Litchfield County, CT tax sales

County offices

County notes

• •Litchfield County has 26 towns and cities: Barkhamsted, Bethlehem, Bridgewater, Canaan, Colebrook, Cornwall, Goshen, Harwinton, Kent, Litchfield, Morris, New Hartford, New Milford, Norfolk, North Canaan, Plymouth, Roxbury, Salisbury, Sharon, Thomaston, Torrington, Warren, Washington, Watertown, Winchester and Woodbury. Each tax collector runs its own sale.
• •Torrington: the City of Torrington Tax Collector held tax deed sales on May 6, 2025 and September 16, 2025 at City Hall, 140 Main Street, 2nd Floor Auditorium. The list of properties and the bidder rules are posted on the city's Tax Sales page.
• •Torrington terms (September 2025 sale): register in person from 12:45 PM to 1:45 PM before the 2:00 PM start, bring a $4,000 bank or certified check for each property ($1,000 where the amount due is under $4,000), and pay the balance by noon three days later. No cash.
• •Woodbury: the Tax Collector held a tax sale auction on Thursday, June 18, 2026 at 1:00 PM at Old Town Hall, 5 Mountain Road. The list of properties appears on the Connecticut Tax Sales site.
• •Watertown: the Town of Watertown held a tax sale at 10:00 a.m. on June 24, 2025 at Watertown Town Hall, 61 Echo Lake Road. The Tax Collector's page links to the Connecticut Tax Sales site, where the town's list is posted.
• •Thomaston: the Town of Thomaston held a tax sale at 10:00 a.m. on August 19, 2025 at Thomaston Town Hall, 158 Main Street. The Tax Collector directs bidders to the Connecticut Tax Sales site for its list of future sales.
• •Harwinton: the Town of Harwinton held a tax sale at 10:00 a.m. on October 9, 2025 at Harwinton Town Hall, 100 Bentley Drive, with its list posted on the Connecticut Tax Sales site.
• •Winchester (Winsted): the Connecticut Tax Sales site lists an upcoming Town of Winchester auction whose date and place are not yet announced. The Collector of Revenue is at 338 Main Street, Winsted, (860) 379-4474.
• •Postponed parcels: lots in New Milford (Weekend Trail, Thomas Lane), Harwinton (Scoville Hill Road) and Thomaston (Cables Lane) drew no bidders at their original sales, have no new date, and are listed on the Connecticut Tax Sales postponed list, which invites proposed bids to [email protected].
• •Sales run through Pullman & Comley require attendance in person, government ID, a $5,000 deposit in certified funds payable to Pullman & Comley, Trustee, and the balance within five calendar days or the deposit is forfeited.
• •For the other towns, including Litchfield, Plymouth, New Milford's main sale calendar and the smaller hill towns, sale notices and their lists appear in the local newspaper legal notices and at the town tax collector's office and town clerk; call the collector before planning to bid.

Connecticut rules

Redemption

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.Conn. Gen. Stat. 12-157, collector's tax sale: notice, public auction to the highest bidder, collector's deed, six-month redemption at 18 percent a year, surplus escrowConn. Gen. Stat. 12-157Verified Sep 27, 2026

Deed deposit

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.Conn. Gen. Stat. 12-157, collector's tax sale: notice, public auction to the highest bidder, collector's deed, six-month redemption at 18 percent a year, surplus escrowConn. Gen. Stat. 12-157Verified Sep 27, 2026

Surplus proceeds

Any amount the sale brings above the delinquent taxes, interest, penalties, fees and costs is held in a separate interest-bearing escrow account (interest to the town). If the parcel is redeemed, the excess goes to the buyer within ten days. If it is not redeemed, the collector may first apply the excess to the same taxpayer's other delinquent taxes to the town, including personal property and motor vehicle taxes, and must within ten days after the redemption period ends pay the rest to the clerk of the Superior Court for the judicial district, then notify the former owner and lienholders by certified mail. They have 90 days from that payment to apply to the court, which may appoint a state referee to divide the money by equity; money nobody claims escheats to the state as unclaimed property. This rule dates from P.A. 95-228, long before Tyler v. Hennepin County (2023), and no 2023 to 2026 act amends it. It applies to the collector's tax sale only; a court foreclosure of a tax lien under 12-181 or 12-195h follows the court's own foreclosure rules.Conn. Gen. Stat. 12-157, collector's tax sale: notice, public auction to the highest bidder, collector's deed, six-month redemption at 18 percent a year, surplus escrowConn. Gen. Stat. 12-157Verified Sep 27, 2026

Governing statute

Conn. Gen. Stat. 12-140Conn. Gen. Stat. 12-140, tax sale costs (advertising, title search, attorney, auctioneer) charged to the delinquent taxpayerConn. Gen. Stat. 12-140Verified Sep 27, 2026

A tax deed does not convey marketable title. Most buyers file a quiet title action before they can resell or insure the property. See the due diligence guide.

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