NOTICE:
New hours for the Tax Claim office take effect on January 8, 2018. Our office will now be open from 8:00am to 4:45pm, at which time the doors will automatically lock. 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
Hours: Mon-Fri, 8:00 a.m. – 4:45 p.m.