The short answer
Open until the D.C. Superior Court foreclosure judgment is final; the holder may file 6 months after the tax sale
District of Columbia runs 3 different redemption windows
Which one applies is decided by the parcel, not by the state, so read the condition before trusting the headline figure.
How the clock works
The District sets no fixed redemption deadline. An owner or other person with an interest may redeem at any time until the judgment foreclosing the right of redemption is final. What the statute fixes is the earliest date the holder may file, 6 months after the tax sale date, and the latest, since the certificate is void unless the foreclosure is brought within one year from the certificate date. Before the sale is final, OTR must cancel it in listed cases, including where the owner paid before the sale, the parcel was exempt from sale, or an owner-occupant of Class 1A or 1B property with 5 or fewer units proves OTR failed to mail a required notice, and the Mayor may cancel any sale to prevent an injustice. A cancelled sale pays the purchaser what it would have received on redemption.
Who can redeem
The owner or any other person who has an interest in the real property sold, which in practice includes mortgagees, deed of trust beneficiaries and other lienholders, as well as heirs of a deceased owner.
What the owner pays to redeem
Paid to the Mayor, not to the purchaser: the amount the purchaser paid excluding surplus with 1.5 percent monthly interest; all other taxes, interest and penalties the purchaser paid with interest; all other real property taxes, business improvement district taxes and vault rents needed to bring the property current; any delinquent energy efficiency loan assessment; and the purchaser's allowed expenses. More than 4 months after the sale and before suit, those expenses are a 50 dollar posting fee, the cost of recording the certificate and a title search up to 300 dollars. Once suit is filed the redeeming party also pays the purchaser directly its attorneys' fees, capped at 1,500 dollars before the fifth status hearing plus 75 dollars per later hearing and 300 dollars more if a motion for judgment is filed, and listed court costs. No expense incurred within 4 months after the sale is recoverable. The account is treated as current once the balance falls below 100 dollars.
How your interest accrues
Simple interest of 1.5 percent per month or portion of a month, which is 18 percent a year, on the amount paid for the property excluding surplus. It begins on the first day of the month immediately following the tax sale (or following the assignment of a District-held certificate) and runs until the redemption payment is made to the Mayor. No interest accrues on surplus, expenses or the value of improvements. There is no minimum-return floor, so a parcel redeemed before the first of the following month earns nothing. Other taxes the purchaser pays after the 6-month waiting period earn interest on the principal tax only.
How the bidding works
The District does not bid the rate down. Every certificate carries the same statutory rate of 1.5 percent per month, and bidders compete on price at an oral outcry auction. The opening bid is the delinquent taxes, penalties and interest for which the parcel is offered plus a 200 dollar tax sale fee, bids rise in increments of 25, 100, 500, 1,000 or 10,000 dollars, and the parcel goes to the highest bidder. Property may not be sold for less than the taxes. The portion of a winning bid above the taxes, penalties, interest and costs is surplus, and the statute pays no interest on surplus. A parcel whose highest bid does not cover the taxes is bid off to and purchased by the District; that is a statutory transfer to the District, not an investor sale. Several dated OTR items that look like sale events are not the auction: the June tax sale seminars, the late-June posting of the sale list, the late-July newspaper advertisements, the opening of bidder registration and the final-payment deadline 5 business days after the sale. The District also runs a separate Discount Tax Sale for liens it holds (December 3, 2025 was the last one published), where the opening bid is a flat 300 dollars regardless of the taxes owed, and it may sell liens in bulk to third parties under D.C. Code 47-1303.04, which is not open to individual bidders.
What happens when it ends
The District holds no tax deed auction. Title passes only through a judicial action to foreclose the right of redemption, which the certificate holder may file in D.C. Superior Court at any time after a 6-month waiting period following the tax sale date. Before filing, the holder must post the post-sale notice on the premises no sooner than 4 months after the sale and at least 45 days before the complaint, and must notify OTR's Chief Financial Officer and the Real Property Tax Ombudsman when the complaint is filed. The court may bar redemption and vest fee simple title in the purchaser, or set the sale aside. The Vacant to Vibrant Amendment Act of 2025 (D.C. Law 26-41) enacted a separate foreclosure by the Office of the Attorney General for vacant and blighted Class 3 and 4 property, but the code marks it Not Funded and it has not been implemented. It would not be an investor sale in any case.
A redeemed certificate, plus your accrued interest, is what makes the wait profitable; see how redemption periods work across states. An unredeemed certificate is instead your path to the property through a tax deed sale, which still does not convey marketable title on its own, so budget for a quiet title action.
Verified Sep 27, 2026 against District of Columbia 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.