicial or repository deed clears them, except separately taxed ground rents. The cheapest parcel at the wrong stage is the expensive one.
Check the list again in sale week. Owners can pay and stop the process at any point before the sale, and lists shrink hard between posting and sale day.
Read the post sale rules before you bid, not after. In the bureau counties your protection is the court confirmation process; in Philadelphia it is the nine month owner-occupier redemption the buyer has to price in.
Set the maximum before the sale opens. The free Max-Bid Calculator below works backwards from your resale or hold value to the highest bid you can pay, with the costs shown.

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