Tyrone adopts state relief for taxpayers who never received a bill

Borough Council has signed on to a new piece of state tax-relief law, adopting Resolution 2022-07 to bring Tyrone’s tax collection practices in line with Act 57 of 2022. The measure addresses a familiar frustration: a property owner gets hit with a late penalty for a tax bill they say they never received.

What Act 57 changes

Under the new law, a taxing body must waive late penalties and additional charges on a real estate tax bill when a taxpayer can show they did not receive the bill — provided the taxpayer pays the face amount of the tax within a set window after being notified. The relief is aimed at honest oversights and mail-delivery failures rather than at taxpayers who simply paid late. It applies, for example, to a new owner who recently bought a property, or to a resident whose bill was lost in the mail.

To qualify, a taxpayer generally must submit a written request and attest that the bill was never received, and then pay the tax that is owed. The intent is to separate a missed bill from a refusal to pay, so that residents are not penalized for a notice that never arrived.

Why Council acted

Act 57 directs local taxing authorities to put a waiver process in place, and Resolution 2022-07 is how Tyrone formally adopts that process for Borough taxes. The resolution does not change the amount of tax anyone owes; it sets the conditions under which late charges can be forgiven when a bill goes undelivered.

Residents who believe they were charged a penalty on a tax bill they never received should contact the Borough Office at 1100 Logan Avenue, (814) 684-1330, to ask about the waiver process and the deadlines that apply.

On record: Resolution 2022-07 is part of the public meeting record at the Borough Office, 1100 Logan Avenue. Learn more about the state law in Act 57 of 2022; Tyrone’s local tax provisions appear in Chapter 180, Taxation of the Borough Code.