Property tax in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania
In Cumberland County, the property tax bill comes from your township or borough's elected tax collector. 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 Cumberland County's own pages, checked September 23, 2026.
The median property tax bill in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania is $3,254 a year, which is about 1.17% of the county's median home value of $277,600. That effective rate is lower 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 Cumberland County, and how do you pay it?
The bill comes from your township or borough's elected tax collector. The value it is based on is set by a separate office, the Cumberland County Assessment Office, 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.
Pennsylvania homeowners here get two property tax bills a year from their local elected tax collector: the county and municipal real estate bill around March 1, and the school district bill around July 1, each with its own discount, face and penalty periods. Current-year bills are paid to the tax collector, not to a county office; the county posts each collector's contact details and hours. The county tax includes a small separate levy for the county library system. Taxes from earlier years are paid to the Tax Claim Bureau in Carlisle.
When are property taxes due in Cumberland County?
Every due date for the 2026 bill has passed, and Cumberland 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, Cumberland County has one due date: June 30, 2026. The county and municipal real estate bill is mailed by the county on or about March 1 (March 3 in 2026). A payment postmarked by April 30 earns a 2% discount, and one postmarked by June 30 pays the face amount. These are the 2026 dates a township tax collector published for the county bill, and they follow the county's rule of a discount for two months and a penalty after four months from the bill date; the dates printed on your bill are the ones that count. June 30, 2026 is a Tuesday. After June 30 a 10% penalty is added, and the bill can still be paid to your tax collector with the penalty until December 31; a penalty payment must reach the collector's office by December 31, because a postmark does not count at year end. Taxes still unpaid are then turned over to the Cumberland County Tax Claim Bureau, which adds a $15 filing fee to each bill and charges interest of 3/4 of 1% a month (9% a year) starting the month after, plus mailing and posting fees. Delinquent accounts are advertised about 18 months after they are turned over, and a property still unpaid can be sold at the Bureau's upset sale.
From Cumberland County's published schedule, checked September 23, 2026. If a date falls on a weekend or holiday, the county's own rules on the next business day apply.
Estimate the property tax on a home in Cumberland County
Enter a home's market value for a ballpark at Cumberland County's average effective rate of 1.17% (Census). The real bill depends on the home's assessed value, the millage where it sits and any exemptions.
Estimated property tax: $3,248 / year
Property tax in Cumberland County at a glance
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Median annual property tax | $3,254 |
| Median home value | $277,600 |
| Effective tax rate | 1.17% |
| 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 Cumberland County compare in Pennsylvania?
Among Pennsylvania's 67 counties, Cumberland County has the 41st highest effective property-tax rate: 40 rank higher and 26 rank lower. That is on the lower side for Pennsylvania. Nationally, it ranks 780th of 3135 US counties by effective rate. See every Pennsylvania county ranked.
How much do homeowners in Cumberland County actually pay?
The median is only the middle bill. Across Cumberland County's 75,922 owner-occupied homes, 54.4% pay $3,000 or more a year in property tax, 76.4% pay at least $2,000, and 6.5% pay under $800. Another 2.1% report paying no property tax at all, which usually means an exemption covers the whole bill.
| Annual bill | Homes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Under $800 | 4,907 | 6.5% |
| $800 to $1,499 | 5,773 | 7.6% |
| $1,500 to $1,999 | 5,637 | 7.4% |
| $2,000 to $2,999 | 16,701 | 22% |
| $3,000 or more | 41,312 | 54.4% |
| No property tax paid | 1,592 | 2.1% |
Owners with a mortgage pay a median of $3,346 and owners without one pay $3,082. That is within 10% either way, so in Cumberland County paying off the house does not go with a noticeably different bill. Census table B25103.
How does the Cumberland County property tax bill compare with local incomes?
The median property tax bill of $3,254 is about 3.1% of the median income of Cumberland County homeowner households, $104,998 a year. That compares two middles, so a retiree in a long-held home can pay a far larger share. 71.3% of Cumberland 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 Cumberland County?
Yes. The median bill went from $2,703 in 2015-2019 to $3,254 in 2020-2024, a 20.4% rise. Over the same span the median home value moved 36.8%, from $202,900 to $277,600. 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 Cumberland County
Cumberland County borders 5 counties.
| County | Effective rate | Median bill | Median home value |
|---|---|---|---|
| York County, PA | 1.61% | $4,006 | $248,600 |
| Dauphin County, PA | 1.35% | $3,198 | $236,400 |
| Adams County, PA | 1.33% | $3,561 | $268,500 |
| Perry County, PA | 1.21% | $2,859 | $236,400 |
| Cumberland County, PA (this county) | 1.17% | $3,254 | $277,600 |
| Franklin County, PA | 1.1% | $2,740 | $249,800 |
How is a home assessed in Cumberland County?
Pennsylvania sets the assessment rules and Cumberland County applies them. How Pennsylvania assesses and reappraises homes.
Is there a homestead exemption in Cumberland 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 Cumberland County. Pennsylvania's exemptions and relief programs in full.
On top of the Pennsylvania programs, Cumberland County runs its own:
- Volunteer Firefighter and EMS Tax Credit: An active volunteer firefighter or EMS volunteer in good standing who owns and lives in a home in the county gets back the county real estate tax they paid, up to $250 (not counting the library tax), as a check from the county; the fire or EMS chief must certify the volunteer's good standing for the year, and a volunteer injured on a call and unable to serve stays eligible for five more years. Apply by November 15.
How to appeal your Cumberland County property assessment
In Cumberland County you appeal to the Cumberland County Board of Assessment Appeals. The deadline: Annual appeals must be filed by September 1 and apply to the next tax year; a mailed appeal must be received by the Assessment Office by the deadline. If you receive a notice changing your assessment, you have 40 days from the date of the notice, and that appeal has no fee. The filing fee for a non-commercial residential property is $25 per parcel. 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 Cumberland 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 Cumberland County
The other local tax: combined state and local rate for this county.
Sources
- Median real estate taxes paid and median home value for Cumberland 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.