To buy a redeemable tax deed in Connecticut you bid on the property at a county auction run by the tax collector of each town or city. The deed does not issue at the sale: the former owner keeps a statutory window to redeem by paying you a premium, and your deed issues only after that window closes unredeemed.
Each step below is drawn from Connecticut statute, not general advice. The exact sale dates, platform, and deposit amounts are set county by county, so confirm the specifics on your county page before you register.
New here? There is no certificate step in Connecticut. You bid on the property itself, so the money is at risk on the parcel from day one and the research has to happen before the auction, not after. Not sure which is for you? Start with tax lien vs tax deed.
Learn the timeline and lien priority
Each municipality's legislative body decides whether its tax is due in one, two or four installments and sets the due dates. An installment not paid by the same date of the following month (for a July 1 due date, by August 1) becomes delinquent and carries interest at 18 percent a year from the due date, counted as 1.5 percent for each month or part of a month, with a minimum charge of $2 per installment unless the town waives it. The tax is a lien on the real estate from the assessment date (October 1 in most towns) of the year before the tax falls due and, while it lasts, takes precedence over all transfers and encumbrances. The lien lapses two years after the due date unless the collector continues it by recording a certificate in the land records within that time; a continued lien stays valid for up to fifteen years from the due date. No statute sets a minimum delinquency age before a tax sale: once the collector has made written demand, the collector may levy on the real estate and advertise a sale. Understand this before you commit any money.
Learn what sends a parcel to the auction
Unpaid real estate tax after the collector has made written demand (12-155). No statute sets a minimum delinquency age. The collector levies by posting a notice near the collector's office, filing it in the town clerk's land records (where it acts as a lis pendens) and sending it by certified mail to the taxpayer and every mortgagee and lienholder of record, all not more than 12 and not less than 9 weeks before the sale. The notice is also published once a week for three weeks in a newspaper circulating in the town, the last not more than four nor less than two weeks before the sale, and mailed a second time to the taxpayer and lienholders. The tax lien itself must be alive (within two years of the due date or continued by a recorded certificate) for the levy to be made on it. At the sale the collector posts a written notice of all taxes, interest, fees and charges due on each parcel, which is the amount the sale must cover. The collector may sell the whole parcel at public auction to the highest bidder, or sell it to the town if there is no bidder or the bid does not cover the amount due. Another municipality holding a tax lien on the parcel may also buy.
Bid at the tax deed auction
The tax collector of each town or city sells the property at public auction to the highest bidder. No statewide deposit rule. 12-157(d) lets the collector publish or announce rules for the conduct of the auction and for payment by successful bidders, so each town sets its own deposit, registration and form of payment. Read the terms of sale in each town's notice. Not fixed by statute; set in each town's terms of sale under 12-157(d).
Wait out the redemption window, then take the deed
Interest runs at 18 percent a year on the buyer's total purchase price from the date of the sale until redemption, which must come within six months (or 60 days where that shorter period applies). The rate is a true annual rate, not a flat penalty, so a parcel redeemed at the end of a full six months returns about 9 percent on the purchase price, and one redeemed sooner returns less. There is no minimum return. The redeeming party also pays taxes and debts owed to the town that the sale did not recover, later charges under 12-140, and the costs of any receiver the buyer had appointed. Interest earned on the escrowed excess bid belongs to the town, not the buyer. Redemption runs from the published post-sale notice to six months after the sale date. A town may shorten it to 60 days for abandoned property or for property meeting other conditions its legislative body sets by ordinance. Payment goes to the tax collector, who cancels the deed, gives the payer a certificate of satisfaction and within ten days tenders the money, plus the escrowed excess bid, to the buyer. If the window closes unredeemed, the collector's deed is recorded and the buyer owns the parcel without any court action. To redeem, the owner pays the taxes, interest and charges due and owing at the time of the sale, plus interest at 18 percent a year on the buyer's total purchase price from the sale date, plus any taxes and debts owed to the town that the sale did not recover, plus later charges under 12-140, plus any receiver's expenses above rents collected. Within two weeks after the sale the collector signs a collector's deed to the buyer (or to the town) and lodges it with the town clerk, where it stays unrecorded for six months from the sale. Within 60 days after the sale the collector publishes, and mails by certified mail to the taxpayer and lienholders, a notice of the sale date, the buyer, the price and the date redemption ends. If the parcel is redeemed, the clerk returns the deed to the collector for cancellation. If it is not, the deed is recorded and takes full effect, with no court action by the buyer. If they redeem, that payoff is your return. If the window closes without a redemption, the deed issues to you only then, so the parcel is not yours at the auction.
One more step: clear the title
Winning a tax deed does not hand you marketable title. Before you can resell to a normal buyer or insure the parcel, you will usually need a quiet title action, which takes months and costs money. Fold that cost into your maximum bid and read what you actually own after a tax deed before you bid. A tax deed also does not wipe out everything: select governmental and municipal liens can survive, and a federal tax lien carries a 120-day IRS redemption right, so check what survives a tax deed too.
Buying redeemable tax deeds in Connecticut: common questions
How do you buy a redeemable tax deed in Connecticut?
Can you buy Connecticut redeemable tax deeds online?
More Connecticut answers, including redemption and statute detail, are on the Connecticut tax sale FAQ.
New to this? Start with tax lien vs tax deed and the full Connecticut walkthrough, then value a parcel with the due diligence guide.
Steps verified Sep 27, 2026 against Connecticut statutes.
Tax Sale Atlas publishes educational information about public tax sale processes. This is not legal, financial, or investment advice. Rules, dates, and fees change; confirm with the county office before you bid.