In most of Luzerne County the realty transfer tax is 2% of the sale price. One percent goes to Pennsylvania, one half percent to the municipality and one half percent to the school district. Four municipalities charge more than that. In Pittston City the total is 4%. On a $250,000 sale that is $5,000 in most of the county and $10,000 in Pittston City, for the same house eleven miles apart.
Below is every municipality in the county with the municipal and school district shares separated, so you can see where the money actually goes. The figures are the state Act 511 register, not an estimate.
The Four Exceptions
| Municipality | Municipal | School District | Total With The 1% State |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pittston City | 2.5% | 0.5% | 4.0% |
| Wilkes-Barre City | 2% | 0.5% | 3.5% |
| Hazleton City | 1% | 0.5% | 2.5% |
| Kingston Borough | 1% | 0.5% | 2.5% |
Every other municipality in Luzerne County, all 72 of them, is one half percent municipal plus one half percent school district, which comes to 2% once the state 1% is added.
What The County FAQ Gets Wrong
The Luzerne County Recorder of Deeds FAQ is the page most people find first, and on Pittston City it is half a point low. It states that for properties in Pittston City the municipal tax is 2.5%, and calls the total 3.5%. The 2.5% municipal figure is correct. The 3.5% total is not, because it leaves out the school district half percent. The correct total is 4%.
On a $200,000 Pittston City sale that is a $1,000 error. If you are quoting a seller their net from that page, you are quoting them $1,000 too high. The same FAQ also mislabels Wilkes-Barre City, where the 2.5% it calls municipal is really the municipal 2% plus the school district half percent. Its Kingston Borough line is correct.
Why Reading The Township Ordinance Will Also Mislead You
Nearly every township ordinance in the county recites a realty transfer tax rate of 1%. That is not what the township collects.
Section 311 of the Pennsylvania Local Tax Enabling Act automatically halves a municipality rate whenever another taxing body levies on the same transfer. Every municipality in Luzerne County shares with a school district that also levies. So an ordinance that says 1% is collected at one half percent.
Dallas Township shows both halves plainly. Section 81-19(A) of its code sets a tax at the rate of 1% of the value of the real estate. Section 81-19(E) then provides that where another political subdivision also taxes the transfer, the township rate shall be one half of the rate, and that one half rate becomes effective without any action on the part of the municipality. Read the ordinance alone and you would tell a Dallas Township seller 3% instead of 2%.
Who Pays It
Pennsylvania holds both sides responsible. The Department of Revenue states that both grantor and grantee are jointly and severally liable for payment of the tax. Splitting it evenly between buyer and seller is customary in northeastern Pennsylvania, but that is a term of the agreement of sale rather than a rule of law. It is negotiable, and in a slower market it gets negotiated.
The tax is collected by the county Recorder of Deeds at recording, and the Recorder remits the Commonwealth 1% to the Department of Revenue.
Transfers That Are Exempt
The Department of Revenue exempts a number of transfers from the state tax, including certain transfers among family members, transfers to governmental units, transfers between religious organizations, transfers to shareholders or partners, deeds to burial sites, and property passing by testate or intestate succession. Whether a specific transfer qualifies is a question for your attorney rather than for a table.
Every Municipality In Luzerne County
Municipal and school district columns are the local halves. The final column adds the Commonwealth 1% and is what actually changes hands at closing.
| Municipality | School District | Municipal | School District Rate | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashley Borough | Hanover Area School District | 0.5% | 0.5% | 2% |
| Avoca Borough | Pittston Area School District | 0.5% | 0.5% | 2% |
| Bear Creek Township | Wilkes-Barre Area School District | 0.5% | 0.5% | 2% |
| Bear Creek Village Borough | Wilkes-Barre Area School District | 0.5% | 0.5% | 2% |
| Black Creek Township | Hazleton Area School District | 0.5% | 0.5% | 2% |
| Buck Township | Wilkes-Barre Area School District | 0.5% | 0.5% | 2% |
| Butler Township | Hazleton Area School District | 0.5% | 0.5% | 2% |
| Conyngham Borough | Hazleton Area School District | 0.5% | 0.5% | 2% |
| Conyngham Township | Greater Nanticoke Area School District | 0.5% | 0.5% | 2% |
| Courtdale Borough | Wyoming Valley West School District | 0.5% | 0.5% | 2% |
| Dallas Borough | Dallas School District | 0.5% | 0.5% | 2% |
| Dallas Township | Dallas School District | 0.5% | 0.5% | 2% |
| Dennison Township | Crestwood School District | 0.5% | 0.5% | 2% |
| Dorrance Township | Crestwood School District | 0.5% | 0.5% | 2% |
| Dupont Borough | Pittston Area School District | 0.5% | 0.5% | 2% |
| Duryea Borough | Pittston Area School District | 0.5% | 0.5% | 2% |
| Edwardsville Borough | Wyoming Valley West School District | 0.5% | 0.5% | 2% |
| Exeter Borough | Wyoming Area School District | 0.5% | 0.5% | 2% |
| Exeter Township | Wyoming Area School District | 0.5% | 0.5% | 2% |
| Fairmount Township | Northwest Area School District | 0.5% | 0.5% | 2% |
| Fairview Township | Crestwood School District | 0.5% | 0.5% | 2% |
