Montgomery County Tax Claim Bureau
RETSL-MCTLA Delinquent Tax Collection Program
By default, the Montgomery County Tax Claim Bureau collects delinquent real estate taxes utilizing the
provisions of the Real Estate Tax Sale Law (“RETSL”), which provides for tax delinquent notifications
and the use of “bulk real estate sales” to collect chronically delinquent accounts, as more fully described
below. Utilizing recent case law, many taxing districts have authorized the Tax Claim Bureau to
additionally utilize provisions of the Municipal Claims and Tax Liens Act (“MCTLA”) which further
incentivizes payment of delinquent balances by passing along the 5% collection charge to the delinquent
taxpayer and can result in a lien being filed with the County Prothonotary if payment is not made.
•
Large early returns – collections increased 400% during the first 50 days of the year in 2013
compared to 2012.
•
Through September 2014, the collection rate for 2013 school tax delinquencies was 57.4%.
•
Through September 2014, the overall two-year school district collection rate was 94.3%.
•
Realistic Payment Plans – Taxpayers signing on to 12 month payment plans before liens are filed
will avoid being liened and paying legal fees.
•
Hardship Payment Plans – The Tax Claim Bureau offers qualified taxpayers who are experiencing
financial difficulty the opportunity to apply for Hardship agreements which allows more flexibility
than a standard payment plan.
•
Bulk Sales – All unpaid properties are listed for Upset Sale in the second September after their
delinquency (i.e. 2012 taxes were listed for Upset Sale in September 2014). The Bulk Sales result in
uniform enforcement of delinquencies so that there is no need for the collector to balance the higher
cost of a Sheriff’s sale versus the likelihood of the property selling at a sale. Historically, over 75%
of the properties listed for Upset Sale make payment prior to the date of the sale. Properties not sold
at a subsequent Tax Claim Bureau Judicial “Free & Clear” Sale are transferred to a Repository and
are not the responsibility of the taxing district.
•
Data – All data is available on our website and updated each night. This also allows taxpayers to
make all of their delinquent payments (county, municipal and school) in one place.
•
In November 2013, the Montgomery County Commissioners awarded a two-year contract (with
extension options) to Northeast Revenue Services, guaranteeing that our infrastructure will remain in
place to continue delivering superior service.