When the sale is held
One annual sale for the whole District, held in person at OTR headquarters, 1101 4th Street SW, Washington, DC 20024. The statute fixes no month. The statutory post-sale notice form prints a July tax sale date, and the 2025 sale lists were posted in June and July 2025, but the 2026 sale was held August 19 and 20, 2026. The date of sale for every parcel is the last day of the sale, regardless of the day it was actually offered. OTR publishes the list of properties on its website and in The Washington Times and The Washington Informer before the sale.
When taxes go delinquent
District real property tax is due in two equal installments, the first on or before March 31 and the second on or before September 15. An unpaid installment draws a 10 percent penalty plus simple interest of 1.5 percent per month or part of a month. The tax offered at the sale is the real property tax and vault rent still unpaid on October 1, plus business improvement district tax unpaid on September 1, along with other District charges certified to OTR for collection. OTR must mail a notice of delinquency by May 1 telling the owner the amount to pay by May 31 to avoid the sale, and a final notice at least 2 weeks before the sale. The tax becomes a lien on the date it was due and unpaid, and that lien is a prior and preferred claim over all other liens and is perpetual.
What happens after the sale
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.
Leftover parcels between sales
Liens that were offered at the annual sale but not sold to a third party are bid off to the District. The Mayor may later sell them, issuing or assigning a certificate of sale on payment of the bid-off amount plus interest to the date of issue or assignment. OTR runs this as an Over-the-Counter sale: registered OTC purchasers select available liens online through MyTax.DC.gov, Monday through Friday from 8 am to 3 pm, and must pay the bid-off lien amount in full the same day, at OTR's Cashier's Office or by wire, or the selection is forfeited. OTR blocks OTC purchases around the annual, first-come-first-serve and discount sale events. The Mayor may also sell District-held liens below the redemption amount at a published Discount Tax Sale, sold to the highest bidder.
These dates are the statewide statutory schedule. The exact auction date, registration deadline, and platform are set county by county, so confirm them on the District of Columbia county pages before you plan a bid. For the mechanics of the sale itself, see how to buy in District of Columbia.
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.