Taxpayers

Municipal Real Estate Tax bills are typically issued by April 1st and cover the Township's fiscal period from January 1st through December 31st of the year in which the bill is issued. School/Library Real Estate Tax bills are typically issued by July 1st and cover the School District's fiscal period from July 1st of the year issued through June 30th of the following year.

Exception/Interim bills are issued following a change in tax owed due to an increase in assessed value, loss of exemption, change of ownership, etc. These events are reported by the Lehigh County Office of Assessment with an effective date determined by their office. Depending on the effective date, the additional tax owed may be for the full 12 months or divided into the number of months during the taxing district's fiscal year for which the change was in effect. These bills are typically issued on February 1st, May 1st, and August 1st though they may issue at any time following notification from the Office of Assessment.

Yes. By law, all real estate tax bills must provide a discount of at least 2% from the Flat amount if payment is RECEIVED** within the first 2 months following the bill's mailing date, followed by another 2 months to be paid at the Flat amount. If payment is received 4 months or more after the mailing date, a penalty of up to 10% is added. These 3 periods will be clearly outlined with the start and end dates as well as the amount you must pay across 3 columns on your bills.

All amounts listed on your bill must be paid in full with a single payment. An installment option is offered on some School/Library Real Estate Tax bills; if available to you there will be a section below the Discount/Flat/Penalty columns which displays the amount you must pay for the 1st installment and the date that payment must be received. Note that when you elect to pay via installments you forfeit the discount for paying early, meaning if you send the installment payment and then send payment of the rest of the Discount period amount before the Discount deadline, you will not receive the Discount and your payment will be returned as defective. The payment coupons for installments 2 and 3 will be mailed after the expiration of the deadline for the 1st installment payment.

Check or money order is preferred — make it payable to UMT Tax Collector, with matching numerical and written amounts, an authorized signature, and a separate check for each tax type (Municipal vs School/Library). Service request fees (certification, duplicate bills, returned payments) CANNOT be combined with tax payments and will be returned as defective. Payment must be the exact amount due when RECEIVED**. Cash is ONLY accepted when delivered to the Tax Collector or authorized Deputy during posted sitting hours and must be in US dollars. Please bring exact change as we may not be able to make change for you, requiring us to round down your change or have you leave and come back with correct payment. Certified funds or cash are required for any payment received on or after December 15.

Use the 24/7 drop box located inside the first set of doors of the entrance to 1275 Glenlivet Drive, Allentown, PA 18106; send it by first-class mail or courier to the address in the top-left corner of your bill; or bring it in person during posted sitting hours. However you pay, you should always include at least one payment coupon from your bill to ensure accurate and timely processing. If you do not have your original bill, a duplicate may be requested in writing via email, fax, or mail (published fee applies).

Sitting hours for 2026 are planned for most Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:30am to 2:30pm. Additional days and/or extended hours are added near billing period deadlines and time out of office. Sitting hours are posted on the calendar shown on the Hours page of this website and on the office phone system which can be heard by selecting option 8 (updated daily) when calling. Hours are subject to change due to unforeseeable circumstances - we recommend confirming our availability on the day you plan to visit by either checking the calendar or phone system. If you cannot visit during posted hours, contact the office to arrange another time, place, or a video meeting.

For a digital receipt, include your email or fax number in the envelope with your payment and a certified PDF will be returned with digital signature. If you require a wet-ink signature/stamp, you can include a self-addressed envelope with appropriate postage/shipping label for return of the physical document(s) along with the 2nd payment coupon from your bill.

By law, every property owner is responsible for paying real estate tax whether or not a bill arrives. Set a yearly reminder for April 15 and July 15; if you haven't received a bill by then, contact the office for a copy.

Typically, the Tax Collector is only granted authority to collect and process payment through December 31st of the year in which the bill is issued and so all payments must be physically in the Tax Collector's hands or arrive via USPS with an official postmark of December 31st or earlier prior to that deadline. The authority to collect on any unpaid balances after this period is then transferred to the authority of the Delinquent Tax Collector appointed by the administrations of Upper Macungie Township and Parkland School District, and all inquiries as to balance owed and payment arrangements must go through that office. The exception to this scenario is any bill issued which has not completed the mandatory 2 months of Discount and 2 months of Flat payment periods prior to December 31st. In this case, the bill carries over to the next year and becomes delinquent after December 31st of that subsequent year.

