Allegany County, MD tax sales
How tax lien sales work in Allegany County, seat of Cumberland: sale calendar, auction platform, over-the-counter lists, and the offices that run each sale.
New to tax sales? Read how Maryland tax sales work or look terms up in the glossary.
- Next sale
- Annual online tax lien sale held in late May.
- Format
- RealAuction
- Registration
- Online registration only, through the auction site.
- County office
- 301-777-5965
On this page
How Allegany County sells delinquent taxes
From lien to deed
Maryland holds no county tax deed auction. Title passes only through a judicial foreclosure of the right of redemption brought by the holder of the certificate of sale. The holder may file the complaint at any time after 6 months from the date of sale, or after 9 months for owner-occupied residential property, and only after serving two statutory notices on the owner and the mortgagee. The first of those notices cannot be sent until 4 months after the sale, or 7 months for owner-occupied residential property, the second follows at least a week later, and the complaint cannot be filed until at least 2 months after the first notice and 30 days after the second. Where a government agency certifies that a building needs substantial repairs, the holder may file after 60 days, and abandoned property sold below the lien amount may be filed on immediately.
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Allegany County Tax & Utility Office
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- Annual online tax lien sale held in late May.
- Registration
- Online registration only, through the auction site.
When it runs
Registration and deposit
Online registration only, through the auction site. For the 2026 sale, registration opened Wednesday, May 6 at 10:00 AM ET and closed Wednesday, May 20 at 4:00 PM ET, and late registrations were not accepted. A $50 refundable registration fee is payable immediately by ACH debit authorization at the time of registration, and bidders complete an online W-9 at the same time. Only one bidder number is assigned per person, corporation, partnership or other legal entity, and sub-accounts and foreign bidder registrations are not allowed. Bidders must set a budget covering 100 percent of estimated winnings. Winning bidders pay the opening bid amount by 4:00 PM ET on the day of the sale by ACH bank debit from the account given at registration, plus a $10 auction fee per property sold. If the debit cannot be processed, all of that purchaser's transactions are voided.
Sale format and venue
Allegany County tax sale list and auction calendar
For Allegany County tax sale 2026 searches, use the county-run sources below rather than a copied parcel list, and confirm the parcel, registration cutoff, deposit, and payment deadline against the county before you bid.
Get the advertised list
Use Tax Lien Sale Information: sale notice, terms, bidding rules and the OTC certificate list for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.Register to bid
Sale day
Annual online tax lien sale held in late May. Bidding runs on RealAuction; check posted sale dates, registration status, and bidding windows there.Confirm with the office
If the list, platform, and notice disagree, use Allegany County Tax & Utility Office as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.
Before you bid in Allegany County
4 checks
Start with the live sale list
Pull the current advertised parcels from Tax Lien Sale Information: sale notice, terms, bidding rules and the OTC certificate list. Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.Confirm registration and deposit
Online registration only, through the auction site. For the 2026 sale, registration opened Wednesday, May 6 at 10:00 AM ET and closed Wednesday, May 20 at 4:00 PM ET, and late registrations were not accepted. A $50 refundable registration fee is payable immediately by ACH debit authorization at the time of registration, and bidders complete an online W-9 at the same time. Only one bidder number is assigned per person, corporation, partnership or other legal entity, and sub-accounts and foreign bidder registrations are not allowed. Bidders must set a budget covering 100 percent of estimated winnings. Winning bidders pay the opening bid amount by 4:00 PM ET on the day of the sale by ACH bank debit from the account given at registration, plus a $10 auction fee per property sold. If the debit cannot be processed, all of that purchaser's transactions are voided.
Check the state rules that change the bid
Read the Maryland due-diligence checklist before bidding. Redemption, liens that survive a tax deed, title cleanup, and payment deadlines can change what a parcel is worth.Set a walk-away number
Work out what the parcel is actually worth with the rural land value estimator, then turn it into a ceiling with the tax deed max-bid calculator.
Over-the-counter (leftover) purchases
unsold certificates
A county or other taxing agency must buy in any property offered at the sale for which there is no private purchaser, and the governing body may then sell and assign that certificate of sale, or after foreclosure sell the property. Several counties run this as a post-sale assignment sale of the unsold liens at lien value, usually open only to bidders who registered for the auction. Availability, pricing and whether a list is published are local decisions, so ask the collector of taxes.
New to this path? Read how over-the-counter certificates work.
Use the arrow keys to switch between these sections.
County offices
Tax Collector (runs the certificate sale)
County notes
- The Tax & Utility Office lists William (Bill) Lashbaugh as Tax & Utility Supervisor, with office hours Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
- The county directs tax lien sale and redemption questions to [email protected], and excess or unclaimed funds questions from prior year sales to the Public Information office at [email protected].
- Realauction handles bidder support for the auction site. The county's sale contact sheet lists Realauction Customer Service, 861 SW 78th Avenue, Suite B-102, Plantation, FL 33324, phone (954) 734-7401 or (877) 361-7325, weekdays 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM ET.
- Certificates left over from the sale are available over the counter. The 2026 list is posted as a spreadsheet at https://www.alleganygov.org/DocumentCenter/View/10955/2026-Tax-Lien-List-of-Properties-Available-OTC--, and a 2025 list updated 6.30.26 is also posted on the same page. The bidding rules add that the unsold list can be purchased at the Allegany County tax office.
- The county website is served on two domains with the same content, alleganygov.org and gov.allconet.org. The tax sale notice points readers to gov.allconet.org for the parcel list.
- The sale notice flags recent revisions to the Maryland tax sale statute adopted as of January 1, 2026 by House Bill 59, which is the source of the split 18 percent and 10 percent redemption rates.
- Automated bidding is prohibited. The bidding rules bar any macro, robot, spider or similar software used to register, submit W-9 data, enter payment information or place bids, and violators are banned from all future Allegany County tax sales.
- The county recommends purchasers seek legal counsel before buying a certificate and states it cannot provide legal counsel.
Maryland rules
- Redemption
- Maryland sets no fixed redemption deadline. 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.
- Surplus proceeds
- Any balance over the amount needed for taxes, interest, penalties and the costs of sale belongs to the person entitled to it, which is normally the former owner. Each county must establish a process for claiming that balance, the process must apply uniformly to all claims in the county, and it may not require a court order unless payment of the balance is disputed. Within 90 days after delivering a deed to a purchaser, the collector must notify the prior owner of record of the amount of the balance and of how to claim it. Where the balance is disputed, the collector pays it into a court of competent jurisdiction pending an order on distribution.
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.
Frequently asked questions
Does Allegany County, Maryland sell tax liens or tax deeds?
When is the Allegany County tax certificate sale?
I own a property in this sale. Can I stop it?
Where can I find the Allegany County tax sale list?
Verified Aug 9, 2026 against official county and state sources.
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.
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