| Forty Fort Borough | Wyoming Valley West School District | 0.5% | 0.5% | 2% |
| Foster Township | Hazleton Area School District | 0.5% | 0.5% | 2% |
| Franklin Township | Dallas School District | 0.5% | 0.5% | 2% |
| Freeland Borough | Hazleton Area School District | 0.5% | 0.5% | 2% |
| Hanover Township | Hanover Area School District | 0.5% | 0.5% | 2% |
| Harveys Lake Borough | Lake-Lehman School District | 0.5% | 0.5% | 2% |
| Hazle Township | Hazleton Area School District | 0.5% | 0.5% | 2% |
| Hazleton City | Hazleton Area School District | 1% | 0.5% | 2.5% |
| Hollenback Township | Berwick Area School District | 0.5% | 0.5% | 2% |
| Hughestown Borough | Pittston Area School District | 0.5% | 0.5% | 2% |
| Hunlock Township | Northwest Area School District | 0.5% | 0.5% | 2% |
| Huntington Township | Northwest Area School District | 0.5% | 0.5% | 2% |
| Jackson Township | Lake-Lehman School District | 0.5% | 0.5% | 2% |
| Jeddo Borough | Hazleton Area School District | 0.5% | 0.5% | 2% |
| Jenkins Township | Pittston Area School District | 0.5% | 0.5% | 2% |
| Kingston Borough | Wyoming Valley West School District | 1% | 0.5% | 2.5% |
| Kingston Township | Dallas School District | 0.5% | 0.5% | 2% |
| Laflin Borough | Wilkes-Barre Area School District | 0.5% | 0.5% | 2% |
| Lake Township | Lake-Lehman School District | 0.5% | 0.5% | 2% |
| Larksville Borough | Wyoming Valley West School District | 0.5% | 0.5% | 2% |
| Laurel Run Borough | Wilkes-Barre Area School District | 0.5% | 0.5% | 2% |
| Lehman Township | Lake-Lehman School District | 0.5% | 0.5% | 2% |
| Luzerne Borough | Wyoming Valley West School District | 0.5% | 0.5% | 2% |
| Nanticoke City | Greater Nanticoke Area School District | 0.5% | 0.5% | 2% |
| Nescopeck Borough | Berwick Area School District | 0.5% | 0.5% | 2% |
| Nescopeck Township | Berwick Area School District | 0.5% | 0.5% | 2% |
| New Columbus Borough | Northwest Area School District | 0.5% | 0.5% | 2% |
| Newport Township | Greater Nanticoke Area School District | 0.5% | 0.5% | 2% |
| Nuangola Borough | Crestwood School District | 0.5% | 0.5% | 2% |
| Penn Lake Park Borough | Crestwood School District | 0.5% | 0.5% | 2% |
| Pittston City | Pittston Area School District | 2.5% | 0.5% | 4% |
| Pittston Township | Pittston Area School District | 0.5% | 0.5% | 2% |
| Plains Township | Wilkes-Barre Area School District | 0.5% | 0.5% | 2% |
| Plymouth Borough | Wyoming Valley West School District | 0.5% | 0.5% | 2% |
| Plymouth Township | Greater Nanticoke Area School District | 0.5% | 0.5% | 2% |
| Pringle Borough | Wyoming Valley West School District | 0.5% | 0.5% | 2% |
| Rice Township | Crestwood School District | 0.5% | 0.5% | 2% |
| Ross Township | Lake-Lehman School District | 0.5% | 0.5% | 2% |
| Salem Township | Berwick Area School District | 0.5% | 0.5% | 2% |
| Shickshinny Borough | Northwest Area School District | 0.5% | 0.5% | 2% |
| Slocum Township | Crestwood School District | 0.5% | 0.5% | 2% |
| Sugar Notch Borough | Hanover Area School District | 0.5% | 0.5% | 2% |
| Sugarloaf Township | Hazleton Area School District | 0.5% | 0.5% | 2% |
| Swoyersville Borough | Wyoming Valley West School District | 0.5% | 0.5% | 2% |
| Union Township | Northwest Area School District | 0.5% | 0.5% | 2% |
| Warrior Run Borough | Hanover Area School District | 0.5% | 0.5% | 2% |
| West Hazleton Borough | Hazleton Area School District | 0.5% | 0.5% | 2% |
| West Pittston Borough | Wyoming Area School District | 0.5% | 0.5% | 2% |
| West Wyoming Borough | Wyoming Area School District | 0.5% | 0.5% | 2% |
| White Haven Borough | Crestwood School District | 0.5% | 0.5% | 2% |
| Wilkes-Barre City | Wilkes-Barre Area School District | 2% | 0.5% | 3.5% |
| Wilkes-Barre Township | Wilkes-Barre Area School District | 0.5% | 0.5% | 2% |
| Wright Township | Crestwood School District | 0.5% | 0.5% | 2% |
| Wyoming Borough | Wyoming Area School District | 0.5% | 0.5% | 2% |
| Yatesville Borough | Pittston Area School District | 0.5% | 0.5% | 2% |
Methodology and Sources
Every rate on this page comes from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development Municipal Statistics register, the Act 511 local tax database built from the tax information form each municipality and school district files with the state. Reporting year 2026, retrieved 4 September 2026. The county extract returns 76 realty transfer rows, one for each municipality in Luzerne County.
Two arithmetic checks were run across all 76 rows before publishing. The municipal and school district shares sum to the stated total on every row, and every school district in the county levies exactly one half percent. The Pittston City municipal share was separately confirmed against the city ordinance.
- Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, Municipal Statistics, Municipal Tax Information report, Luzerne County, reporting year 2026
- Pennsylvania Department of Revenue, Realty Transfer Tax, for the 1% state rate, joint liability, and the exemption list
- Local Tax Enabling Act (Act 511 of 1965), section 311, for the automatic halving where two subdivisions tax the same transfer
- City of Pittston Code section 436-19, Ordinance 13-2025 adopted 17 December 2025, for the 2.5% municipal rate effective 1 January 2026
- Dallas Township Code section 81-19, Ordinance 2001-1, for the ordinance rate and the halving clause
- Luzerne County Recorder of Deeds FAQ, cited above for the discrepancy
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