How long does probate take in Philadelphia?

Getting the executor or administrator appointed by the Philadelphia Register of Wills often takes days to a few weeks in a straightforward estate. Fully settling the estate typically takes nine months to a year or more, but the house can usually be sold once letters are issued, well before the estate closes.

What is the PA inheritance tax rate on a house left to children?

4.5%. Pennsylvania inheritance tax rates are 0% for surviving spouses, 4.5% for lineal descendants such as children and grandchildren, 12% for siblings, and 15% for most other beneficiaries. A 5% discount applies to tax paid within three months of death.

Do heirs pay Philadelphia transfer tax when they inherit a house?

Generally no. Transfers from an estate to the heirs named in a will are typically exempt from realty transfer tax. The 4.578% total transfer tax (customarily split between buyer and seller) applies when the house is sold to an outside buyer.

Can I sell an inherited Philadelphia rowhome as-is with everything in it?

Yes. We buy inherited houses throughout Philadelphia in as-is condition, including houses full of furniture and belongings. Take the items you want to keep and leave the rest; we handle the cleanout after closing.

What if the deed is still in my grandparents' name?

This is called tangled title, and it is common in Philadelphia. It usually means a previous estate was never probated, and it must be resolved before the house can be sold with clear title. A probate attorney can fix it, and Philadelphia has legal aid programs that help with tangled-title cases. Start this process early because it adds time.

Do out-of-state heirs have to come to Philadelphia to sell?

Usually not. Probate filings, listing paperwork, and closing documents can generally be handled remotely with mail-away or electronic signings coordinated by the attorney and title company. We work with out-of-state heirs regularly and structure the sale so travel is not required.

How long does probate take in Philadelphia?

Getting the executor or administrator appointed by the Philadelphia Register of Wills often takes days to a few weeks in a straightforward estate. Fully settling the estate typically takes nine months to a year or more, but the house can usually be sold once letters are issued, well before the estate closes.

What is the PA inheritance tax rate on a house left to children?

4.5%. Pennsylvania inheritance tax rates are 0% for surviving spouses, 4.5% for lineal descendants such as children and grandchildren, 12% for siblings, and 15% for most other beneficiaries. A 5% discount applies to tax paid within three months of death.

Do heirs pay Philadelphia transfer tax when they inherit a house?

Generally no. Transfers from an estate to the heirs named in a will are typically exempt from realty transfer tax. The 4.578% total transfer tax (customarily split between buyer and seller) applies when the house is sold to an outside buyer.

Can I sell an inherited Philadelphia rowhome as-is with everything in it?

Yes. We buy inherited houses throughout Philadelphia in as-is condition, including houses full of furniture and belongings. Take the items you want to keep and leave the rest; we handle the cleanout after closing.

What if the deed is still in my grandparents' name?

This is called tangled title, and it is common in Philadelphia. It usually means a previous estate was never probated, and it must be resolved before the house can be sold with clear title. A probate attorney can fix it, and Philadelphia has legal aid programs that help with tangled-title cases. Start this process early because it adds time.

Do out-of-state heirs have to come to Philadelphia to sell?

Usually not. Probate filings, listing paperwork, and closing documents can generally be handled remotely with mail-away or electronic signings coordinated by the attorney and title company. We work with out-of-state heirs regularly and structure the sale so travel is not required.

Inherited & Probate

Selling an Inherited House in Philadelphia: What Heirs Need to Know

Updated 2026-07-16 · Top Dollar Home Solutions

The short answer

To sell an inherited house in Philadelphia, the estate must first be opened with the Philadelphia Register of Wills, which appoints the executor or administrator. Pennsylvania charges an inheritance tax based on your relationship to the deceased: 0% for surviving spouses, 4.5% for children and other lineal descendants, 12% for siblings, and 15% for most others. Thanks to the federal stepped-up basis, heirs who sell soon after death usually owe little or no capital gains tax on the sale itself.

How does probate work for an inherited house in Philadelphia?

In Pennsylvania, probate starts at the Register of Wills in the county where the deceased lived. For Philadelphia homes, that means the Philadelphia Register of Wills at City Hall. The executor named in the will (or a close family member, if there is no will) files the will and a petition, and once approved, receives Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration. Those letters are the legal proof that the estate representative can act for the estate, including selling real estate.

The initial appointment is often quicker than people fear. In a straightforward estate with a valid will and cooperative family, letters can be issued within days to a few weeks of filing. Fully settling the estate takes longer, typically many months, but you do not need to wait for that. Once the personal representative has letters, they can generally move forward with selling the house, with the proceeds going into the estate.

Philadelphia adds a few local wrinkles worth knowing about early. Rowhomes that have been in a family for generations sometimes have title issues, such as a deed still in a grandparent's name because a previous estate was never probated. These tangled-title situations are common in neighborhoods across the city and are fixable, but they take time, so if the deed does not match who actually lived in and owned the house, raise it with a probate attorney immediately. We buy houses in probate regularly and have worked through plenty of tangled-title timelines with families and their attorneys.

How much is Pennsylvania inheritance tax on a Philadelphia house?

