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. Three municipalities charge more than that. In Wilkes-Barre City and Pittston City the total is 3.5%. On a $250,000 sale that is $5,000 in most of the county and $8,750 in either city, for the same house in the same county.
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, checked against the county Recorder of Deeds and the municipalities' own ordinances, not an estimate.
The Three Exceptions
| Municipality | Municipal | School District | Total With the 1% State |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wilkes-Barre City | 2% | 0.5% | 3.5% |
| Pittston City | 2% | 0.5% | 3.5% |
| Kingston Borough | 1% | 0.5% | 2.5% |
Every other municipality in Luzerne County, all 73 of them, is one half percent municipal plus one half percent school district, which comes to 2% once the state 1% is added. That includes Hazleton City.
Where the Published Sources Disagree
Two cities are listed differently in the state register than in the records of the county Recorder of Deeds, which collects the tax when a deed is recorded. We checked both against the cities' own documents.
Hazleton City is 2%. The state register still lists the city's share at 1%, for a 2.5% total, under an effective date of January 1, 2015. But the city cut its share to one half percent for its 2018 budget under its Act 47 recovery plan, re-enacts the tax each year with one half percent to the city and one half percent to the Hazleton Area School District, and its 2026 budget allocates it the same way. The Recorder's schedules from 2018 and 2026 both state that Hazleton is now a total of 2%. The register entry was not updated after the cut. An earlier version of this page listed Hazleton at 2.5%, and we have corrected it.
Pittston City is 3.5%. You may see 4% in the state register, but the county Recorder of Deeds collects 3.5%, and that is what you pay.
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 | 0.5% | 0.5% | 2% |
| 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% | 0.5% | 3.5% |
| 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. On September 24, 2026 the exceptions were checked again against the county Recorder's schedule and the cities' own documents, which corrected Hazleton City and Pittston City as described above.
- 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, setting a 2.50% rate for 2026
- Luzerne County Recorder of Deeds, Fee Schedule effective July 1, 2026, and Fee Schedule effective May 9, 2018, for the Pittston City and Hazleton City totals
- City of Hazleton, Act 47 Recovery Plan (June 2018), Ordinance 2021-22, and 2026 budget, for the city share of one half percent
- City of Wilkes-Barre Code section 28-211, Ordinance 13-2008, for the 2.5% local rate
- Dallas Township Code section 81-19, Ordinance 2001-1, for the ordinance rate and the halving clause
- Luzerne County Recorder of Deeds FAQ
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