By Josh McKnight | The McKnight Team
Roughly 600 people in Delaware County are on a county property tax payment plan right now, according to the county communications office. Almost nobody knows the option exists, which is how an unpaid bill turns into a lien and a lien turns into an auction.
Delaware County property tax payment plan terms run through the Tax Claim Bureau, and the county states plainly that plans may be an option for qualified taxpayers, with restrictions that apply.
How the Delinquency Clock Actually Runs
Current year collection ends December 31. On March 1 the Tax Claim Bureau begins collecting the prior year, and at that point the arithmetic changes. Interest accrues at 0.75 percent per month on your outstanding balance. A service fee of $64 gets added. Further fees accumulate to cover delinquency notices and the documentation required before a property can be sold.
Unresolved accounts move to the Upset Price Sale, held annually in late summer. Properties that do not sell there return the following spring at the Judicial Sale, auctioned free and clear of liens by permission of the court. Anything still unsold goes onto a Repository List held by the county.
Three stages. Roughly eighteen months from the missed bill to the first auction. That window is your entire opportunity.
What a Delaware County Property Tax Payment Plan Actually Prevents
Not the interest. The sale.
This is worth being precise about, because the county does not advertise plan terms publicly and there is no online application. The bureau asks you to call. Interest at 0.75 percent per month keeps running on what you owe. What a plan does is keep your account out of the escalation sequence ending at the Upset Price Sale, which is a fundamentally different outcome from paying more slowly.
Set that against what the numbers show right now. The typical Delaware County home is valued at $366,541, up 2.7 percent over the past year, with homes going to pending in about ten days, per Zillow data through August 31, 2026.
A house worth $366,541 can be lost over an unpaid bill measured in thousands. If that is your house, the asymmetry is the whole reason to make the call.
Why This Matters More to Buyers Than Most People Expect
Delinquency is not only a homeowner problem in this county. It is a title problem, a closing problem, and an inventory story all at once.
The Tax Claim Bureau collects on behalf of three separate taxing authorities: the county, the school district, and the municipality. Tax certifications now combine all three into one document, available from the Treasurer’s office for $25. That single change matters at a settlement table, because a buyer used to be able to clear a county obligation and still inherit a municipal one.
Only a municipality or school district can strike a lien, and only through an exoneration letter sent to the bureau. A seller insisting a bill was paid is not sufficient. Documentation is required, which usually means photocopies of both sides of the canceled check or an original receipted bill. If you are buying a property with any delinquency history, that letter needs to exist before you sit down to close, not during. Ask for it by name.
The Repository List, meanwhile, is a genuine and largely ignored source of inventory. Those properties can be purchased at any time outside the weeks following the auctions, by visiting the bureau in person at the Government Center in Media.
If you know a homeowner who has fallen behind, tell them the number is 610-891-4282. That sentence is more useful than anything else in this post.
What This Means for You
If you are behind on a property tax bill, call the Tax Claim Bureau before March 1 rather than after, because the fees and the process both change on that date. Have your eleven-digit parcel number ready. If you are selling a property with any delinquency in its history, order the combined tax certification early rather than letting it surface during your title search.
If you are buying, ask specifically whether any of the three taxing authorities show an outstanding balance, since a clean county record does not mean a clean municipal one. Delinquency patterns vary enormously by municipality, so if you are comparing Broomall against other parts of the county, factor that in. We check it as a matter of course.
Thinking about buying or selling in Delaware County? Let’s talk.
Frequently Asked Questions About Delaware County Delinquent Property Taxes
How do I get on a Delaware County property tax payment plan?
Call the Tax Claim Bureau at 610-891-4282 with your eleven-digit parcel number ready. The county states that payment plans may be an option for qualified taxpayers and that restrictions apply, so terms are set case by case rather than published.
What happens if I do not pay my property taxes in Delaware County?
Interest accrues at 0.75 percent per month plus a $64 service fee. The account moves toward the Upset Price Sale held each late summer, then to a Judicial Sale the following spring where the property is auctioned free and clear of liens.
Will delinquent taxes stop me from selling my house?
They will complicate the settlement. Tax certifications now combine county, school district, and municipal delinquencies into one document costing $25. Only a municipality or school district can strike a lien, and only by sending an exoneration letter to the bureau.
Can I buy a property off the Repository List?
Yes. Properties failing to sell at both the Upset Price Sale and the Judicial Sale are held by the county and can be purchased at any time, except during the weeks following each auction, by visiting the Tax Claim Bureau in Media.
