Property tax in Bedford County, Pennsylvania
In Bedford County, the property tax bill comes from your township or borough's elected tax collector (in Coaldale, Hopewell Borough, Manns Choice and Rainsburg, the county Assessment and Tax Claims office). The 2026 bill is due December 31, 2026. Taken from Bedford County's own pages, checked September 23, 2026.
The median property tax bill in Bedford County, Pennsylvania is $1,444 a year, which is about 0.81% of the county's median home value of $179,000. That effective rate is lower than the typical Pennsylvania county (1.27%) and about the same as 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 Bedford County, and how do you pay it?
The bill comes from your township or borough's elected tax collector (in Coaldale, Hopewell Borough, Manns Choice and Rainsburg, the county Assessment and Tax Claims office). The value it is based on is set by a separate office, the Bedford County Assessment and Tax Claims Office, which is who to ask if the value looks wrong.
Pennsylvania homeowners here get two property tax bills a year: the county and township or borough bill early in the year, and the school district bill in early August. You pay the county tax to your local tax collector (in Coaldale, Hopewell Borough, Manns Choice and Rainsburg, the county Assessment and Tax Claims office), not to the County Treasurer. The county's own online payment service is only for past-due taxes owed to the Tax Claim Bureau; ask your tax collector how to pay a current bill. Not receiving a bill does not excuse the tax or any penalty.
When are property taxes due in Bedford County?
For the 2026 bill, Bedford County has one due date: December 31, 2026. Your tax collector mails the county and township or borough bill early in the year; the county says early February. The county's audited financial statements describe its terms as a 2% discount through April 30, the face amount May 1 through June 30, and a 10% penalty from July 1, but the county has not posted 2026 dates online, so the dates printed on your bill are the ones that count. State law says a real estate tax not paid by December 31 becomes delinquent and requires the collector to accept a payment postmarked by December 31. December 31, 2026 is a Thursday. A bill unpaid at December 31 is turned over to the Bedford County Tax Claim Bureau by January 15. Interest of 0.75% a month (9% a year) is charged from February 1, plus $15 per parcel for each taxing body. If the taxes are still unpaid a year after they are turned over, the property can be offered at the Tax Claim Bureau's upset sale that September.
From Bedford 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 Bedford County
Enter a home's market value for a ballpark at Bedford County's average effective rate of 0.81% (Census). The real bill depends on the home's assessed value, the millage where it sits and any exemptions.
Estimated property tax: $1,450 / year
Property tax in Bedford County at a glance
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Median annual property tax | $1,444 |
| Median home value | $179,000 |
| Effective tax rate | 0.81% |
| 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 Bedford County compare in Pennsylvania?
Among Pennsylvania's 67 counties, Bedford County has the 67th highest effective property-tax rate. That places it among the least taxed counties in the state. Nationally, it ranks 1566th of 3135 US counties by effective rate. See every Pennsylvania county ranked.
How much do homeowners in Bedford County actually pay?
The median is only the middle bill. Across Bedford County's 15,315 owner-occupied homes, 13.2% pay $3,000 or more a year in property tax, 29.9% pay at least $2,000, and 18.8% pay under $800. Another 3.6% report paying no property tax at all, which usually means an exemption covers the whole bill.
| Annual bill | Homes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Under $800 | 2,884 | 18.8% |
| $800 to $1,499 | 4,904 | 32% |
| $1,500 to $1,999 | 2,392 | 15.6% |
| $2,000 to $2,999 | 2,552 | 16.7% |
| $3,000 or more | 2,027 | 13.2% |
| No property tax paid | 556 | 3.6% |
Owners with a mortgage pay a median of $1,542 and owners without one pay $1,371. Owners who have paid off a home have usually held it longer, and in states that cap how fast an existing owner's assessment can rise, long-held homes carry lower assessed values. Census table B25103.
How does the Bedford County property tax bill compare with local incomes?
The median property tax bill of $1,444 is about 2% of the median income of Bedford County homeowner households, $70,625 a year. That compares two middles, so a retiree in a long-held home can pay a far larger share. 77.5% of Bedford 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 Bedford County?
Yes. The median bill went from $1,194 in 2015-2019 to $1,444 in 2020-2024, a 20.9% rise. Over the same span the median home value moved 30.9%, from $136,700 to $179,000. 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 Bedford County
Bedford County borders 6 counties, 1 of them across the state line.
| County | Effective rate | Median bill | Median home value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cambria County, PA | 1.23% | $1,492 | $121,000 |
| Blair County, PA | 1.07% | $1,724 | $161,100 |
| Allegany County, MD | 1.06% | $1,636 | $154,900 |
| Fulton County, PA | 1.02% | $2,120 | $208,500 |
| Somerset County, PA | 0.98% | $1,477 | $150,600 |
| Huntingdon County, PA | 0.94% | $1,718 | $183,200 |
| Bedford County, PA (this county) | 0.81% | $1,444 | $179,000 |
How is a home assessed in Bedford County?
Pennsylvania sets the assessment rules and Bedford County applies them. How Pennsylvania assesses and reappraises homes.
Is there a homestead exemption in Bedford 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 Bedford County. Pennsylvania's exemptions and relief programs in full.
Bedford County does not add relief programs of its own beyond the Pennsylvania ones (checked September 23, 2026).
How to appeal your Bedford County property assessment
In Bedford County you appeal to the Bedford County Board of Assessment Appeals. The deadline: Annual appeals are filed between July 15 and September 1, by mail or in person at the Assessment Office in the courthouse; appeals cannot be sent by email or fax. The 2026 window has closed, so the next one runs July 15 to September 1, 2027. The filing fee is $25 for a residential or farm property, paid by check or cash with the signed form, one form per parcel. Evidence such as an appraisal or recent sales must reach the Board 10 days before the hearing. 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 Bedford 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 Bedford County
The other local tax: combined state and local rate for this county.
Sources
- Median real estate taxes paid and median home value for Bedford 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.