There is currently no option to pay or view your bill online. However, as part of our plan to modernize and improve services for our taxpayers, we have contracted with a vendor who will be providing a simple payment portal through which you can submit electronic payment to our office and we hope to have this online by the end of August 2026. Keep checking the Pay Your Tax page for updates. Prepayment is not accepted and any payment received prior to the issuing of a bill will be returned as defective.

Due to the frequency with which we receive defective payments sent through bank bill pay or do not receive payment at all, we strongly advise AGAINST using this service to pay real estate taxes. The most common reasons for a defective payment sent via bank bill pay is a failure to update the payable and/or mailing address, failure to receive payment before a billing period deadline, and the return of all checks in an envelope due to the incorrect name being displayed through the envelope window.

Most bank bill pay is handled by a single central payment processor and arrives in a bulk mail envelope. These envelopes are not postmarked and are delivered according to the addressing on the first check in the envelope which is visible through the envelope window. Unfortunately, some Tax Collectors have permitted the payments to be written as payable to them by name, rather than the office and our bank will not let us deposit checks made payable to them now that they are no longer in office. Furthermore, if the first check does not list the title of the office (e.g. Tax Collector) with my predecessor's name, we are not legally permitted to open the envelope and we must return the envelope unopened to sender.

What does this process mean for you? Even if you follow all instructions for payable and address, the error of another taxpayer could result in your payment being returned and your missing a billing deadline. We have contacted several banks and even managed to track down the payment processor to investigate solutions. There are none available to us other than to continue returning defective payments/mail addressed to someone else and inform the taxpayer of their error. This is why we ask that you instead send payment by USPS yourself, place it in our drop box, or visit during planned sitting hours to pay in-person.

The Lehigh County Office of Assessment maintains the official property-owner records. Download their Address Change form from the county and submit it per their instructions; you may also forward a copy to this office. For name changes, contact the county at (610) 782-3038.

Contact the office with the reason. Regardless, you must still pay the bill — include a letter stating you are paying in protest and outline why. If the administration agrees, a refund of any overpayment may be issued under limited circumstances.

Tax History Certifications — $20.00 per parcel, includes up to 3 years of billing & payment history for both the Municipal and School/Library real estate taxes.
Duplicate Bills — $5.00 per individual bill (combination of tax type + tax year).
Payment Confirmation — no fee; must provide check number, date, and amount.

As a matter of policy, we do not give bill or payment information out over the phone or email without payment of the required fee. This is a small office, and these fees allow us to pay staff for basic services. You must submit your request in writing by email, fax, or mail/courier and pay the required fee before any service is performed.

We make every effort to address any request within 48 hours of receipt; during periods of high collection volume, service request processing may be delayed. If your request is urgent, please mark it as such and/or contact us directly and we will make every effort to identify your request and expedite processing.

Our online payment option will be coming online by the end of August 2026. We also offer a prepaid fees account option, the process for which is:

• Send an initial deposit in an amount of your choosing (typically between $100 and $1,000) and a written request to establish an account.
• Email or fax requests as needed, providing as much identifying information for the parcel as possible.
• My office will return your document(s) by the method you prefer, typically as a certified PDF attached to email or fax; if you require return of a physical document, you must provide self-addressed envelope(s) and postage or shipping labels.
• Your document(s) will be accompanied by a beginning and ending account balance summary.
• When your balance gets low, either send a replenishment payment or resume sending individual payment per request.
• The account may be opened or closed at any time by providing notice in writing; if there is a balance remaining in your account when it closes, the funds will be returned by check.
• If I should leave office and a balance remains on your account, the funds will be returned to you, or — if you and the new Tax Collector agree — I can transfer the funds to them.

Prepaid account is for service fees ONLY - no tax payments are permitted via prepaid account.