Property tax in Adams County, Pennsylvania
In Adams County, the property tax bill comes from your township or borough's elected tax collector (the Adams County Treasurer collects instead in Abbottstown, Arendtsville, Bendersville and Germany Township). Every due date for the 2026 bill has passed, and the county had not posted the next cycle's dates when we checked. You can look up and pay the bill on the county's own payment page. Taken from Adams County's own pages, checked September 23, 2026.
The median property tax bill in Adams County, Pennsylvania is $3,561 a year, which is about 1.33% of the county's median home value of $268,500. That effective rate is higher than the typical Pennsylvania county (1.27%) and higher than the national median (0.81%). These are American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2024); your own bill depends on your home's assessed value and any exemptions.
Who sends the property tax bill in Adams County, and how do you pay it?
The bill comes from your township or borough's elected tax collector (the Adams County Treasurer collects instead in Abbottstown, Arendtsville, Bendersville and Germany Township). The value it is based on is set by a separate office, the Adams County Tax Services Department, which is who to ask if the value looks wrong. For how to look up and pay the bill, go to the county's own payment information.
Adams County homeowners get two property tax bills a year. The county and township or borough taxes come on one bill mailed March 1; the school district bill is mailed July 1, with a 2% discount through August 31, face amount through October 31 and a 10% penalty after that. Both are paid to your local elected tax collector, except in Abbottstown, Arendtsville, Bendersville and Germany Township, where the County Treasurer collects the county, municipal and school taxes and takes online payments. Delinquent taxes are paid to the Tax Claim Bureau, not the tax collector.
When are property taxes due in Adams County?
Every due date for the 2026 bill has passed, and Adams County had not posted the next cycle's dates when we checked on September 23, 2026. If that bill is still unpaid, the late-payment rules below apply to it. Counties usually repeat the schedule, but confirm the new dates on your next bill. For the 2026 bill, Adams County has one due date: June 30, 2026. County and township or borough tax bills are mailed March 1. Paying the whole bill by April 30 earns a 2% discount; the face amount is due through June 30. The county lists this as its schedule for the county and municipal bill without naming a year, so the dates printed on your bill are the ones that count. A 10% penalty is added after June 30. Where the Treasurer is the collector, the penalty period runs from July 1 through December 31. Taxes left unpaid pass to the county Tax Claim Bureau, which holds its upset and judicial tax sale in September.
From Adams County's published schedule, checked September 23, 2026. The county had not posted a calendar labeled for this cycle when we checked, so these dates come from state law and the county's standing schedule; the date on your bill is the one that binds you.
Estimate the property tax on a home in Adams County
Enter a home's market value for a ballpark at Adams County's average effective rate of 1.33% (Census). The real bill depends on the home's assessed value, the millage where it sits and any exemptions.
Estimated property tax: $3,571 / year
Property tax in Adams County at a glance
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Median annual property tax | $3,561 |
| Median home value | $268,500 |
| Effective tax rate | 1.33% |
| Typical Pennsylvania county rate | 1.27% |
| National median county rate | 0.81% |
Effective rate = median real estate taxes paid divided by median home value. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates.
How does Adams County compare in Pennsylvania?
Among Pennsylvania's 67 counties, Adams County has the 24th highest effective property-tax rate: 23 rank higher and 43 rank lower. That is on the higher side for Pennsylvania. Nationally, it ranks 553rd of 3135 US counties by effective rate. See every Pennsylvania county ranked.
How much do homeowners in Adams County actually pay?
The median is only the middle bill. Across Adams County's 32,214 owner-occupied homes, 60.1% pay $3,000 or more a year in property tax, 78.1% pay at least $2,000, and 5.7% pay under $800. Another 3.4% report paying no property tax at all, which usually means an exemption covers the whole bill.
| Annual bill | Homes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Under $800 | 1,838 | 5.7% |
| $800 to $1,499 | 2,110 | 6.5% |
| $1,500 to $1,999 | 2,026 | 6.3% |
| $2,000 to $2,999 | 5,798 | 18% |
| $3,000 or more | 19,359 | 60.1% |
| No property tax paid | 1,083 | 3.4% |
Owners with a mortgage pay a median of $3,666 and owners without one pay $3,369. That is within 10% either way, so in Adams County paying off the house does not go with a noticeably different bill. Census table B25103.
