Physician Loans in Pennsylvania, Explained Properly
Program and regulatory figures verified October 6, 2026. Details change; confirm your scenario with us.
Most physician-loan pages written for Pennsylvania are a Florida page with the state name swapped. The money works differently here, and it works differently in a way that costs real cash on closing day.
★★ What 100% financing does not cover
A physician loan can finance the whole purchase price with no private mortgage insurance. That solves the down payment. It does not solve the realty transfer tax, which is cash, due at closing, and in Philadelphia it is large.
The City of Philadelphia publishes the rate: 3.578% city plus 1% Commonwealth, 4.578% total, applied to the sale price or assessed value plus any assumed debt.
| Philadelphia purchase price | Total transfer tax at 4.578% | Customary even split |
|---|---|---|
| $389,524 (the city's typical value) | $17,834 | $8,917 |
| $400,000 | $18,312 | $9,156 |
| $500,000 | $22,890 | $11,445 |
| $600,000 | $27,468 | $13,734 |
That is the number a physician moving to Philadelphia should have in their plan from the first conversation, and it is the one most often missing. The full detail, including what the City says about who it can collect from.
★ Custom is not law
The Pennsylvania Department of Revenue states it plainly: "Both grantor and grantee are held jointly and severally liable for payment of the tax." Philadelphia goes further, saying the tax is usually split evenly but that this "is not a legal requirement" and that the City "has the right to collect 100% of the tax from either party."
We are lenders, so how that gets handled between the parties is not ours to advise on. What is ours is making sure you have the cash planned for, rather than discovering it late.
★★ Pennsylvania's loan repayment program, and the sentence that misleads people
The Pennsylvania Primary Care Loan Repayment Program pays up to $80,000 for a two-year full-time commitment, or up to $40,000 half-time, to physicians, dentists and psychologists. Other eligible disciplines get up to $48,000 or $24,000.
Read the Department's program page and you will see that figure sitting a line or two away from "Practice Site Applications are accepted continuously." Those two facts are about different people. The continuous window is for practice sites. Practitioners can only apply in response to a competitive Request for Applications, and the current one, RFA 67-206, closed at 11:59 p.m. on 4 May 2026 with the words "LATE APPLICATIONS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED REGARDLESS OF THE REASON."
No next cycle has been published. The Fact Sheet gives an email address for notification, and we are not going to invent a date. The program, in full.
★★ The refinance decision that can cost $80,000
This is the one to read before you do anything else, because it is irreversible.
RFA 67-206 says a loan that would otherwise qualify but has been consolidated or refinanced with ineligible debt will not be considered for repayment, and that qualifying loans consolidated with loans owned by any other person, such as a spouse or parent, are ineligible.
Physicians refinance student debt at roughly the moment they buy a house. Do it the wrong way, jointly with a spouse or bundled with any non-education balance, and up to $80,000 of future loan repayment is gone for good. What counts and what does not.
★★ Your sign-on bonus may cost you the program. Your PSLF will not.
An applicant with any outstanding service obligation is ineligible, and the RFA's own example is "a recruitment bonus that obligates you to remain employed at a certain site." So a PA physician may be choosing between a bonus and up to $80,000.
Public Service Loan Forgiveness is different, and the RFA is explicit: PSLF "is NOT considered a service commitment because it does not obligate you to remain employed at a certain practice site." The trade, laid out.
★ The market here is the opposite of the Sun Belt
Thirty-three of Pennsylvania's thirty-four metros rose in the year to 31 August 2026. The one exception is Bradford, at −2.8%. Philadelphia was up 2.5%, and a central-Pennsylvania belt ran from +4.5% to +8.2%.
So the equity warning that belongs on a Florida physician-loan page does not belong here. Values are also low: Philadelphia at $389,524 is barely above the national benchmark of $368,697, and Pittsburgh at $232,122 is about 37% below it. Every metro, with the numbers.
★ The conforming limit is not your problem either
Sixty-six of Pennsylvania's sixty-seven counties sit at the $832,750 baseline, Philadelphia and Allegheny included. Only Pike County is higher, at the high-cost ceiling of $1,209,750, and Pike is a Poconos second-home market rather than a physician employment market.
Philadelphia's typical value leaves roughly $443,226 of headroom under the baseline. Between a benign market, low values and slack loan limits, the transfer tax really is what is left. County detail.
What the physician loan itself does
Up to 100% financing with no PMI, five-percent-down options, to $2M. It can close up to 150 days before your start date on a signed contract, where Fannie Mae's agency rules work differently on student debt: the physician program can use your documented income-driven payment instead of 1% of the balance.
That combination is what lets an incoming Pennsylvania attending buy before the first paycheque. The guide.
Frequently asked questions
How much is the realty transfer tax in Philadelphia?
4.578% of the sale price or assessed value plus any assumed debt, made up of 3.578% city and 1% Commonwealth. On Philadelphia's typical home value of $389,524 that is about $17,834 in total, or roughly $8,917 at the customary even split between buyer and seller. The City notes that the even split is custom rather than law. Verified against the City of Philadelphia 2026-10-06.Does a physician loan cover closing costs and transfer tax in Pennsylvania?
A physician loan can finance up to 100% of the purchase price with no private mortgage insurance, which addresses the down payment. Realty transfer tax is separate and is cash due at closing. In Pennsylvania that is 1% at Commonwealth level, and in Philadelphia 4.578% in total, so a physician buying in the city should plan for that figure independently of the loan.Can I still apply for the Pennsylvania Primary Care Loan Repayment Program?
Not for the current cycle. Practitioner applications are only accepted in response to a competitive Request for Applications, and RFA 67-206 closed at 11:59 p.m. EST on 4 May 2026, stating that late applications will not be accepted regardless of the reason. The Department's note that applications are accepted continuously refers to Practice Site Applications. Email RA-DHLoanRepayment@pa.gov to be notified of a new RFA. Verified 2026-10-06.How much does Pennsylvania's loan repayment program pay?
Up to $80,000 for a two-year full-time service commitment, or up to $40,000 half-time, for physicians, dentists and psychologists. All other eligible disciplines receive up to $48,000 full-time or $24,000 half-time. The amounts are maximums rather than averages, and Pennsylvania does not publish an average award. Verified against RFA 67-206 and the LRP Fact Sheet 2026-10-06.Is the Pennsylvania housing market a risk for 100% financing?
Less than in several other states. Thirty-three of Pennsylvania's thirty-four metros rose in typical value in the year to 31 August 2026, the exception being Bradford at minus 2.8%. Philadelphia rose 2.5% and Pittsburgh 0.2%, against a national benchmark of plus 1.2%. Values are also modest, with Philadelphia at $389,524 and Pittsburgh at $232,122. Verified against Zillow Research data 2026-10-06.Mike Certo · NMLS #260555 · Cornerstone First Mortgage NMLS #173855 · Equal Housing Lender. Educational content, not a loan commitment and not legal, tax, or licensure advice. Physician-loan program terms, eligible degrees, and overlays are set by the lender and change. Pennsylvania Primary Care Loan Repayment Program award amounts, eligibility and application cycles are set by the Pennsylvania Department of Health and change; figures here carry the date we verified them against the Department's published RFA and Fact Sheet. Realty transfer tax rates are set by the Commonwealth and by local jurisdictions and change. All loans are subject to borrower and property qualification, including credit and income review.