Reading, PA Garage & Yard Sales: Frequency Limits (2026)

Unlike many surrounding Berks County boroughs and townships — West Reading caps sales at two per twelve-month period under https://ecode360.com/30062091, Wyomissing imposes its own limits, and several rural townships set seasonal windows — Reading City has not adopted a frequency cap. The City's Code of Ordinances at https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/readingpa/latest/overview includes no chapter dedicated to garage or yard sales, so as a matter of municipal law a Reading household may hold any reasonable number of occasional residential sales without a permit or frequency restriction. The practical limit on frequency comes from three indirect sources: (1) Reading's business privilege license framework — the City Finance Department may treat repeated sales involving inventory the seller did not personally use as unlicensed retail activity that requires registration and payment of business privilege tax; (2) PA Department of Revenue sales-tax rules under 61 Pa. Code Section 32.1 (https://revenue-pa.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/552/~/do-i-need-a-sales-tax-license-when-i-host-a-yard-sale), which exempt non-recurring isolated sales but not frequent or commercial sales — frequent sellers must register and collect Pennsylvania's 6 percent sales tax; and (3) Reading Zoning Code Chapter 27 home-occupation rules, which prohibit residential properties from being used for outdoor retail sales as a continuing use. Berks County itself imposes no county-wide garage-sale frequency cap. Residents should also confirm whether their property sits inside the City limits or in an adjoining borough such as West Reading or Wyomissing, where local frequency caps do apply.