Scranton property taxpayers will get two separate tax bills this month for county and city/school taxes owed for 2026, the Scranton Single Tax Office announced Friday.

Arriving via mail in mid-February, the first tax bill will have just the Lackawanna County property tax portion of a taxpayer’s total annual obligation. The second bill to follow about a week later will contain the city of Scranton municipal tax, the city refuse-collection fee and the Scranton School District tax.

The county tax portion was split off into its own bill for 2026, because the county this year will offer an option of paying the county tax in four installments, as has been done previously with the city/school tax portions, said Scranton Tax Collector Cathy Nealon Wechsler. She oversees Scranton’s Single Tax Office, which collects taxes in the city for the municipality, school district and county.

The Single Tax Office announced the change to sending out two separate tax bills, as well as other changes that taxpayers will see in their bills, because “There are a few things this year that I want to make sure come across to the taxpayers,” Wechsler said.

Changes in tax bills this year

• Tax bills will reflect new values from the first countywide property tax reassessment since 1968 that was completed last year. The 2026 real estate tax bills will contain the new assessed value for each property. Any questions regarding the reassessment values should be directed to the Lackawanna County assessment office at 570-963-6728.

• Scranton taxpayers will get two separate tax bills: one with just the county tax, and the other with the city/school taxes and city trash-collection fee of $600. As in the past, taxpayers will have the option to pay the Scranton city and school taxes and refuse fee in full or in four installments, due by March 31, June 30, Aug. 31 and Oct. 30. Nonpayment of an installment by a due date will result in a penalty. No other partial payments will be accepted. Four coupons for installment payments will be at the bottom the tax bill.

• Lackawanna County also now offers the same option, to pay the county real estate tax bill in full or in four installments. Four coupons for installment payments also will be at the bottom of the county tax bill. The installments also will be due by March 31, June 30, Aug. 31 and Oct. 30. Nonpayment of an installment by a due date will result in a penalty, and no other partial payments will be accepted. The county tax bill also includes a county educational tax and a county library tax.

• The payment periods for getting a discount, incurring a penalty, or neither by paying the face value will remain the same, as follows: The discount period runs until April 15; the face-value period runs from April 16 through June 30; and the penalty phase runs from July 1 through Dec. 31.

• The city of Scranton and the Scranton School District will each now have one millage rate, instead of the prior split millages of one for land and the other for improvements. The countywide reassessment completed last year to take effect this year gave the opportunity to end the split property tax rates that dated to 1913, and instead have one, as do nearly all other municipalities in the state.

Where and how to pay your taxes

• In person: The Single Tax Office is in the Lackawanna County Department of Health and Human Services Building at 315 Franklin Ave., which has free parking. Residents can walk in and pay their taxes or use a drive-through window at the back of the building.

• Drop boxes: There are two. One is in the vestibule of the Lackawanna County Government Center at 123 Wyoming Ave.; the other is the night deposit drop box in the first drive-through window at 315 Franklin Ave.

• Online: Taxes also can be paid online at scrantontaxoffice.org/make-a-payment/.

For information, contact the Single Tax Office at 570-963-6756 or via email at singletaxoffice@lackawannacounty.org, or see the STO website at Scrantontaxoffice.org.