Maryland tax lien & tax deed sales

The right to redeem continues until it is finally barred by decree of the circuit court in which the foreclosure proceeding is filed. What the statute fixes is the earliest date the certificate holder may start that case, and the outside date by which the holder must start it. A certificate is void unless a proceeding to foreclose the right of redemption is filed within 2 years of the date of the certificate of sale, and if the certificate goes void the holder's rights end and the money paid at the sale is forfeited and applied to the taxes in arrears. A Baltimore City certificate on abandoned property sold below the lien amount must be filed on within 3 months and reverts to the city otherwise.Md. Code Ann., Tax-Property 14-827 - the owner or other person with an estate or interest may redeem at any time until the right of redemption is finally foreclosedMd. Code Ann., Tax-Prop. 14-827Verified Aug 9, 2026

It may be paid without interest on or before September 30, and it is in arrears after September 30. Interest then runs monthly: two-thirds of 1 percent a month is the default rate for county and municipal tax, and named jurisdictions charge more, with Garrett County at 1.5 percent a month and Washington County, Somerset County and the City of Salisbury at 1 percent, while charter counties and Baltimore City set their own rate by law. Overdue State property tax runs at 1 percent a month. All unpaid taxes on real property are liens on that property from the date they became payable until they are paid, and a first lien attaches from the date the tax is due, which is what makes a Maryland certificate senior collateral. Parcels still in arrears go to the county tax sale under Title 14, Subtitle 8, Part III.Md. Code Ann., Tax-Property 10-102 - property tax is due July 1, may be paid without interest through September 30, and is in arrears after September 30Md. Code Ann., Tax-Prop. 10-102Verified Aug 9, 2026

Once it holds that certificate the governing body may sell and assign it, or after foreclosure sell the property itself. That assignment is the Maryland equivalent of an over-the-counter purchase, and an assigned certificate carries the same right to foreclose as one bought at the sale, since a certificate of sale is assignable and the assignment vests all the right, title and interest of the original purchaser. Whether a county actually offers its held certificates, how it prices them, and whether it publishes a list are local decisions, so ask the collector of taxes. A county may also ask the court to have a private holder's certificate assigned to the county when the foreclosure has stalled, in which case the private holder forfeits both its rights and the money it paid.Md. Code Ann., Tax-Property 14-825 - a county that bought in at the tax sale may sell and assign the certificate of sale, or sell the property after foreclosureMd. Code Ann., Tax-Prop. 14-825Verified Aug 9, 2026