Inheritance Tax

The Bucks County Register of Wills serves as the agent for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to collect inheritance tax. As such, the office accepts and processes tax forms, records and deposits inheritance tax payments and issues receipts for those payments. Any questions concerning inheritance tax beyond the scope of our responsibilities should be directed to a tax professional or to the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue at (717) 787-8327.

Forms can be found on the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue's website.  Inheritance tax forms are due within 9 months from date of death. Two copies must be sent back to ROW at 55 East Court Street, 6th Floor, Doylestown, PA, 18901. One copy must have an original signature. ROW sends one copy to Harrisburg.

The below information was provided by the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue in a 2008 notice and is shared to assist the taxpayer.  The Inheritance Tax Return should be compiled in the following order:

  • The 3-Page REF-1500 Return
  • Any appropriate schedules based on the estate's assets and deductions
  • A copy of the decedent's will, if appropriate
  • A copy of any inter-vivos trust, if appropriate
  • A copy of any deed concerning real estate listed on Schedules A, F, or G
  • Any legal-sized documents should be reduced to 8 1/2 x 11 paper if possible
  • Any additional documentation to verify the value of assets or deductions
  • The return should be held together with either rubber bands or a binder clip. Do not use staples, metal or plastic binding, 3-ring binder, paper clips, or metal fold-over straps, etc. 

Inheritance Tax Return Status

Inheritance tax filers can track the status of their return through myPATH by clicking on the Track My Inheritance Tax Return link. To track the status of a return, a user will need the Decedent's Last Name, the Decedent's SSN, and know whether the decedent was a PA resident. 

MyPath laptop


Submitting Payments Online for Realty Transfer Tax & Nonresident Inheritance Tax

Realty Transfer Tax and Nonresident Inheritance Taxpayers can pay their liabilities online through myPATH by clicking on Make A Payment link. 

Users will need the following information when paying online:

  • Letter ID
  • Your bank account information
  • Valid email address

Realty Transfer Tax users also need: 

  • Realty Transfer Tax Recording Date
  • Realty Transfer Tax Control Number

Nonresident Inheritance Tax users also need:

  • Decedent's Date of Death
  • Inheritance Tax File Number

mypath.pa.gov