Selling an Inherited Home in Pennsylvania — PA Probate, Inheritance Tax, and the 9-Month Window
Inheriting a Pennsylvania home is rarely just a financial event. It is wrapped inside a grief event, a family event, and — in Pennsylvania more than most states — a tax event with a hard nine-month deadline. Most people receiving an inherited Greater Philadelphia property are not thinking like sellers. They are thinking like sons, daughters, siblings, spouses. And in the middle of that grief, Pennsylvania quietly starts the inheritance tax clock.
Pennsylvania is one of only five or six states that still imposes a state inheritance tax. The rates depend on your relationship to the person who passed: 0% if you are the surviving spouse, 4.5% if you are a child or grandchild, 12% if you are a sibling, 15% if you are anyone else. The tax return — Form REV-1500 — is due nine months after the date of death, with a 5% discount if you pay within three months. And the tax is a lien on Pennsylvania real estate until it is paid, which means the inheritance tax has to be handled before clean title can pass to a buyer.
I'm Joe Petrusky, CEO and Managing Partner of Schuylkill Home Investors. Since 2018, our team — me, our CCO Mike Ferrise, and our COO Sam Holloway — has acquired more than 500 single-family homes across Greater Philadelphia, including a meaningful number of inherited properties handled through Pennsylvania probate at the Montgomery County, Delaware County, and Philadelphia County Registers of Wills. We know this procedure because we have closed it.
Below is the honest, plain-language version of how Pennsylvania probate and inheritance tax actually work, how to handle a Greater Philadelphia inherited home as an executor or heir, and where a cash sale fits — especially when the home needs major work, when there are multiple siblings to coordinate, or when the inheritance tax math is creating pressure no one was prepared for.
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Pennsylvania Probate — The Basic Sequence
When someone passes away in Pennsylvania owning real estate, the property passes through probate under Title 20 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes (the Probate, Estates and Fiduciaries Code). The process is administered at the county level by the Register of Wills in the decedent's county of residence — Montgomery County, Delaware County, or Philadelphia County for Greater Philadelphia.
Here is the basic sequence:
- Will or no will? If the decedent left a will, the named executor petitions the Register of Wills for Letters Testamentary. If there was no will, the next of kin petitions for Letters of Administration. The 'Letters' document gives the personal representative legal authority to act for the estate.
- Inventory and notice. The personal representative inventories the estate's assets, including the home, and provides notice to heirs and creditors as required by Title 20.
- PA Inheritance Tax Return. Form REV-1500 is due nine months after the date of death. The personal representative usually files it through the county Register of Wills. The 5% discount for payment within three months can be substantial on larger estates.
- Pay debts and taxes. Estate creditors are paid in priority order; the inheritance tax is generally paid from estate funds before distribution to beneficiaries.
- Sell or distribute the real estate. The personal representative can sell estate real estate under the authority granted in the will (most modern PA wills include broad sale authority), or — if the will is silent or there is no will — by petitioning the Orphans' Court for authority to sell.
- Distribute and close. After all debts, taxes, and expenses are paid, the personal representative distributes the remaining assets and files an accounting to close the estate.
The PA Inheritance Tax — The Single Most Important Fact
Pennsylvania imposes inheritance tax under 72 P.S. § 9116 at four rates based on the beneficiary's relationship to the decedent. The rates are:
| Relationship to Decedent | Inheritance Tax Rate | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Surviving Spouse | 0% | Husband, wife — fully exempt |
| Qualified charity / government entity | 0% | PA-recognized charities, government entities |
| Child under 21 (from natural / adoptive / step parent) | 0% | Minor children of the decedent — Act 13 of 2019 |
| Lineal descendants and ascendants | 4.5% | Children, grandchildren, parents |
| Siblings | 12% | Brothers, sisters of the decedent |
| Other heirs | 15% | Nieces, nephews, friends, unmarried partners, cousins |
Worked example. A father passes away in Ardmore and leaves $200,000 to his adult daughter.
The daughter is a lineal descendant, so her rate is 4.5%. The inheritance tax is $9,000. If that same $200,000 instead went to the father's adult nephew, the nephew's rate is 15%. The inheritance tax is $30,000. The relationship matters far more than the dollar amount.
The 9-Month Clock and the 5% Discount
The REV-1500 inheritance tax return is due nine months after the date of death. Filing extensions may extend the deadline to file but generally do not extend the deadline to pay. Interest accrues on unpaid balances after the nine-month mark.
Pennsylvania offers a meaningful incentive to pay early: a 5% discount on the tax due if it is paid within three months of death. On a $9,000 tax bill, the discount is $450. On a $30,000 tax bill, the discount is $1,500. On a larger Main Line estate, the discount can run to several thousand dollars.
Critically: the PA Inheritance Tax is a lien on the decedent's real estate until paid. This means before clean title can transfer to a buyer, the inheritance tax must either be paid or arranged for payment at closing through the title company's escrow procedure. This is the procedural fact that ties the inheritance tax directly to any sale of inherited Pennsylvania real estate.
How Selling Inherited Pennsylvania Real Estate Works
The personal representative — executor or administrator — has the legal authority to sell the inherited home under most modern PA wills, or after obtaining Orphans' Court authority if the will is silent. The sale process can run on the standard market timeline (list, show, negotiate, finance, close in 60-120 days) or on a cash-buyer timeline (offer in 24 hours, close in 7-14 days as-is). For inherited homes specifically, the cash route has several advantages.
- Speed. The 9-month inheritance tax deadline is a real constraint. A cash close in 7-14 days lets the estate handle the tax payment from sale proceeds with months to spare.
- As-is. Many inherited Greater Philadelphia homes — especially Main Line and Lower Merion pre-WWII properties — need significant work. The estate usually does not have the cash to renovate. Cash buyers take the property as-is.
- Family coordination. A single cash close with clear net proceeds is easier to split among multiple heirs than a listing process where the price keeps changing and family members argue over staging, contractor selection, or showings.
- Title coordination. An experienced cash buyer's title company handles the PA Inheritance Tax payment at closing through an escrow procedure — clearing the lien before the deed transfers.
What a Cash Sale With Schuylkill Home Looks Like
- Step 1: Call us or fill out the form. Tell us the property address, where you are in probate (Letters issued or not), and whether there is a will.
- Step 2: We coordinate with your probate attorney (or recommend one if you do not have one) to confirm the executor's authority to sell.
- Step 3: We make a fair cash offer in writing, often within 24 hours. The offer is based on the as-is value — no need to fix anything.
- Step 4: We work with a licensed Pennsylvania title company that handles the PA Inheritance Tax payment at closing through escrow, clears the tax lien, and prepares clean title for transfer.
- Step 5: At closing, sale proceeds satisfy any remaining estate debts and inheritance tax, and the net is distributed to the heirs according to the will or PA intestate succession rules. Closing typically happens within 7-14 days.
Talk to Joe and the Team
If you have inherited a Greater Philadelphia home and are figuring out next steps, we will give you our honest read on where you stand, what the inheritance tax math actually looks like, and what selling would clear after probate. No pressure, no obligation. Pennsylvania's #1 Experienced Cash Homebuyer.
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