Property tax in Erie County, Pennsylvania
In Erie County, the property tax bill comes from your local elected tax collector, one for each city, borough and township, who collects the county tax. The 2026 bill is due December 31, 2026. Taken from Erie County's own pages, checked September 23, 2026.
The median property tax bill in Erie County, Pennsylvania is $2,830 a year, which is about 1.6% of the county's median home value of $177,000. 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 Erie County, and how do you pay it?
The bill comes from your local elected tax collector, one for each city, borough and township, who collects the county tax. The value it is based on is set by a separate office, the Erie County Assessment Office, which is who to ask if the value looks wrong.
Pennsylvania homeowners here get more than one property tax bill. The county tax (usually billed with your municipal tax) and your school district tax come on separate bills with their own discount, face and penalty dates, and you pay current-year bills to the elected tax collector for your city, borough or township, not to a county office. Collectors keep limited and seasonal hours; the county publishes each collector's address, phone and hours. The county takes online card payments only for delinquent taxes, with a fee of about 3%. Taxes from earlier years are paid to the Tax Claim Bureau in the Erie County Courthouse, Room 110.
When are property taxes due in Erie County?
For the 2026 bill, Erie County has one due date: December 31, 2026. County tax bills are dated March 1. In recent years the whole bill earned a 2% discount if paid by April 30, the face amount was due from May 1 through June 30, and a 10% penalty was added from July 1. Those terms come from the county's audited financial statements, not a 2026 notice, so the dates printed on your bill are the ones that count. When the last day of a discount or face period falls on a weekend or holiday, a payment tendered or postmarked on the next business day is on time. December 31, 2026 is a Thursday. That date is the end of the penalty period: the 2% discount (through April 30) and the face amount (through June 30) have passed for 2026, so a bill paid now includes the late penalty, which was 10% in the county's most recent published terms. The tax collector must accept a payment tendered or postmarked by December 31, but may stop taking personal checks after a date set no earlier than December 15. County tax still unpaid after December 31 becomes a lien on January 1 and is collected by the Erie County Tax Claim Bureau, not the tax collector, with interest and costs added. A property at least two years behind can be offered at the Tax Claim Bureau's upset sale, held online on September 28, 2026 this year.
From Erie 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 Erie County
Enter a home's market value for a ballpark at Erie County's average effective rate of 1.6% (Census). The real bill depends on the home's assessed value, the millage where it sits and any exemptions.
Estimated property tax: $2,832 / year
Property tax in Erie County at a glance
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Median annual property tax | $2,830 |
| Median home value | $177,000 |
| Effective tax rate | 1.6% |
| 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 Erie County compare in Pennsylvania?
Among Pennsylvania's 67 counties, Erie County has the 5th highest effective property-tax rate: 4 rank higher and 62 rank lower. That places it among the most heavily taxed counties in the state. Nationally, it ranks 259th of 3135 US counties by effective rate. See every Pennsylvania county ranked.
How much do homeowners in Erie County actually pay?
The median is only the middle bill. Across Erie County's 75,276 owner-occupied homes, 45% pay $3,000 or more a year in property tax, 66.9% pay at least $2,000, and 7.6% pay under $800. Another 2.5% report paying no property tax at all, which usually means an exemption covers the whole bill.
| Annual bill | Homes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Under $800 | 5,710 | 7.6% |
| $800 to $1,499 | 9,228 | 12.3% |
| $1,500 to $1,999 | 8,066 | 10.7% |
| $2,000 to $2,999 | 16,495 | 21.9% |
| $3,000 or more | 33,888 | 45% |
| No property tax paid | 1,889 | 2.5% |
Owners with a mortgage pay a median of $2,989 and owners without one pay $2,643. 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 Erie County property tax bill compare with local incomes?
The median property tax bill of $2,830 is about 3.5% of the median income of Erie County homeowner households, $80,306 a year. That compares two middles, so a retiree in a long-held home can pay a far larger share. 68.1% of Erie 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 Erie County?
Yes. The median bill went from $2,524 in 2015-2019 to $2,830 in 2020-2024, a 12.1% rise. Over the same span the median home value moved 32%, from $134,100 to $177,000. 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 Erie County
Erie County borders 4 counties, 2 of them across the state line.
| County | Effective rate | Median bill | Median home value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chautauqua County, NY | 2.27% | $2,901 | $127,900 |
| Erie County, PA (this county) | 1.6% | $2,830 | $177,000 |
| Crawford County, PA | 1.35% | $2,064 | $153,200 |
| Warren County, PA | 1.32% | $1,687 | $127,500 |
| Ashtabula County, OH | 1.21% | $1,928 | $159,500 |
How is a home assessed in Erie County?
Pennsylvania sets the assessment rules and Erie County applies them. How Pennsylvania assesses and reappraises homes.
Is there a homestead exemption in Erie 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 Erie County. Pennsylvania's exemptions and relief programs in full.
On top of the Pennsylvania programs, Erie County runs its own:
- LERTA tax abatement for new construction and improvements: Under a County Council ordinance, the county abates its tax on the added value of new construction or improvements to homes in areas your municipality has designated, for 3, 5 or 10 years depending on the program. Ask your municipality or the county Assessment Office whether your area qualifies and how to apply.
How to appeal your Erie County property assessment
In Erie County you appeal to the Erie County Board of Assessment Appeals. The deadline: File an annual appeal between January 1 and August 1 (by mail, postmarked on or before August 1) to change the assessment for the following tax year; appeals are heard July through October. If you receive a notice changing your assessment, you have 40 days from the mailing date printed on the notice. The filing fee is $50 per parcel, not refunded, and the owner must sign the form. August 1, 2027 is a Sunday, and the county has not said whether that deadline moves to the next business day. 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 Erie 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 Erie County
The other local tax: combined state and local rate for this county.
Sources
- Median real estate taxes paid and median home value for Erie 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.