Tax Claim Bureau Home

DEPARTMENTAL OPERATIONS:

Department Contact Info:

Phone: 610-478-6625
Email: taxclaim@countyofberks.com

All Berks County Employees and anyone entering county buildings must wear a mask or they will be denied entrance. County of Berks Offices are currently open only to individuals with appointments and to conduct essential business. Essential business refers to those functions that cannot be postponed or conducted remotely.
If you have COVID-19 questions you may still email them to COVID@countyofberks.com.

IMPORTANT NOTICE:

Due to the rapid spread of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), effective March 18, 2020; the Berks County Treasurer’s office and the Berks County Tax Claim Bureau will be:

CLOSED TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC

Effective March 13, 2020, the Berks County Treasurer’s office and the Berks County Tax Claim Bureau will:

NO LONGER ACCEPT CASH

Acceptable forms of payment are

Check or Money Order Only.

There are no exceptions to this policy

We recommend mailing payments or utilizing our drop box located at the entrance to the Service Center Building (immediately upon entering the turn-style doors). Enclose your payment in an envelope with your name, phone number, property address, and/or parcel number to ensure your account is credited accurately.

Please contact our office with questions at 610-478-6625 or via email taxclaim@countyofberks.com.

Thank you for your understanding.

For your convenience, drop boxes are now available at the main entrance (inside the doors prior to going through the security line) and on the 2nd floor outside of our office. All items must be enclosed in an envelope when using the drop boxes.

Pursuant to Resolution 154-02 passed by the County Commissioners: All checks returned for insufficient funds will be assessed a $30.00 service charge.

Mission: The mission of the Tax Claim Bureau is to collect and distribute delinquent real estate taxes for the county, municipalities & school districts in the most effective manner.

About Our Department

The Tax Claim Bureau is responsible for collecting delinquent Real Estate taxes. To do this, and to remain compliant with the PA Real Estate Tax Law, we send notices to those taxpayers who have not paid their taxes, set up payment plans for qualified individuals, accept and apply payments, and disburse monies collected to the respective taxing district on a monthly basis. We collect delinquent Real Estate taxes for 73 Berks County municipalities and 15 Berks County School Districts.

Goals & Objectives

The Bureau is continuously improving their efforts to provide more effective services to the taxpayers and to the taxing districts. Our ultimate goal is to collect Real Estate taxes and turn the monies collected over to the respective taxing authority. Our tax sales are growing in popularity, but the Bureau would prefer to collect the taxes instead of selling it for non-payment of the taxes. By cooperating with taxpayers and offering various payment options, additional tax monies can be collected in a more timely manner and fewer properties will be exposed/sold at tax sale, resulting in decreased work load for the Bureau, and simplified bookkeeping and timely disbursements for taxing districts.

Contact Information

Address:

Tax Claim Bureau

Berks County Services Center

633 Court Street, 2nd Floor

Reading, PA 19601

Phone: 610.478.6625

Fax: 610.478.6644

Email: taxclaim@countyofberks.com

Hours: Mon-Fri, 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Nicole E. Blanding, Director