Tax Sale Lists: How to Find Properties Before the County Auction
Where counties publish the tax sale list, what each column means, why most rows drop off before auction day, and how to reach owners first.
The Skipset team · · 9 min read
A tax sale list is the county's public notice of which properties it plans to sell for unpaid taxes, when, and for roughly how much. For investors and agents, it is the most time-sensitive record in the property tax file. Every owner on it has a fixed date, and many have not decided what to do.
Most guides treat the list as a shopping list for auction day. This one treats it as an outreach list: where it is published, what the columns mean, why most rows disappear, and what to check before you make an offer.
New to this? Start with how tax delinquent properties work.
How a tax sale list differs from a delinquency list
Both come from the same tax accounts.
| Delinquency list | Tax sale list | |
|---|---|---|
| Who is on it | Every account past due | Accounts that met the state's threshold for a sale |
| When it appears | Shortly after taxes go delinquent | Weeks or months before a scheduled sale |
| Has a sale date | No | Yes |
| What the county sells | Nothing yet | A lien certificate or the property itself |
In lien states the county sells a certificate and the owner keeps the house during a redemption period. In deed states it sells the property. See tax lien vs tax deed states for the details.
Where counties publish tax sale lists
The office that runs the sale changes by state. It may be the treasurer, tax collector, tax claim bureau, tax commissioner or clerk of court.
The county or city website
Most counties post the list online as a PDF, a spreadsheet or a searchable page. Washington, DC's Office of Tax and Revenue, for example, posts an initial tax lien sale list and then an updated list a few weeks later. In 2026 the first list was dated July 23 and the update August 18.
County sites are badly organized, so search instead of clicking around: the county name plus "tax sale", "tax deed sale", "tax lien sale" or, in Pennsylvania, "upset sale". If the office offers email alerts for new lists or date changes, sign up.
Legal notices in the newspaper
Many states require the sale to be advertised in a newspaper, and the notice usually includes the property list. DC runs its notices in The Washington Times and The Washington Informer. In Pennsylvania, the county tax claim bureau must publish notice of an upset sale at least 30 days before the sale in two newspapers of general circulation, if the county has two, and once in the court's designated legal journal, under section 602 of the Real Estate Tax Sale Law. That notice must name the owner, describe the property and state the approximate upset price.
Some smaller counties never post the list online, so the newspaper notice may be the only copy.
Online auction platforms
Many counties now run the sale on a vendor platform such as Bid4Assets, GovEase, Grant Street Group or RealAuction, and post the property files there. The Brevard County, Florida clerk, for example, holds tax deed auctions online and keeps each tax deed file searchable on a separate site. The platform is often the most current place to see which properties are still scheduled.
Public records requests
If the list is not posted, ask for it in writing, and ask for a spreadsheet. Scanned PDFs must be retyped or run through text recognition, which garbles parcel numbers.
When the list comes out relative to the sale
Timing is set by state law and varies widely. Four examples:
| Place | What the law or county requires |
|---|---|
| Pennsylvania (upset sale) | Published notice at least 30 days before the sale; certified mail to each owner at least 30 days before; the property posted at least 10 days before (RETSL section 602) |
| Florida (tax deed sale) | Notice published once a week for 4 consecutive weeks, and no sale until 30 days after the first publication (Fla. Stat. 197.512) |
| New York City (lien sale) | Notices mailed 90, 60, 30 and 10 days before the sale (NYC Independent Budget Office) |
| Washington, DC (lien sale) | An initial list, then an updated list about four weeks later (DC OTR) |
The practical rule: get the earliest version of the list you can. A list published 90 days out gives you three months to reach an owner. The final list gives you days.
Rules vary by state; confirm with a local real estate attorney.
What each column on a tax sale list means
Formats vary, but most lists use some version of these fields.
| Column | What it usually means |
|---|---|
| Item, sale or file number | The county's tracking number for that property in this sale; sometimes the order it will be called |
| Parcel number (APN, PIN, account) | The key you use to pull every other record on the property |
| Name assessed or owner | The owner of record on the tax roll, which may be a deceased person, a trust or an LLC |
| Property address | The site address; often blank for vacant land |
| Legal description | Lot and block, or section, township and range; the legal identity of the parcel |
| Opening, minimum or upset bid | Taxes, interest, penalties and costs owed; the starting price at auction |
| Applicant or certificate holder | In states like Florida, the investor who holds the tax certificate and applied for the deed |
| Homestead flag | Whether the owner claims a homestead exemption, which can change the minimum bid |
| Status | Active, redeemed, paid, cancelled, stayed or struck off |
Two cautions. The bid amount on a posted list can be stale. Brevard County warns that minimum bids shown online for its list of lands available "are not the current bid amount". And the owner named is not always the person who can sign.
Why most properties come off the list before the sale
Owners on a tax sale list have one clear way out: pay. Many do. In New York City, an average of only 17 percent of properties initially eligible for the lien sale had their liens sold, across sales from 2015 through 2025, according to the city's Independent Budget Office. The IBO reports that over 80 percent of owners take action during the notice period by paying, entering a payment plan, applying for an exemption or using the city's opt-out.