How does the Adams County property tax bill compare with local incomes?
The median property tax bill of $3,561 is about 3.8% of the median income of Adams County homeowner households, $94,906 a year. That compares two middles, so a retiree in a long-held home can pay a far larger share. 78.9% of Adams County's occupied homes are lived in by their owners; renters pay property tax too, just folded into rent.
Have property taxes gone up in Adams County?
Yes. The median bill went from $3,080 in 2015-2019 to $3,561 in 2020-2024, a 15.6% rise. Over the same span the median home value moved 30.5%, from $205,800 to $268,500. Bills rose more slowly than values, which is what assessment caps and falling millage rates do: the county is taxing a smaller share of each home's worth.
Two Census ACS 5-year periods with no survey years in common, in each period's own dollars. A change counts only if it exceeds the combined 90% margin of error.
Property tax in counties next to Adams County
Adams County borders 5 counties, 2 of them across the state line.
| County | Effective rate | Median bill | Median home value |
|---|---|---|---|
| York County, PA | 1.61% | $4,006 | $248,600 |
| Adams County, PA (this county) | 1.33% | $3,561 | $268,500 |
| Cumberland County, PA | 1.17% | $3,254 | $277,600 |
| Franklin County, PA | 1.1% | $2,740 | $249,800 |
| Frederick County, MD | 0.99% | $4,584 | $464,600 |
| Carroll County, MD | 0.91% | $3,934 | $434,000 |
How is a home assessed in Adams County?
Pennsylvania sets the assessment rules and Adams County applies them. How Pennsylvania assesses and reappraises homes.
Is there a homestead exemption in Adams County?
Yes, but the amount varies. Pennsylvania's Homestead and Farmstead Exclusion lowers a home's assessed value for school tax, and each school district sets its own exclusion each year. That is the Pennsylvania rule, and it applies in Adams County. Pennsylvania's exemptions and relief programs in full.
On top of the Pennsylvania programs, Adams County runs its own:
- Adams County Volunteer Service Credit Program: Adams County rebates up to $250 of the county real estate tax on the home of a volunteer who owns and lives in it and was an active member in good standing of a fire company or nonprofit EMS agency in the county for at least six months of the year, earning at least 50 points. The application, with a receipt for the paid county tax, goes to the volunteer's chief or manager, who forwards it to Tax Services by January 15. Apply by January 1 of the year after the tax year.
How to appeal your Adams County property assessment
In Adams County you appeal to the Adams County Board of Assessment Appeals. The deadline: Appeals are accepted at any time of year, but an annual appeal must be received by 4:30 p.m. on August 1 to count for the next billing cycle; an appeal received later, even if mailed earlier, is heard the following year. If August 1 falls on a weekend or holiday, the deadline is 4:30 p.m. on the next business day, so for the next cycle it is Monday, August 2, 2027. If you receive a Change of Assessment Notice, you have 40 days from the date of the notice. Appeals must be filed on the county's form and can be mailed, emailed or faxed to Tax Services. The Board mails its decision by November 15, and a decision can be appealed to the Court of Common Pleas within 30 days of the decision notice date. How to file. Checked September 23, 2026 against the official appeal rules.
How Pennsylvania's appeal process works, including the next level if the first one turns you down.
Pennsylvania rules from primary state sources, reviewed September 7, 2026; sources on the Pennsylvania page.
Work out your own numbers
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How much house can I afford?
Your income, debts and down payment against the 28/36 rule lenders actually use, with Adams County's tax rate to hand.
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Mortgage calculator
Monthly payment with principal, interest, tax and insurance, plus what an extra payment saves you.
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Pennsylvania income tax
Brackets, standard deduction and what Pennsylvania actually taxes.
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Sales tax in Adams County
The other local tax: combined state and local rate for this county.
Sources
- Median real estate taxes paid and median home value for Adams County, Pennsylvania: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2020-2024), tables B25103, B25077, B25102, B25119 and B25003; the five-year comparison uses the 2015-2019 estimates. Neighboring counties: Census county adjacency file.