Property tax in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania
In Dauphin County, the property tax bill comes from your township or borough's elected tax collector, or the Dauphin County Treasurer in the 15 boroughs and townships it collects for (plus the county tax in the City of Harrisburg). 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 Dauphin County's own pages, checked September 23, 2026.
The median property tax bill in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania is $3,198 a year, which is about 1.35% of the county's median home value of $236,400. 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 Dauphin County, and how do you pay it?
The bill comes from your township or borough's elected tax collector, or the Dauphin County Treasurer in the 15 boroughs and townships it collects for (plus the county tax in the City of Harrisburg). The value it is based on is set by a separate office, the Dauphin County Office of Tax Assessment, 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.
Homeowners here get two property tax bills a year: the county and municipal bill mailed February 1, which also carries a library tax and may include hydrant, fire protection or street light charges, and the school district bill mailed July 1, which is where the homestead exclusion appears and which can be paid in installments. Most homeowners pay both bills to their local elected tax collector; the County Treasurer collects instead in 15 boroughs and townships (in a few of them only some of the taxes), including Derry, Lower Swatara and Susquehanna townships, and collects the county tax for the City of Harrisburg. Harrisburg residents also get a separate city bill at the end of January, paid to the City Treasurer. Online payment through the Treasurer is only for those municipalities, and the processor charges 2.55% by credit card (at least $2), $4 by Visa debit card, or $2 by electronic check. If your taxes are paid through escrow, check your lender's escrow statement to confirm they were paid.
When are property taxes due in Dauphin County?
Every due date for the 2026 bill has passed, and Dauphin 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, Dauphin County has one due date: May 31, 2026. The county and municipal bill is mailed February 1 each year. Paying by March 31 earns a 2% discount, and the face amount is due by May 31. The bill cannot be paid in installments, and the Treasurer does not accept less than the full amount. The county lists these periods without a year, so the dates printed on your own bill are the ones that count. May 31, 2026 was a Sunday. Under Pennsylvania's Local Tax Collection Law, when the last day of a discount or face period falls on a weekend or legal holiday, a payment made or postmarked by the U.S. Postal Service on the next business day is on time, which in 2026 was Monday, June 1. The next bill is due to be mailed February 1, 2027. A 5% penalty is added to payments made from June 1 through July 31, and a 10% penalty to payments made from August 1 through December 31. Taxes unpaid after December 31 are turned over to the Dauphin County Tax Claim Bureau, which adds a fee of $20 for each tax due, and all later payments must go to the Bureau.
From Dauphin 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 Dauphin County
Enter a home's market value for a ballpark at Dauphin County's average effective rate of 1.35% (Census). The real bill depends on the home's assessed value, the millage where it sits and any exemptions.
Estimated property tax: $3,191 / year
Property tax in Dauphin County at a glance
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Median annual property tax | $3,198 |
| Median home value | $236,400 |
| Effective tax rate | 1.35% |
| 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 Dauphin County compare in Pennsylvania?
Among Pennsylvania's 67 counties, Dauphin County has the 21st highest effective property-tax rate: 20 rank higher and 46 rank lower. That is on the higher side for Pennsylvania. Nationally, it ranks 524th of 3135 US counties by effective rate. See every Pennsylvania county ranked.
How much do homeowners in Dauphin County actually pay?
The median is only the middle bill. Across Dauphin County's 76,556 owner-occupied homes, 52.8% pay $3,000 or more a year in property tax, 72.9% pay at least $2,000, and 5.2% pay under $800. Another 1.9% report paying no property tax at all, which usually means an exemption covers the whole bill.
| Annual bill | Homes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Under $800 | 3,943 | 5.2% |
| $800 to $1,499 | 8,277 | 10.8% |
| $1,500 to $1,999 | 7,014 | 9.2% |
| $2,000 to $2,999 | 15,423 | 20.1% |
| $3,000 or more | 40,411 | 52.8% |
| No property tax paid | 1,488 | 1.9% |
Owners with a mortgage pay a median of $3,280 and owners without one pay $3,063. That is within 10% either way, so in Dauphin County paying off the house does not go with a noticeably different bill. Census table B25103.
How does the Dauphin County property tax bill compare with local incomes?
The median property tax bill of $3,198 is about 3.3% of the median income of Dauphin County homeowner households, $96,165 a year. That compares two middles, so a retiree in a long-held home can pay a far larger share. 63.1% of Dauphin 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 Dauphin County?
Yes. The median bill went from $2,814 in 2015-2019 to $3,198 in 2020-2024, a 13.6% rise. Over the same span the median home value moved 40.8%, from $167,900 to $236,400. 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 Dauphin County
Dauphin County borders 8 counties.
| County | Effective rate | Median bill | Median home value |
|---|---|---|---|
| York County, PA | 1.61% | $4,006 | $248,600 |
| Schuylkill County, PA | 1.4% | $2,140 | $153,000 |
| Lebanon County, PA | 1.37% | $3,310 | $242,000 |
| Dauphin County, PA (this county) | 1.35% | $3,198 | $236,400 |
| Lancaster County, PA | 1.32% | $3,975 | $301,100 |
| Perry County, PA | 1.21% | $2,859 | $236,400 |
| Cumberland County, PA | 1.17% | $3,254 | $277,600 |
| Northumberland County, PA | 1.1% | $1,794 | $162,400 |
| Juniata County, PA | 0.99% | $2,147 | $217,000 |
How is a home assessed in Dauphin County?
Pennsylvania sets the assessment rules and Dauphin County applies them. How Pennsylvania assesses and reappraises homes.
Is there a homestead exemption in Dauphin 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 Dauphin County. Pennsylvania's exemptions and relief programs in full.
On top of the Pennsylvania programs, Dauphin County runs its own:
- Real estate tax credit for volunteer emergency responders: Under a county ordinance adopted in January 2023, active volunteer firefighters and EMS members who live in and own property in the county can receive a $250 county real estate tax relief check, which the county sends through their volunteer fire or EMS organization rather than by individual application. The county's most recent public report on the program, from July 2025, lists it as paid from federal pandemic recovery funds, and no current application notice was found, so ask your fire company or EMS agency whether it is being paid this year.
How to appeal your Dauphin County property assessment
In Dauphin County you appeal to the Dauphin County Board of Assessment Appeals. The deadline: Annual appeals must be filed after June 1 and by 4:30 PM on August 1, and a change takes effect the next tax year. The appeal must be received by then: one that arrives late is rejected even if it was mailed earlier. August 1, 2027 is a Sunday and the board's rules do not say whether a weekend deadline moves, so to be safe have it delivered by Friday, July 30, 2027. If you receive a notice of a new or changed assessment, the appeal must be received within 40 days of the date of that notice. The filing fee for a single-family home or residential building lot is $25 per parcel, must come with the appeal, and is not refunded, and any delinquent taxes on the property must be paid before the board will accept or hear it. 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 Dauphin 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 Dauphin County
The other local tax: combined state and local rate for this county.
Sources
- Median real estate taxes paid and median home value for Dauphin 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.