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Tax Sale Atlas

Baltimore City, MD tax sales

How tax lien sales work in Baltimore City, seat of Baltimore City: 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
Third week of May, online.
Format
RealAuction
Registration
Online only, through the City's Realauction site.
County office
410-396-3000 (Bureau of Revenue Collections call center); 410-396-3987 option 1 (Tax Sale Office)
Every displayed fact carries a source badge. Verified Aug 9, 2026 against official county and state pages.How we verify
On this page

How Baltimore City 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)

RealAuction
Run by
Bureau of Revenue Collections, Baltimore City Department of Finance
Frequency
annual
Typical timing
Third week of May, online.
Registration
Online only, through the City's Realauction site.
Sale list
Tax Sale Book (annual sale list) request form
When it runs
Third week of May, online. The City's Tax Sale Process page states: "Mid-May: The annual tax sale is normally held during the third week in May." For the 2026 sale the auction Business Rules set bidding to open 05/15/2026 at 8:00 AM ET, with the first batch closing 05/18/2026 at 9:00 AM ET and the last batch closing 05/18/2026 at 4:00 PM ET on a 60 minute batch interval.
Registration and deposit

Online only, through the City's Realauction site. For 2026, registration and fee payment opened 03/11/2026 at 10:00 AM ET and closed 05/08/2026 at 4:00 PM ET. A $100 registration fee is charged by ACH debit and is not refundable and not applied to winnings. Registered bidders must fund a budget covering 100 percent of estimated winnings by 05/18/2026 at 4:00 PM ET, and winning bids are paid by ACH transfer from the registered bank account, due 05/26/2026 at 5:00 PM ET. Wire transfers and counter payments are not accepted. Foreign bidder registrations are not allowed and sub-accounts are not permitted. Between sale cycles the site shows registration closed, so watch the Business Rules page for the next opening date. Realauction customer service is 877-361-7325.

Sale format and venue
Sealed bid, direct bid format run in timed batches, not a live outcry auction and not a bid-down-interest auction. The lien list for the coming sale is posted on the auction site and advertised in two newspapers of general circulation in March, and the City sells the Tax Sale Book by request for 2024, 2025 and 2026. For the 2026 sale the City set the minimum bid at the property's assessed value while the winning bidder pays only the lien amounts, and collected no high bid premium. The City also stated it would decide separately whether to hold an assignment sale rather than running one about a week and a half after the main sale as in prior years. Redemption interest is 12 percent per year on owner occupied homes and 18 percent per year on other property. A purchaser may file to foreclose the right of redemption six months after the sale on non owner occupied residential property and nine months after the sale on owner occupied property. A separate Bulk Tax Sale, in which leftover certificates are sold as a single lot by sealed bid, is held each October and bids go to the Office of the City Comptroller, Room 204, 100 Holliday Street, not to the online platform.
Register on RealAuction
Source: City of Baltimore, Maryland Business Rules, 2026 Tax Lien Sale (official auction site)· Verified Aug 9, 2026

Baltimore City tax sale list and auction calendar

For Baltimore City 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.

  1. Get the advertised list

    Use Tax Sale Book (annual sale list) request form for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.

  2. Register to bid

    Online only, through the City's Realauction site. Full requirements are in the sale card above.

  3. Sale day

    Third week of May, online. Bidding runs on RealAuction; check posted sale dates, registration status, and bidding windows there.

  4. Confirm with the office

    If the list, platform, and notice disagree, use Bureau of Revenue Collections, Baltimore City Department of Finance as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.

Before you bid in Baltimore City

  1. Start with the live sale list

    Pull the current advertised parcels from Tax Sale Book (annual sale list) request form. Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.