Pennsylvania is one of a handful of states with an inheritance tax, and the rate depends entirely on who is inheriting. Surviving spouses pay 0%. Lineal descendants and ascendants, meaning children, grandchildren, and parents, pay 4.5%. Siblings pay 12%. Almost everyone else, including nieces, nephews, and friends, pays 15%. Charitable organizations and certain other transferees are exempt.

The tax applies to the value of what you inherit, not to the sale proceeds specifically. So if you inherit a Philadelphia rowhome worth $180,000 from a parent, the inheritance tax on that asset is roughly $8,100 at the 4.5% lineal rate, regardless of when or how you sell. Pennsylvania offers a 5% discount on tax paid within three months of death, which is worth asking your attorney about, and the return is generally due within nine months.

Estates also need to plan for how the tax gets paid. If most of the estate's value is tied up in the house, the family sometimes needs to sell the house to raise the money for the inheritance tax and other estate debts. That is a common and completely workable situation; it just makes the timeline matter more. This is a place where an estate attorney or accountant earns their fee, and we always encourage heirs to get professional advice on the tax side before making decisions about the property.

Will you owe capital gains tax when you sell the inherited house?

Usually very little, and often none. Federal law gives inherited property a stepped-up basis: your cost basis becomes the fair market value of the home on the date of death, not what the deceased originally paid. A rowhome bought for $25,000 in 1975 and worth $200,000 at death has a basis of $200,000 in your hands. Sell it for $205,000 and your taxable gain is around $5,000 before selling costs, not $180,000.

This surprises a lot of Philadelphia heirs, who assume decades of appreciation means a huge tax bill. It generally does not, as long as you sell reasonably close to the date-of-death value. If you hold the property for years and it appreciates further, gains above the stepped-up basis become taxable, which is one reason some families prefer not to let an inherited house sit vacant indefinitely.

Keep in mind that the inheritance tax discussed above and capital gains tax are separate things: one is owed because you inherited, the other only on gain when you sell. A good accountant can look at both together, and getting a documented date-of-death valuation of the property, whether through an appraisal or a comparative market analysis, protects you either way.

What does it cost to sell an inherited house in Philadelphia?

The biggest line item unique to Philadelphia is the realty transfer tax, currently 4.578% of the sale price in total (3.578% city plus 1% Pennsylvania, after the city's rate increase effective July 1, 2025). By local custom the buyer and seller each pay half, so the estate's share on a $200,000 sale is about $4,578. Note that transfers from an estate to the heirs named in a will are generally exempt from transfer tax; the tax applies when the property is sold to an outside buyer.

Beyond transfer tax, expect attorney fees, prorated real estate taxes and any outstanding water or gas balances (Philadelphia liens follow the property, so old utility balances must be cleared at closing), plus agent commission of roughly 5% to 6% if you list. Vacant-house carrying costs deserve a line in your math too: insurance on a vacant Philadelphia property is expensive, and an empty rowhome can attract break-ins and code violations quickly.

If the estate sells to us directly, there is no commission, we typically cover standard closing costs, and the estate's main costs are its share of transfer tax and attorney fees. We put the full net-proceeds comparison in writing so the executor can show every heir exactly where the money goes under each option.

Should you list the inherited house or sell it for cash as-is?

It depends on the house and the family, and we mean that literally, because we do both. A well-maintained home in a strong block of Mayfair or a renovated property in a rising neighborhood will usually net more on the open market, and if that is your situation we can list it for you like any brokerage would.

But many inherited Philadelphia houses are a different story: original kitchens and baths, knob-and-tube wiring, a roof at the end of its life, and fifty years of belongings inside. Getting a house like that retail-ready can cost tens of thousands of dollars and months of coordination, often by heirs who live out of state. Retail buyers using FHA or conventional financing may not even be able to close on a house with certain condition issues, which shrinks the buyer pool for as-is listings.

For those homes, a cash offer is often the cleaner path: no repairs, no cleanout, no showings, and a closing scheduled around the estate's timeline. There is also a middle path, a novation arrangement, where we fund and manage the renovation and the estate shares in the higher resale price. The honest answer is that each option wins for different houses, whether it is in Germantown or anywhere else in the city, and the only way to know is to compare real numbers for yours.

What steps should Philadelphia heirs take first?

First, secure the property: change or check the locks, keep insurance in force (and tell the insurer it is vacant, or a later claim may be denied), and keep minimal utilities on. Second, open the estate with the Register of Wills and get a probate attorney if the estate has any complexity, including a house with a tangled title, a reverse mortgage, or unpaid property taxes. Third, get the date-of-death value of the house documented for tax purposes.

Then gather your options before committing to any of them. Talk to an agent about a realistic as-is listing price and a renovated price. Get a cash offer or two. Ask your accountant what the inheritance tax and any capital gains picture looks like. An hour or two of homework here routinely changes the outcome by thousands of dollars.

We built our process around exactly this comparison for families in Philadelphia and South Jersey: one conversation, every option side by side, and your decision made with full information. If you have inherited a house in Philadelphia and want to see your numbers, request your offer and we will lay it all out, no pressure and no obligation.