Other places have similar off-ramps. Pennsylvania notices must state that the sale may, at the bureau's option, be stayed if the owner or a lien creditor signs an installment agreement before the sale (RETSL section 602(f)). In Florida, a tax certificate can be redeemed any time before the tax deed is issued, unless full payment for the deed has already reached the clerk (Fla. Stat. 197.472).
- Re-check status before every contact. An owner who paid last week does not want a call about a tax sale.
- The owners still on the final list are the hard cases. They could not pay, could not get a plan, or did not open the mail. They often have the strongest reason to sell and the least time.
Pulling owner information from the parcel number
The list gives you a name and a parcel. Build the rest from other public records.
- Assessor or property appraiser. Confirms the owner of record, the mailing address on the tax bill, the assessed value and the property type. A mailing address in another city or state usually means a landlord or an heir.
- Recorder or register of deeds. Shows the last deed, any mortgage still of record, and other recorded liens. A large unpaid mortgage changes what an owner can accept.
- Probate court. If the owner of record has died, the person who can sell is usually the executor or administrator. See our guide to probate real estate.
- Business filings. For an LLC, the state business registry names the registered agent and often a manager.
- Skip tracing. None of these records list a phone number. A skip trace matches the owner's name and addresses to current phones and emails.
Reaching owners before the sale
An owner on a tax sale list has four real options: pay the taxes, get on a payment plan if the county offers one, sell before the sale, or lose the property or a lien on it. Your job on the first call is to find out which one makes sense for them, not to push the third.
- Start with the date, not the offer. Many owners do not know when the sale is or what it costs to stop it.
- Ask about the situation. Is the house occupied? Is there a mortgage? Are there other heirs or owners?
- Know the payoff. Get the current redemption or payoff figure from the county, not from the list. An offer that cannot cover the taxes and the mortgage will not close.
- Close with the taxes paid. Back taxes come out of the proceeds at closing, like any other lien.
Some states regulate purchases from owners facing a forced sale, including disclosure rules and cancellation rights. Ask a local attorney before you contract with an owner on a tax sale list.
What to verify before you buy or bid
Whether you buy from the owner or bid at auction, the risks sit in records the list leaves out.
Liens that survive
- In Florida, a lien of record held by a city, county, special district or community development district survives the tax deed if the sale proceeds do not satisfy it (Fla. Stat. 197.552). Code enforcement and utility liens often fall here; our guide to municipal liens explains them.
- In Pennsylvania, an upset sale passes title subject to recorded mortgages, liens and other claims not included in the upset price (RETSL section 609).
- A recorded federal tax lien can survive a nonjudicial sale if the IRS was not given proper written notice at least 25 days before, and after certain sales the IRS may redeem the property within 120 days, or the state's redemption period if longer (26 U.S.C. 7425).
Title
Counties typically sell without a title warranty. Brevard County states that its tax deed properties are sold on a "buyer beware" basis. Order a title search before you bid, and expect that a title insurer may want a quiet title action before it will insure a tax deed.
Occupancy
The list does not tell you who lives in the house. Drive by and check for a homestead exemption. In Florida, a tax deed holder who is refused possession must apply to the circuit court, on 5 days' notice, for a writ of assistance before the sheriff will put them in possession (Fla. Stat. 197.562). Other states have their own process.
The property itself
Pull the parcel on the county GIS map. Confirm it is a buildable lot with road access, not a sliver or drainage strip. Some parcels are on the list because nobody wants them.
Where Skipset fits
Working a tax sale list by hand means research, skip tracing and calling before the sale date. Skipset does that outreach for you from public records, including tax lien and other lien filings. It reaches the owner by call, text and email, asks about the asking number, condition, timeline and motivation, and books the qualified owner on your calendar. Each owner is exclusive to your county. Wholesalers can see how that works on the wholesaler page, and pricing covers how each buyer type pays.
This guide is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Rules vary by state and county; confirm with a local real estate attorney before you act.
Questions
- Do you get clear title when you buy at a tax sale?
- Not automatically. Depending on the state, some liens survive the sale, the owner or the IRS may still have a right to redeem, and the county usually sells without any title warranty. Many buyers need a quiet title action before a title insurer will cover the property.
- How often is a tax sale list updated?
- It depends on the county. Some post one list when the sale is advertised and a revised list closer to the date, while others keep an online list that changes as payments post. Always check the status of a property with the county on the day you plan to act on it.
- Can anyone bid at a county tax sale?
- Most counties open the sale to the public after you register, and many require a deposit or proof of funds before bidding starts. Each county publishes its own bidder rules, payment terms and deadlines. Read them for every sale, even in a county you have bought in before.
- Can an owner stop a tax sale at the last minute?
- Often, yes. In most places, paying the full amount due before the sale pulls the property, and some counties also allow a payment plan that stays the sale. The cutoff time and accepted payment methods vary, so the owner should call the tax office directly.
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