  2. Confirm registration and deposit

    Online only, through the City's Realauction site. For 2026, registration and fee payment opened 03/11/2026 at 10:00 AM ET and closed 05/08/2026 at 4:00 PM ET. A $100 registration fee is charged by ACH debit and is not refundable and not applied to winnings. Registered bidders must fund a budget covering 100 percent of estimated winnings by 05/18/2026 at 4:00 PM ET, and winning bids are paid by ACH transfer from the registered bank account, due 05/26/2026 at 5:00 PM ET. Wire transfers and counter payments are not accepted. Foreign bidder registrations are not allowed and sub-accounts are not permitted. Between sale cycles the site shows registration closed, so watch the Business Rules page for the next opening date. Realauction customer service is 877-361-7325.

  3. 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.

  4. 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

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)

Bureau of Revenue Collections, Baltimore City Department of Finance

410-396-3000 (Bureau of Revenue Collections call center); 410-396-3987 option 1 (Tax Sale Office)

Abel Wolman Municipal Building, 200 N. Holliday Street, Baltimore, MD 21202

Official website

County notes

  • Baltimore City is an independent city, not part of Baltimore County, and runs its own annual tax lien certificate sale through the Bureau of Revenue Collections. Baltimore County holds a separate sale under a different collector.
  • The city auction domain baltimorecity.marylandtaxsale.com is operated by Realauction under its RealTaxLien product, and the older bidbaltimore.com address now redirects to the City's tax sale pages.
  • Real property taxes are due July 1 and become delinquent October 1. The City mails a final bill and legal notice in early February, advertises the list in March, mails a second notice in early April, and sets April 30 as the last day to pay and avoid the sale.
  • Interest and penalty accrue on delinquent bills at 1 percent per month on the State portion and 2 percent per month on the City portion until paid.
  • Redemption may begin shortly after the sale. For the 2026 sale the City stated redemption could begin as early as May 28, 2026.
  • The City posts an excess funds list and a redemption file on the Tax Sale Process page.
  • Sale-cycle dates cited here come from the 2026 Business Rules published on the auction site. Confirm the current year's dates on that page before planning a bid, since the City reopens the site each spring.

Maryland rules

Max interest rate
6% per year, set by statute (bidding is on price)
Minimum return
No statutory minimum return; what you earn is set by the price at the sale
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.
Governing statute
Md. Code Ann., Tax-Prop. Title 14, Subtitle 8, Part III

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.

See the full Marylandrules and every county →

Frequently asked questions

Does Baltimore City, Maryland sell tax liens or tax deeds?

Tax lien certificates. In Maryland investors buy the lien, not the property; the County Collector of Taxes runs the sale.

When is the Baltimore City tax certificate sale?

Third week of May, online. The City's Tax Sale Process page states: "Mid-May: The annual tax sale is normally held during the third week in May." For the 2026 sale the auction Business Rules set bidding to open 05/15/2026 at 8:00 AM ET, with the first batch closing 05/18/2026 at 9:00 AM ET and the last batch closing 05/18/2026 at 4:00 PM ET on a 60 minute batch interval. Registration and bidding happen on the county's online platform. Always confirm the exact date with the County Collector of Taxes before the sale.

I own a property in this sale. Can I stop it?

Often yes, by paying the overdue taxes, interest, and costs before the deadline. Maryland's redemption rule: Open until the circuit court forecloses the right of redemption; the holder may file that case 6 months after the sale, or 9 months for owner-occupied residential property. Call the Bureau of Revenue Collections, Baltimore City Department of Finance as early as possible for your exact payoff and options; deadlines are strict. Free help: lawhelp.org lists legal aid programs, and consumerfinance.gov lists HUD-approved housing counselors.

Where can I find the Baltimore City tax sale list?

Baltimore City posts its tax sale list at pay.baltimorecity.gov. Lists go up ahead of each sale and keep changing until the sale date, so confirm every parcel against the county's legal advertisement before you bid.

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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Compare sale calendars, platforms, and rules across the state, or read the guides before you bid.

Maryland tax salesDue diligence guide
Call Bureau of Revenue CollectionsOpen auction